When should you replenish your plants with water? Does it even matter what time?

According to gardening experts, there is an ideal time to water your beloved plants: in the morning. Below, you’ll find everything you need to know about the watering schedules for both indoor and outdoor plants.

Indoor plants: If you give your plant water in the middle of the day when the sun is shining in full force, chances are the water will evaporate quickly and not soak into the soil. That’s why watering in the morning is wise. The same is true for indoor plants that don’t get as much natural sunlight as they’d like to. If you water in the morning, the multiple hours of daylight ahead helps to pull the water out immediately, meaning your plant won’t sit in wet potting mix for too long.

Outdoor plants: Similarly to indoor plants, watering in the morning helps set them up for the day. With that said, you may have to water your outdoor plants both in the morning and the evening on those hotter summer days to make sure they get enough moisture. Especially annuals and vegetables benefit from morning waterings because they generally have shallower roots and not as much access to deeper soil moisture. And if you’ve just potted or repotted an outdoor plant you might want to give some extra water in the morning. Newly installed plants require more watering until they’re established, and conserving soil moisture is critical for this.