What do your plants need? What is it that all living entities cannot live without? I’m sure that you have correctly answered water which is the crucial life sustaining element for all carbon based life. As humans, our bodies are made up of approximately 60% water by weight. Some plants can contain as much as 95% water by weight. 
That is a great deal of water which needs to be replenished daily. If we perform physically demanding activities, our bodies will transpire (sweat) water in an effort to keep us cool. Plants, likewise transpire to pull up moisture from the roots. This process also helps to cool the plant. In hot, dry conditions, the demand for water increases for all living things due to transpiration.
If you live in a home that has clean drinking water, consider yourself blessed. If your home has an automatic underground irrigation system, consider yourself immensely lucky. Although an automatic irrigation system helps to keep your plants alive, it could not and did not help with the affects of record heat. Even under automatic irrigation, many trees and shrubs exhibit scorched and partially dried leaves while some leafy perennial plants appeared as if someone took a blow-torch to them. Most soft perennials such as daylilies and hosta, for example, are very resilent and most of their foliage damage is purely cosmetic. Your trees and shrubs on the otherhand may still be stressed from the excessive heat and drought. This years record breaking drought and scorching heat wave made this year a truly formidable year for woody plants to survive.
The absolute most important thing that you can do for your plants this fall is quite simple. Although it’s not free, the fix is about as cheap as it gets. Water. If you believe that your plants are losing leaves, going dormant and don’t need a drink, you couldn’t be more wrong. Your plants roots are very active in the fall storing water and nutrients for the cold winter months ahead. A dry plant that goes into the winter season dry may well not survive come springtime. A cold dry winter would spell diaster for already stressed trees and shrubs. So this fall, don’t forget to give your landscape a good thorough drink. Usually a soaker hose or a regular garden hose running at a slow trickle for a good hour will be sufficient for most younger trees. Shrubs will require less. Don’t forget your soft perennials too. Their roots and crown require moisture too!
