Morning or evening: when is the best time to water your plants?

Growing plants means asking questions you'd never have thought of if you hadn't set foot in a garden center or nursery: Gardening: do I need a drainage layer? Should houseplants be misted? Fortunately, Monstera has the answers. Today, we explain the best time to water your plants.

The best time to water your plants is in the morning. Plants take a break at night, just like we do. When day breaks, they're ready to resume their activity. So they can make full use of the water you provide. All varieties, whether planted in pots or in the ground, indoors or out, prefer morning watering.

Watering in the morning also helps prevent the appearance of certain diseases and pests. Water evaporates faster during the day than at night. By giving your plants a drink before noon, you avoid creating an overly humid climate, conducive to the development of fungi and invasions by slugs and snails.

Finally, when you're outdoors, watering at the start of the day reduces the risk of frost. When you water your garden in the evening and temperatures fall below freezing at night, the water freezes and can damage the roots. By watering in the morning, the excess water will have had time to disappear.

You don't have to get up at the crack of dawn to water your plants. You can do it with your coffee or just before lunch. And to make sure you remember, you can set the Monstera app' s reminder times to coincide with your schedule.

In summer too, you can water your flowers, vegetable garden and houseplants in the morning. But in hot weather, this isn't necessarily the best time. Opt instead for evening watering to reduce the frequency.

As we've said, water evaporates faster during the day. It evaporates even more quickly when the mercury rises. The soil and roots don't have time to absorb the water. So you need to water abundantly and frequently to meet your plants' needs.

This is particularly true of potted plants grown outdoors. And the smaller the container, the more often you need to water! It can take as little as 24 hours for the potting soil to dry out and change color. You'll find yourself watering your geraniums or petunias every day.

The same applies to potted plants that stay indoors during the summer months. Unless you've turned up the air conditioning, the temperature in your home rises. The soil dries out faster and you need to water more frequently.

Here again, there's no need to change your rhythm and wake up in the middle of the night. Take out your watering can after dinner or before going to bed, when the sun starts to set too.

You water your garden at night, but you're tired of seeing your strawberries, sunflowers and tomatoes eaten by slugs? Choose to water from the neck rather than from the head. Remove the bulb from your watering can or set your hose to the spray position. Then direct it directly into the soil at the foot of the plant. You'll reduce humidity, including on the leaves, and the gastropods will be less attracted.

It's often said that you should never water your plants during the day, especially in hot weather. Blame it on the magnifying glass effect. Drops of water left on foliage concentrate the sun's rays. Once overpowered, they burn the limbs.

A drop of water has as much chance of turning the sun into a death ray as you have of being disfigured if you make a face in a draught. While the magnifying glass effect can indeed reduce a car to ashes, the fire occurs when the object is moved away from the magnifying glass. Your drop of water, on the other hand, is stuck to the leaf.

The only risk would be for plants with downy foliage: a drop of water clinging to the hairs could act as a magnifying glass. But don't panic, the drop will be gone long before it burns anything.

Watering during the day is even recommended for plants in small pots or seedlings. The former see the substrate drying out too quickly and may need extra water in the afternoon when temperatures are very high. The latter require constant humidity. And when the mercury rises above 30°C, you may need to water them several times a day.