Will my brown plants survive?
Maggie Hayo, by email
Stefan says: Yours must be a familiar story in gardens everywhere. You have plants that have turned brown through lack of water this summer. In your case, it’s crocosmia, Lobelia cardinalis, gooseberry and buddleja, a pretty diverse selection, embracing both herbaceous perennials and shrubs. You ask if this will have killed the roots, or just the leaves and flowers?
There is no single answer to this and I can only suggest you ensure the plants are given as much water as possible now (accepting that some areas of the country still have hosepipe bans) and also liquid feed.
Dead herbaceous growth will be obvious and should be cut back but I wouldn’t prune shrubs, no matter how dead they may look, until next spring when new growth may well appear.