I also am growing in the extreme heat. What do you think is your most heat resistant strain?
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Hi @RadioWaves
The Raspberry Haze do really well in the heat. There are some others, and what I’ve been watching over the years is what environments can I create, what situations can I create for them to do better. How I water them has a huge impact… it’s easy to over water in the extreme heat = they look tired and wilty so give them water, and then the next thing they’re drowned and dead.
(top of a Purple Zamal x NepJam)
closeup of the Emperor Haze
(this one from a few years ago - I forget what it was)
But is getting knocked out by the heat strain specific???
One thing that I’m learning, and this thread is experimenting with, is when do I start them?
I will often start seeds toward the end of April. And every year, June and July roll around and those plants just get blasted.
This year I’m starting seedlings now, to go in the ground with the monsoons (mid to late- July).
Also, I’m usually growing long-flowering plants. Laotians, Burmese, Hazes - simply because my environment will allow me to grow into Jan/Feb (…usually).
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I am with you brother! Starting seedlings now myself for a 20 weeker. My first outdoor was a haze last year. It went into January I think. Turned out nice
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Down to watch this show and how you deal with your struggles and hot/dry weather. Great selection btw I love it
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I am not in an area that has heat problems, I am in for the show to see what strains do well when grown in it.
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i took myself out of the equation and now have no fear
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this is what it looks like 20 minutes drive away
Those plants sit there all day, every day - for months on end without rain; temps hitting 110 for a month or two. They’re amazing and I’m always in awe of how beautiful the desert is. This is also in the neighborhood:
@shade Thanks for those tutorials. I use Blumats indoor, and have to get a pressure reducer to run them outside (attached to a hose). But fro now I’m just going to set up an irrigation drip system with a timer, and go from there.
Although afternoon shade is essential in the Summer, especially from 2:30/3 on, what I’ve seen is that the roots are most important to keep cool. Fabric pots are difficult, and so going into the ground, or very large pots, is most ideal.
My plants will be going in the ground 
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You might wanna study permaculture and dig some swales and bunds to maximize water soaking into the soil to raise the water table, gotta harvest those monsoons, also catch as much rainwater off every roof as possible, install big tanks.
Mulching, lots of mulching.
Woodchips to insulate the soil, can be used to create footpaths to minimize soil compaction by walking all over the place, limit your walking zones.
Plant nitrogen fixing trees to help hold moisture, create shade (you can prune them into ideal coverage).
You want 100% of your soil surface covered with mulch, woodchips or vegetation.
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Hey @Zanzibar I’ll be following along; I always appreciate your genetic selections and will love to see you conquer the heat!
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awesome views and noble work. when i was in southern utah we happened upon a canyon out of nowhere in a place just like that, all of a sudden 50ft below us was a river, cottonwood trees, never wanted to leave that spot lol. definitely will be following your journey.
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I’m seeing Saguaro so I’m guessing the Tucson area?
Does that mean that you are dealing with that evil Caliche ‘soil’?
Cheers
G
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There used to be a band around here called, Caliche Con Carne 
Yes, lots of it. Caliche (for those who are new to the term) is a hard-packed sediment that rests just below the surface in most places around Tucson - it’s as hard, if not harder, than cement, and can sometimes run 4’ thick. It makes it very difficult to grow things as water just glides across it to settle into some lower place with more absorption. Jackhammers aside, a way to get through it is with horse shit and lots of time. The organic material will work down into it and loosen it up. It takes time for that, tho. God bless the pick and jackhammer to save time, lolz
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Today was 112*, yesterday got only to 109*
These are my Mulanje Gold, I looked at them this morning and one (M1) had got bit
I immediately put that plant into my ACed grow room. This is what it looked like when I got home this evening
My guess it was over watering, which I’m apt to do. Also being on that table probably doesn’t help. Also this evening the plant at lower right was also bit - the male in the second pic below. They’re all under a shade cloth, but it is 112* and this shit happens.
Also, it’s interesting to note that two early males (autos???) have shown up… they were both teh wide narrow leafed of the group, and they’re both early males 
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Interesting to follow you and the difficulties your plants face. Similar to mine, but it’s not as hot here. Southern NM…
Anyway I put out some clones under shade cloth and they looked about like your Mulanje 
I’m very curious if it bounces back.
Also curious about the overwatering. I somewhat save myself (I thought) from that problem because I work all day and can only water once a day anyway. I feel like for me the wilty leaves I see at the end of the day are usually synchronous with dry dirt anyway. But it’s interesting that the heat wilt could share symptoms with dry roots. Maybe I’ve been over watering
Do you use aloe to help with the heat resistance? I found a tremendous difference last year doing foliar aloe. Tomatoes especially seem to have difficulty with the heat/sun and they spring right back to life like magic
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Yes, I use a lot of aloe vera. I cut fresh stalks of aloe and let it sit for about 10 days and then blend them up with some water and then add that to about a 5 gallon bucket. I do this about once every 10 days. As an experiment, you might consider watering your plants in the morning. Yes, they look wilted in the evening but I’ve found with my larger plants that they do well when I give them water in the morning or if possible cool water at noon… As long as they need it.
