water in morning is best but you can certainly water in late afternoon or early evening. If you water under full sun, you will lose a lot of your moisture to evaporation. For garden plants it is better to water at ground level and not on the foliage itself. Watering at night can also promote "bugs" like snails and slugs so if you can water in the morning it is better. One trick someone told me once and that I use is to place ice cubes in hanging baskets. They will melt over time. You do not want to put the cubes too close to the plant stems .
Water in the early morning hours and only give them more water if your area is hot and they have dried up but do this before the evening as the will then be to wet creating insects and diseases.
The very 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 too much excess water 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. First of all, almost all areas in the world do not get intense enough sun for water droplets to scorch the plants. Second of all, even if you live in an area where the sun is that intense, the water droplets would be evaporated in the heat long before they could focus the sunlight.
I have always been told that watering should be done before the sun gets too hot ( say before 9 am here in Colorado) and never after dark. Try to google this to see if it applies to your area.
Thank you all for the comments. The reason I like to water in the late afternoon is because it's my way to relax after weeding and cleaning up the yard.
I could never understand the limits on watering. I live in Louisiana..it rains allot..at different times of the day...and the plants are fine. I figure if Mother Nature can water the plants at all times of the day..so can I .
This was a very good question. I have always wondered the same thing and it has forced me to dig deeper. I found two sites with a healthy dose of information:
http://thedailysouth.southernliving.com/2011/07/12/dont-be-a-lawn-watering-dummy/ is a good site for beginners like me. A little harsh, but it gets the point across. I used to water my lawn daily with a sprinkler system for 5 minutes in California. Seems that that causes the roots to be shallow instead of deep. Watering in the morning encourages deeps roots and avoids mold or fungi. Who knew.
Water in the morning before it gets to hot. Watering in the morning gives the water on the leaves time to evaporate. If you do water in the afternoon do it before 4:00 pm. Watering before 4:00 pm is also a good rule for you indoor plants.
Some varieties of plants prefer evening watering..sun friendly / New Guinea Impatiens for one. And it's an old wives tail about water drops scorching leaves, can't focus the rays into it's on surface. Look it up.
You should only water when it is not hot, so you do not risk, burning the plants. especially lawns, as they tend to burn, and the groud seem's to soak's up the moistur fast. I am talking Australian conditions! Kay Adelaide Australia
Use soaker hose, that way you can give the garden a drink. A lot of the times I am not able to get to watering in the morning. Easy to start the water going with a soaker hose. I have a tiered yard and it is not always convenient to get way up the hills to the veggie garden with a hose, so I leave it hooked up and just need to turn on the water at the back of the house. This way I don't get water on anything but the soil.
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first, I love your garden🌷! If you must water later in the day, try to avoid wetting the leaves.
water in morning is best but you can certainly water in late afternoon or early evening. If you water under full sun, you will lose a lot of your moisture to evaporation. For garden plants it is better to water at ground level and not on the foliage itself. Watering at night can also promote "bugs" like snails and slugs so if you can water in the morning it is better. One trick someone told me once and that I use is to place ice cubes in hanging baskets. They will melt over time. You do not want to put the cubes too close to the plant stems .
watering in the morning is best because watering in the evening can cause a
fungus
Water in the early morning hours and only give them more water if your area is hot and they have dried up but do this before the evening as the will then be to wet creating insects and diseases.
It's not any different than if you had an evening storm, we can't tell it not to water the ground then, so it's okay any time of day.
You should only water when there is enough sunlight and warmth to dry out the surface. Watering in late evening can cause bugs and fungus.
Watering Plants in the Morning
The very 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 too much excess water 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. First of all, almost all areas in the world do not get intense enough sun for water droplets to scorch the plants. Second of all, even if you live in an area where the sun is that intense, the water droplets would be evaporated in the heat long before they could focus the sunlight.
I have always been told that watering should be done before the sun gets too hot ( say before 9 am here in Colorado) and never after dark. Try to google this to see if it applies to your area.
I usually tried to water in shade.....my gardens would enjoy it and get real perky!!
They were thristy and I WATERERING plentiful is the trick!!
Not to Drown, but a Drink, Dusk and/or Dawn.
Thank you all for the comments. The reason I like to water in the late afternoon is because it's my way to relax after weeding and cleaning up the yard.
Our townhouse association has the sprinklers set between 12 a.m and 6 a.m. in Colorado--seems to work fine :)
I could never understand the limits on watering. I live in Louisiana..it rains allot..at different times of the day...and the plants are fine. I figure if Mother Nature can water the plants at all times of the day..so can I .
This was a very good question. I have always wondered the same thing and it has forced me to dig deeper. I found two sites with a healthy dose of information:
http://thedailysouth.southernliving.com/2011/07/12/dont-be-a-lawn-watering-dummy/ is a good site for beginners like me. A little harsh, but it gets the point across. I used to water my lawn daily with a sprinkler system for 5 minutes in California. Seems that that causes the roots to be shallow instead of deep. Watering in the morning encourages deeps roots and avoids mold or fungi. Who knew.
https://www.reference.com/home-garden/efficient-way-water-lawn-summer-8ee5204a92a4e6d5?qo=similarQuestions provides some good information as well.
Good luck.
Water in the morning before it gets to hot. Watering in the morning gives the water on the leaves time to evaporate. If you do water in the afternoon do it before 4:00 pm. Watering before 4:00 pm is also a good rule for you indoor plants.
I water at about 4pm and live in Mississippi and don't have any trouble with bugs and the like
Some varieties of plants prefer evening watering..sun friendly / New Guinea Impatiens for one. And it's an old wives tail about water drops scorching leaves, can't focus the rays into it's on surface. Look it up.
You should only water when it is not hot, so you do not risk, burning the plants. especially lawns, as they tend to burn, and the groud seem's to soak's up the moistur fast. I am talking Australian conditions! Kay Adelaide Australia
Use soaker hose, that way you can give the garden a drink. A lot of the times I am not able to get to watering in the morning. Easy to start the water going with a soaker hose. I have a tiered yard and it is not always convenient to get way up the hills to the veggie garden with a hose, so I leave it hooked up and just need to turn on the water at the back of the house. This way I don't get water on anything but the soil.