6 Ways the Weather Is Ruining Your Garden—Plus How to Protect Your Plants

Some years it feels like one garden failure follows another. Powdery mildew coats the leaves of roses and zinnias, blazing heat withers your veggies, and weeds are the only plants that seem to be thriving. As a gardener, you might think you must be doing something wrong, but the culprit is often the weather.

Across the United States, weather patterns have been so volatile and punishing in recent years that even expert gardeners are throwing their hands up. Here are 6 common extreme weather conditions that are especially hard on plants, plus tips for adapting your gardening tactics to avoid damage.

1. High Heat

In 2025, the U.S. had the third-warmest May in 131 years, according to NOAA. A heat wave hit most of the country in mid-July, requiring lots of watering and the installation of shade cloth to prevent plants from shriveling and dying. Even nighttime temperatures were hotter than usual, which caused reduced pollination in plants as well as heat stress.

Above average heat can result in fewer flowers and fruits. For example, maybe you haven't been getting as many tomatoes and peppers from your plants this year. It's likely not because of you, but because of the temperatures. Many types of plants under prolonged heat stress will fail to flower and set fruit. Extreme heat also causes herbs like basil and lettuce to bolt sooner.

2. High Humidity

High humidity is just as detrimental to gardens as heat. In 2025, the humidity was off the charts in about two-thirds of the country, with a dew point 5 to 7 degrees higher than average. Humidity at this level hinders a plant’s ability to draw nutrients from the soil or get water to evaporate from its leaves. It also leads to fungal diseases, stunted growth, and contributes to root rot.

The activity of pollinators also slows down in high humidity; bees, butterflies, and other pollinating insects don’t move much when the air feels like a sauna. The result is poor fruit set because less pollen is ending up where it needs to go.

3. Drought

Many regions of the United States are struggling with drought. The Southwestern U.S. has been dealing with a mega-drought for around 20 years. With a near-complete failure of the monsoon season in Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico in 2025, the Rio Grande has run dry in New Mexico, only the second time in 40 years that the fourth-longest river in the U.S. has turned into a dry, cracked riverbed.

It’s not just a Southwestern problem. According to NOAA, about a third of the U.S. was in a drought as of July. If you live in a place affected by drought, your plants have been thirsty and stressed, stunting their growth and making them more vulnerable to pests and disease. Aphids and spider mites reproduce rapidly in dry conditions, overwhelming both edibles and ornamentals as they feed and spread.

In some places with extreme drought conditions, there are even watering restrictions that limit how much you can run your sprinklers. Even using every drop of graywater from your home can only do so much to keep your plants alive through several months without rain.

4. Excessive Rain

In areas that are not suffering from generational drought, there's often the other extreme of too much rain. Much of the central and eastern United States has had above-average rainfall in 2025, with many states having their wettest May on record. The West Coast was hit with historic amounts of rain from January to March.

April showers may bring spring flowers, but record-breaking atmospheric rivers of rain bring dead flowers due to fungal diseases and root rot. Constantly damp conditions also cause an explosion in the slug and snail population, which devour your plants’ new growth and your seedlings as soon as they pop up.

5. Floods

Part of the erratic weather pattern of recent years is that when rain arrives, it comes down in torrents. In 2025, the National Weather Service issued more than 3,000 flash flood warnings, the highest number on record since the modern flood alert system began 40 years ago. Major flooding events occurred in many parts of the country.

Other than bog gardens and garden ponds, flooded soil is disastrous for plants. Roots soon drown in waterlogged conditions. Plus floodwaters wash away soil and potentially carry pollutants and pathogens that contaminate edible plants.

6. Extreme and Erratic Winters

Winter weather has become just as unpredictable, with polar vortex events bringing intense cold to much of the U.S. In January 2025, the cold went all the way to the Gulf Coast, killing citrus trees and freezing the buds off camellias and azaleas. New Orleans, a town where the only ice one ever sees is in a cocktail glass, got eight inches of snow and suffered through days of single-digit temperatures.

The opposite, warmer-than-average winter temperatures, also happen. In a warm spell, plants put out new growth earlier than usual. If temperatures drop again below freezing or, in the extreme case, a polar vortex sweeps through, plants get damaged. The buds and leaves that emerged in the premature warm weather freeze and wither. Plant development gets set back weeks, or, worst case scenario, there are no blueberries, azaleas, or peaches that year.

Tips for Gardening in Extreme Weather Conditions

When it comes to the weather, the one thing you can count on is that conditions won't always be ideal for the plants you want to grow. The more you can prepare for extremes with the following tips, the better off your garden will be.

Make smarter plant choices. Plants that thrived in your garden 20 years ago may struggle now in a hotter, more volatile climate. Before selecting plants, check the 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map. It may put your area in the next warmer subzone than the previous map from 2012. If so, look for varieties adapted to or bred for hotter, more humid weather. Choose native plants that evolved to endure drought and heat.

Move plants. The adage about the key to gardening success being to put the right plant in the right place has never been truer. Plants that did fine in full sun a decade ago may need some afternoon shade to survive an August heatwave now. Consider moving perennials to more hospitable places in your yard. Try raised beds instead of the ground to better control the water, pests, and soil conditions.

Prepare for frequent downpours. To handle torrential rains, direct water away from your garden with dry creek beds and swales. Create a rain garden of water-loving native plants to capture and absorb runoff.

Manage erratic frosts. Keep plant covers on hand to protect your garden from late frosts that damage new growth. Or wait to move tender plants from pots to planting beds until all danger of freezing weather has passed.