Also, my plants that got bit by the heat are probably goners. They never seem to make it back no matter what I try
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I need to get some big outdoor aloe plants going. We’ve got two small ones in the kitchen but I quickly used what was available to use and now use the live plant material very sparingly. I used live leaf gel when I was mending splits in stalks (thanks wind) or things of that nature. I’ve been using freeze dried horticultural aloe which is expensive AF and means I don’t use as much of it as I would like. How many aloe plants do you have to sustain that consumption rate?
Out of curiosity, why do you leave the leaves to sit for 10 days? Do they blend up better than fresh?
I try to water in the mornings when I can, Friday-Sunday mornings. Sunday morning is a really light watering just to keep things alive. The biggest interference is my work, I usually leave the house around 4:30am and return around 6pm Monday-Thursday. There’s just not enough light when I leave to get anything done.
I’ve been experimenting with insulating my black fabric grow bags, that made a huge difference on plant happiness for the stuff that isn’t in-ground. That and mulching helped a ton with my plant vigor and soil temperature.
Last year, space blankets and swamp cooler aspen pads as “mulch:”
This year, reflectix mylar bubble wrap and cover crop:
Anyway, wasn’t trying to derail your thread. Hoping to pick up some new tricks and see whether mine are any good or not. Jealous of the fact that you can do the crazy long-flowering stuff and start so late in the season, we get frost sometime in November and due to the altitude it gets pretty chilly during the winter.
Happy 4th!
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Wow I love those covers. So nice. The roots are the thing to keep cool. And please, post away on this thread, ANYONE - pics, whatever. This is a hot topic, lolz.
Here’s that male from last night that I mentioned. It’s the last male in the pics above. It’s doing well enough that I think it’ll make it. He’s in the grow room to triage
As far as why sdo I leave my aloe to sit for 10 days - it activates the enzymes in the stalk and creates more of the effective growth enzymes I’m wanting to harvest from the plant. This, in return, helps my plants more.
And as far as how much aloe is needed. I can’t say. I mean it grows here very easily, especially with some water. I now have a bunch of Aloe Vera plants around my yard and at my garden so I’m pretty set up. It’s taken some time to establish all these plants, but you gotta start somwhere. Here’s one of my also plots - a little ragged but a great resource
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transplanted some last night, didnt check the weather, going to 100F today. 
so far so good though. for transplanted dont see any other way than at night here, plenty of moisture left at sunrise thankfully.
hoping you guys in the desert keep those girls hydrated.
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Made in the shade, by the @shade 
I saw this article today - they seem to send it out every season and it’s always a good read. Anyway, some info on AV
Enhanced resilience
Aloe vera also contains enzymes and plant hormones that help to reduce transplant shock, and boost the plant’s resilience to drought, stress, and disease. For instance, the high levels of acemannan and saponin found in aloe vera both provide antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral properties. This helps to protect plants from pathogens including harmful microbes, fungus, yeast, mold, or blight.
Last but not least, the high levels of salicylic acid naturally found in aloe vera plays a big role in its healing powers! You’ve probably heard of salicylic acid before; it’s commonly found in skincare products to fight blemishes. In a similar manner, salicylic acid enhances the plant’s version of an immune system (known as the systemic immune response or SAR) that will help them fend off disease.
The combination of all these things leads to happier, healthier plants that are more resilient to disease, pest pressure, as well as environmental stresses like transplanting, drought, chilling, heat, soil-borne contaminants, and more. Resilient plants require far less fussing and frustration, so you’ll be much happier too!
and then there’s this article, which talks about AV as a rooting hormone, and the natural PGRs (plant growth regulators) it has. The paper is titled, Effect of Aloe vera Gel for Inducing Rooting of Stem Cuttings and Air layering of Plants By Menaka-Fernando
(it’s not letting me post the link but the paper is on ResearchGate, and this is the Abstract:
Abstract and Figures
Plant growth regulators (PGRs) are important to facilitate root formation and firm plant establishment hence used in vegetative propagation for many years. Farmers use natural alternative compounds to induce rooting of cuttings. The present study was conducted to identify the effect of Aloe vera gel on root formation of stem cuttings and air layering of plants. Three experiments were conducted to compare Aloe vera gel with commercially available PGR for root induction of semi hardwood cuttings (Citrus aurantifolia)), softwood cuttings (Coleus spp) and air layering plants of Syzygium jambos. Total root length, number of roots and root vigour were not significantly different among treatments for semi hardwood cuttings of Citrus aurantifolia, softwood cuttings of Coleus spp and air layering plants of Syzygium jambos. Furthermore, effect of PGR and Aloe vera gel was not significant for Citrus aurantifolia and Syzygium jambos. However, effect of PGR was significantly different when compared to cuttings did not receive either Aloe vera gel or PGR. Synthetic PGRs can be replaced by Aloe vera gel, a natural alternative root inducing substance, for semi hardwood cuttings of Citrus aurantifolia and air layering of Syzygium jambos but not for softwood cuttings of Coleus spp. These finding could be used in developing natural root inducing substance and resolving and reducing the risk of chemical toxicity in plants due to PGRs.
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