CHARLOTTE – When is the best time to water my plants?  

Advice on when to water plants varies greatly and can be confusing. There are actually two simple options.

Watering Plants in the Morning

The best time to water plants is in the early morning, while it is still cool. This will allow the water to run down into the soil and reach the roots of the plant without water being lost to evaporation. Watering in the early morning will also make the water available to the plants throughout the day, so that the plants will be able to deal better with the heat of the sun. There is a gardening myth that watering in the morning will make the plants susceptible to scorch. This is not true. Even in intense heat, the water droplets evaporate long before they can magnify the sunlight and scorch the plants.

Watering Plants in the Afternoon

Sometimes, due to a busy schedule, it can be difficult to water in the early morning. The second-best time to water your plants is late afternoon or early evening.

If you are watering in late afternoon, heat intensity is subsiding but there should still be enough sun left to dry the plants a bit before night falls. Watering plants in the late afternoon or early evening also cuts down on evaporation and allows the plants several hours without sun to absorb water. Make sure that the leaves have a little time to dry before night comes. Damp leaves at night encourage fungus problems which can harm your plants. Drip or soaker irrigation systems eliminate the problem of wet leaves allowing watering right up until nightfall.