# Extreme weather leaves gardeners hedging their bets

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/extreme-weather-leaves-gardeners-hedging-their-bets/
- Published: 2026-11-14T07:12:14+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-14T08:21:01+00:00
- Original publisher: BBC Science (publisher lean: Centre)
- Original article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c6qj5r2qzqpwo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss
- Topics: Science

## Key points

- Sussex gardens are adapting after severe drought and record heat.
- Gardeners are considering a wider range of plants from abroad.
- Future planting will involve gradual change and experimentation.

## Summary

Gardeners in Sussex are changing their planting plans after record heat and severe drought damaged traditional plants, with some rhododendrons dying. They say a gradual shift towards a wider range of species could help gardens remain resilient as extreme weather becomes more common.

The gardeners are considering plants from North America, south-eastern Europe, Central Asia, South Korea and Japan. A further drought could harm mature trees, while choosing suitable replacements remains uncertain, so gardeners expect to experiment and accept that some plants will not survive.

---
Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.