Never Make One Common Watering Mistake If You Want Your Plants To Survive A Heat Wave

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

According to the weather app on your phone, it's a record-breaking scorcher. If you're a gardener, your first thought when you know hot weather is coming is what to do about your plants. It doesn't matter if you grow prize-winning petunias or just enough veggies to make a salad for you and your loved ones — if you put in the hard work of planting everything, you don't want to see it shrivel and die under a blistering sun. But it will take more than turning on a garden hose to keep the flowers and vegetables producing so that your vases are full of cut flowers and you have enough surplus zucchini to drop on your neighbors' doorsteps. You'll want to avoid making this one common watering mistake if you want your plants to survive the coming heat wave: Avoid watering during the hottest times of the day. Your edible crops, for example, are going to be especially happy if you choose the morning to haul out the hose or the watering can, since it's the best time of day to water your vegetable garden. That goes for flowers, too. By watering in the mornings, your plants can soak up the moisture before being stressed by the heat.

You can make the task a little easier with the right equipment, such as a 2-gallon watering can with a long nozzle and detachable head. Since it's plastic, you can leave it outside if it's easier, but don't leave it full of water, as this could attract mosquitoes to your yard.

The ideal way to help your plants survive a heat wave is to make sure they get a long, cool drink of water first thing in the morning. Of course, any water is better than no water, but you might be asking yourself all sorts of questions about the other times of day. For example, you should think twice before watering your plants at night. Maybe you work all day, and the evening is just the best time for you. If you must water at night, it's better than not watering at all, but be especially careful not to overwater since the water might not be taken up by the plants as quickly overnight and could put them at risk of developing fungal diseases.

Perhaps the time of day that's most convenient for you happens to be the middle of the day, but someone told you that you'll burn your flowers and veggies. Now you're wondering, does watering on a sunny day really burn your plants? There is an urban myth that the water droplets become miniscule magnifying glasses that burn the delicate flowers, stems, and leaves of the plants. That isn't true, but it's still not ideal to water plants during peak heat because it's likely that the water will evaporate before fully soaking into the soil. If morning watering isn't an option, irrigation can solve the problem of speedy evaporation during the heat of the day. A drip irrigation system is easy to set up and use. For beginners, consider something like the 55-foot Maotong drip irrigation system kit, which also works for raised beds.