The Best Time to water your garden

I get conflicting advice about the best time of day to water the garden. What do you think is the best time?

When to water depends to a great extent on what part of the country you live in, the kind of plants you grow and the time of year. In summer, it is best to water plants early in the morning, as this will keep them damp during the hot part of the day. This applies especially to newly planted bedding plants and vegetables, which may need to be watered again in the afternoon if the weather is hot — and in very hot, dry weather may even need watering at midday as well to keep them from flagging. The watering time is not so important for well-established trees and shrubs, but if you water at midday a lot of the moisture will be lost from evaporation.

Late afternoon watering is not always advisable: certain plants, such as roses, dahlias and tomatoes, are prone to mildew; a fungus disease which is encouraged if the foliage of the plants is damp in the evening. Plants which need a high humidity in summer, such as fuchsias, azaleas and ferns, will benefit from having their foliage lightly sprinkled at midday if the weather is very hot and dry, particularly in the winter rainfall regions and other areas which have dry summer conditions.

In winter, the watering pattern tends to change. In frost-free regions, morning watering is still probably the best, but in colder areas where frost is a problem it is better to wait until the damp soil has dried out a little and conditions are warmer. Plants with soft, new leaves (such as bedding plants and vegetables) should not be watered late in the afternoon as the drops of water on the foliage could turn to ice during the night and cause a great deal of damage. So in the colder regions, it is best to water the garden between early and mid-morning during the winter months.

How often to water

In summer, I usually water my garden every day but lam told this is wrong. Why is this?

If you really soak your garden every day then you may well be over-watering your plants. If the soil is kept constantly damp with little chance to dry out, it could suffer from a lack of oxygen — plants would grow badly and be prone to fungus diseases, especially root rot. On the other hand, if you are only lightly sprinkling your plants, you may not be giving them enough water, particularly the more deeply rooted trees, shrubs and perennials.

It is really much better to soak your garden thoroughly, and then allow the surface of the soil to dry out a little before watering again. In very hot weather, this might bee very other day, while in cooler conditions and if there is some rain, only every 4-5 days. Obviously, newly planted plants should be watered more frequently until they are well established, and bedding plants and vegetables which are shallow-rooted may well need water every day to keep them growing on strongly.

It is most important not to forget to water your garden in winter, especially in the summer rain all regions. Just because it’s cold, it doesn’t mean that your garden won’t need any water. Evergreen shrubs and plants should be watered deeply about once a week, while indigenous varieties from the winter rainfall regions will need watering 2-3 times a week. Certain exotic plants — such as azaleas and camellias — also like plenty of water in winter, while some deciduous plants which come from damp regions should never be allowed to dry out.

Timing a sprinkler

I don’t have much time to water my garden, so I often use a sprinkler — how much water should I be giving my plants at a time?

This depends on the kind of sprinkler — some water much more heavily than others. To be really effective — soaking well down into the soil and not just moistening the top few centimetres which will rapidly dry out — you should give the area the equivalent of 30-40 mm of rain.

To determine how long to leave your sprinkler in one place, put a small, shallow tin or rain gauge in a position halfway between the head of the sprinkler and the outer edge of the spray. Then time how long it takes to fill up the tin or rain gauge to 30-40 mm. With some sprinklers, this may only behalf an hour, while with others it may take up to an hour. When watering, don’t leave the sprinkler on one spot longer than the determined time. Plants can only take up a certain amount of water atone time — giving them extra means that water is going to be wasted.

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