The Free Press, Mankato, MN

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July 15, 2011

A week of searing heat coming this weekend

By Brian Ojanpa The Free Press

— Are you ready to meet your baker?

Summer’s hottest blasts are about to arrive from the heavens, bringing with it a week of 90-and-above temperatures, dizzying dewpoints and sun searing enough to sap a camel.

The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat watch for the Mankato area that will be in effect from Sunday afternoon through Wednesday evening as heat indexes could soar above 100.

The heat index is a measurement combining air temperature and relative humidity to determine the human-perceived “real feel” equivalent temperature.

This will be the area’s second spate of super-heated air this year.

 In early June at least half a dozen people went to the Mankato hospital with heat-related illnesses as record-breaking temperatures on successive days hit 99 and 102.

Horticulturists say flowers and other plants susceptible to heat stress will require due diligence in coming days.

Drummers Garden Center and Floral Assistant Manager Sarah Malchow said it’s important to water hanging basket and pots in the morning to hydrate them for the day ahead, then check on them in the evening to make sure they haven’t dried out.

“And go ahead and give your flowers a haircut; they’ll bounce back,” she said of plants that may be starting to get that dry and scraggly look.

New in-ground plantings also need attention during heat waves.

“For any material installed in 2011, you need to keep an eye on them because they’re just getting established.”

Water them when necessary, but don’t overwater, she said. To tell if new plantings need a drink, Malchow recommends probing the soil with a low-tech water meter — your hand.

As for spraying lawns for bugs and weeds, hold off if the temperature is above 80, lest you fry your grass as well.       

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