Watering is a must for any plant. Whether the nature shower or regular water by gardeners/farmers, plenty of water is essential for your green friends. However, just watering the plants on a routine without knowing when your plants need that, is a foolish act. So, watering the plants randomly is not the idea. We should count on the best time to water the plants and the worst time to water plants. You should follow a legit practice. So, let’s explore more about the worst time to water plants in depth. Shall we begin? Let’s go.
Water: The essential for plant
If we focus on the plant’s morphological characteristics, then it is clear that 90-95% of plant tissue is made from water. There is a part in the plant called vacuole that is full of water. And this water creates the turgidity of plants.
You can’t think of growing plants without watering them. Yes, there are a couple of plants that almost every plant doesn’t like wet feet. But water is always a regulator for plant growth. Green foliage needs water for photosynthesis to produce food. Thinking of seed germination? There you also need water to support those seed sprouts.
Water is a magical nutrient for plants. It not only allows the plants to produce food but also it…
- Helps to build the plant’s cellular structure
- Plants movement for example a plant with optimum moisture content/ turgidity will be more rigid and its leaves will be shiny. But without the water, the plants will lean down and look lifeless. The turgidity helps the plants to standout from rains, winds and etc.
These are some knowledge about water’s role on plant life spread by the West Virginia Extension. Overall, water for plants is a thumb rule for the plants’ wellbeing as well as for our wellbeing. Translocation of the plants nutrients and transpiration of the stomata are always connected with the flow of optimum water in your plant.
Too much water or less water?
Moving on to another important thing. Now that water is a must for your plant but how much water? Green plants are of different types, some are perennial, annual, indoor, cactus, flowers, veggie plants, and many more. According to the type of plants, the water requirement is also different.
A simple rule for your plant watering considers the growing medium composition. Soil is the growing medium/ support system of the plants. Soil has 25% water, 25% air and 5% organic matter, 45% minerals. So, the soil already has a portion of water if it is fertile. So, watering limit is always necessary. Huge amount of water is not good at all.
For example, for a plant’s overall growth the growing medium soil, habitat, surrounding plantation, and pest control management are very necessary. Likewise, you need to know what amount of water your plant craves and what’s the best time to pour that water? Simple. Let’s see some basic watering rule for different types of plants:
Flower- Pants: A flowering plant needs extra care regarding the watering section on its growing season. You can be like hire & fire. A gardener must have knowledge of watering. He should water the flower plants so that one inch of its top soil is moist. Watering the plants once or twice a week is must if rain occurs then you might change the watering schedule. So, be in the good book. Again the best time would be early morning or afternoon.
Vegetable plants: Same goes for vegetable plant. In the growing season, it requires watering every week at least one inch of water on the plants. Do not overwater or less water the veggie plants that can worse off your harvest.
Indoor plants: The indoor plants often don’t need regular watering. You need a lot of water into your indoor plants. They are more self-sustaining. So, put water after a week is okay for the indoor plants
Hence, the watering routine depends on different factors like temperature, humidity, and USDA zone, soil type. A fixed schedule of watering will never work for you.
The worst time to water plants can provoke many diseases. Then let’s see what are the diseases due to overwatering-
Foliar leaf spot: Overhead watering influences the yellow halos on your plant leaves.
Pythium: This disease has another name that is basal stem. It happens when the soil is too moist and the microbe named pythium in the soil attack the plants. Mostly the stems and roots of the plants are affected due to this over watering disease.
Root rot: Plants wilting, yellow leaves and under growth are the symptoms of the root rotting.
Rhizoctonia: It shows off due to the Rhizoctonia solani fungus. This plant disease happens due to the overwatering. When this fungus affects the plant yield is less and the plant becomes lifeless.
The Best and worst time to water plants
The top two worst time to water the plants are the middle of the day and late night time. Simply when the sun is in the head and when the sun sets/ dark. Let’s see the time to water the plants:
Night time: This is the worst time to water plants. Watering in the night may induce pathogenic activity due to low air movement. If you are watering the leaves from the overhead direction, it can hinder plant growth. So, avoid watering at this time.
Early morning watering: What about the early morning watering? Well, it is the best time to water your plants. By this time water can penetrate through the soil and plants can drink the water for its all mechanisms and get ready for the day ahead. Moreover, watering in the early morning from 6-7 am can save your water. How? Evening and mid-day watering are the worst time to water plants.
Mid-day watering: It is also the worst time to water plants. Because the water gets dried up by the high heat of sun and the plants starts to turn yellow due to lack of water. But here is the twist many gardeners and horticulturist believes this an old myth.
They speak that plant your water whenever they need it. Exceptions might occur. If you are busy and forget to water the plants at the morning, you can just water them at the midday. Leaves burning can occur/ not but your plant will be happy for rest of the day.
Evening watering: Well it is not the worst time to water plants. You can easily water the plants when the midday sun gets down. Many people suggest to water the plants at the morning and in the evening.
Now that you know what’s the worst time to water plants- plant rearing becomes easier for you, isn’t it?
Best Tips for watering the plants
Summer tips: If you have summer that really hits your plant, then you can just re-schedule the watering table and water the plants 2 times a week/ day. It will give your plants more strength.
Seedling tips: Do not over water your seedlings or less water. If you have seedlings then you need save them from heavy heat, so water them more often even daily watering is okay for them.
Prop tips: The irrigation needs a pipe, pot or simply the hands. While the garden bed needs watering by pipe and even with pots. Sometimes, the gardeners can simply sprinkle the water on the top of the seedlings or plants when it’s a hot summer.
Mulching tips: To hold the moisture content of your soil, mulching is always the best option for dry season. So, collect all the dry leaves, roots residue from your surrounding and place them on the roots of your plants. It will replenish your soil moisture content. If you forget watering during the dry periods but you put mulches, you are good to go.
FAQ
So, let’s see the shorts coming everyone faces related to worst time to water plants. These are:
When should we not water the plants?
When the sun is just above the head/ full sun, then we might avoid the watering because the water dries up quickly. So, the water ultimately doesn’t penetrate to the roots.
Can I water my plants at 4 PM?
Well, it depends, if the afternoons are not hot and if you forget to water the plants in the morning, you can water the plants at 4 PM or you can wait till the evening.
Is it OK to water the plants at 11PM?
No, it’s not ok to water the plants at late night. It is one of the worst time to water plants. So, avoid watering at the night otherwise the soil will become soggy.
Last Thought
As we know water is essential for plants, and the watering technique, and timing are also necessary. So, note down the worst time to water plants. Check the watering time and do it correctly so that gardening/ green friends stay lively all the time!