When temperatures rise, plants in the garden can suffer and need water. But is it better to water them in the morning or in the evening? Both solutions have advantages and disadvantages.
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Like all living beings, plants need water to live. Water is mainly used to transport nutrients from the ground to the cells. The plant must also replace the water it loses at the level of the stomata, openings that are used for gas exchange. When it’s hot, the plants lose more water and they have to be watered, but when?
In general, it is not recommended to water in full Sun because the water may evaporate. If you water in the evening, the water has time to penetrate the floor and to be taken up by plants; but if the leaves stay wet at night, it can promote disease. In the morning, the leaves will dry faster but the water will have less time to penetrate the soil and be absorbed, because of the heat.
Watering the soil to reach the roots
Alastair Culham, botanist at the University of Reading who writes an article on this subject in The Conversation, advises instead to water early in the morning, which gives the plants time to dry out. Water well at ground level, not on the plant. Mulching around the plant will help retain water.
The author advises against watering the lawn. Don’t be afraid to let it dry, it will come back when it rains but avoid walking on it when it’s dry.
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