When is the best time to water my houseplants?
We all want to be the best plant parents we can be, but it can be a daunting task taking care of multiple precious plant babies. Watering your plants is arguably the most important part of your weekly plant care routine. It can help determine whether your plants thrive, or call it quits. But have you ever wondered, “when, exactly, is the best time to water my plants?” Well that’s a great question!
In your plants’ natural habitats — they’re watered whenever ‘Mother Nature’ wants to water them. It can rain at any time of the day. But inside, where you're in control, there actually is an ideal time to water: the morning!
Most plants like to be watered in the morning hours. They need to bulk up on water before the sun is shining in full force and cooks the water off. Watering in the morning hours is also a good strategy for plants that do not get as much natural sunlight as they’d like to, because the multiple hours of daylight ahead helps to pull the water out immediately, so they’re not sitting in wet potting mix for too long.
As for misting — for the plants that need to be misted to thrive like air plants and ferns — it’s best to mist them in the morning *and* the evening whenever possible. The morning mist helps to prepare them for the day ahead, while the evening misting helps create a little extra humidity. These plants will be especially grateful for that!
Misting in the evening hours is also a great way to give extra moisture (albeit temporary) to a plant that might be struggling in a dry indoor environment. For example, here in New York City, many of us apartment dwellers don’t have full control over our heating systems. That constant dry heat can really impact the health of your tropical houseplants. Mist around their space in the evening hours — or invest in a humidifier — to make them (and you!) smile.
P.S. You can learn more about watering your houseplants here.
Words By The Sill
Empowering all people to be plant people—a collection of articles from The Sill’s team of plant experts across a variety of plant care topics to inspire confidence in the next generation of plant parents. Welcome to Plant Parenthood™.
