Water well, not often. Forget the little daily splash — a good, slow, deep soak two or three times a week does far more good. Let the water sink right down to the roots rather than skate off the top of dry soil. Mornings or evenings are best, when less disappears into the air before it's done any good.
Mulch, mulch, mulch. A generous layer around the base — bark, compost, even grass cuttings — keeps moisture locked in and the roots cooler underneath. Just leave a little breathing room right around the trunk.
Give young trees a bit of extra love. If you've planted anything in the last couple of years, it simply hasn't had time to grow the root system it needs to cope alone yet. This goes for pretty much
everything we grow here — oak, rowan, hawthorn, amelanchier, crab apple, flowering cherry, walnut — they'll all be grateful for a bit of extra watering while they're finding their feet. This is where a good watering bag earns its keep — fill it once and it feeds water down to the roots slowly overnight, so you're not out there every evening with the hose. We sell these ourselves for exactly this reason, and they're one of the simplest bits of kit you can buy for a young tree.
Leave the secateurs in the shed. Pruning tells a tree to put out fresh new growth, and fresh growth is the last thing you want in a heatwave — it's thirsty and it scorches easily. Save the pruning for cooler days.
And don't forget to actually enjoy it. It's easy to think of a heatwave as something to survive. But it's also a wonderful excuse to sit out a bit longer, watch the light through the leaves, and appreciate the shade your trees are quietly giving back to you. That's half the reason we all plant them in the first place.
