Hot take: my neighbor's "just water them at night" advice ruined my roses

Old Mr. Henderson told me to water my roses after sunset to save water, but after 3 weeks every single one had powdery mildew. Has anyone else had a supposedly pro tip backfire like this?

3 comments

3 Comments

uma_williams19d ago

The "just water them at night" advice got me too. Lost a whole batch of hydrangeas to black spot in less than a month.

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parker_palmer4419d ago

Oh man, the "just water them at night" advice is a total trap. I fell for it too with my roses last summer. Thought I was being smart keeping the leaves dry, but all I did was create a swamp at the roots and invite every fungal disease in the neighborhood. @uma_williams I feel your pain on those hydrangeas, that's a rough loss. Now I water early morning before the sun gets high, or if I have to do evening watering I point the hose right at the soil and not the leaves. Learned that one the hard way after my zinnias looked like they had chicken pox. Gardening is just a series of expensive lessons, isn't it?

robins8319d ago

My buddy Mike swore by night watering for years until his entire vegetable patch got wiped out by powdery mildew last August. He said the soil stayed soaking wet all night and the plants never dried out, so the fungus just took over everything. Now he sets his timer for 5am and waters at the base, too scared to even look at the leaves after dark lol.