Gardeners urged to do one simple task this week to stop plants dying

Plants drenched in hours upon hours of sunshine this week are at risk of wilting prematurely and dying - but that's only if you don't pay them extra attention.

Gardens can be hard to keep up with, especially with the variations in Britain's weather lending many of us to change our tactics to ensure foliage, flowers, lawns and climbing plants are all catered for.

But this week the has confirmed there's a real likelihood of a engulfing much of the country, with the south east of England firmly in the firing line. This means south-facing yards, or spaces with very little shelter or shade may find themselves

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This can obviously cause stress and strain to many plants which need additional help to survive. KnowHow, an advice-driven website, has urged gardeners to simply go around pruning any dead foliage or leaves off plants to stop them from having to work extra hard unnecessarily.

The site says: "While heavy pruning will add further stress to the plant, trimming away any severely damaged or scorched leaves and dead flowers is beneficial. This will reduce the plant’s energy expenditure on these parts.

"Always use sharp scissors or hand pruners to minimise harm. Wipe the blades with a cloth soaked in sterilized solution between plants, to avoid transferring disease."

It may also be tempting to add some fertiliser to plants that are looking a little worse for wear. But experts advise against this purely because it will put it under additional strain as the plant tries to produce new shoots when it should be focusing on recovery.

It adds: "Hold off on fertilising plants until they show strong signs of recovery. Feeding encourages plants to redirect energy toward new growth when it needs to go into repair. This will place too much stress on the plant, and lead to weak growth."

People are advised to wait for the heatwave to pass and for the plant in question to look like it's getting better. The only exception is if the plant has already peaked for the year, in which case it may be best to refrain from adding any fertiliser at all.

Keep watering your plants, but be mindful

Gardeners are advised to keep watering their plants in extreme temperatures but to , avoiding the midday heat as a major rule.

This is because water can prematurely evaporate, lessening its chance of impact and also encouraging leaves and foliage to scorch.

This often all happens before the water has even had a chance to reach the roots. In times of a blistering mercury, it's best to water very early in the morning or late at night when temperatures have started to drop off.

The advice also applies to lawns and anyone tempted to turn on a sprinkler or hose in the middle of the day to try and keep their grass green. Lawns are notoriously hard to maintain in dry, hot weather - but watering once the sun has gone down is still advised by experts.