What is the right time to water plants ,when the sun is out or late afternoon when the sun is lower

I have always heard that they should be watered early in the day to allow any water on leaves to dry during the day, supposedly this is to avoid fungal infections and disease.

thats correct wohlibuli , water on the leaves on delicate plants when the sun is out can work like a magnifying glass and damage the plant , water at night or first thing in the morning I reckon

i actualy keep the hose down low and just water the ground as leaves havnt the capacity to take water in.id say early evening as it will stay nice and cool.if you do splash some on ya leaves then they got all night to lose the droplets.alsoi if you do that you can go and catch all your slugs and snails bye hand.

One of the BBC g.w. presenters recommended not watering at veggies plants at night, as this makes it easier for mulluscs to travel to eat. But if you know the plants don't get eaten and plants are well established, then soaking at night is better, as the heat of the sun evaporates the morning water. (just to confuse you! Lol!)

you could turn that to an advantage craft to go out with your torch and catch the slimey devils.i grow plants that dont get effected realy saves all the worry.

I definitely wouldn't water in the heat of the day... the water on the leaves could cause them to get burnt by the sun. Late afternoon or when it is cloudy.

i wouldnt water when its in full sun i was always led to believe that it would scorch them

Agree with Noseypotter - it's much more efficient to water the soil rather than spray water over the leaves. If you use a hose or a watering can, get the nosel down by the plant roots, not up above getting the leaves all wet, which spoils flowers too.

I water in the evening as that is convenient for me (too much of a rush in the morning lol) But if I were to spot a plant at midday that really needed water, I would do it right away rather than wait (watering the soil, not the plant).

plants are no different to us mammals in so much as they need food and drink . a lot of leaves are actualy shaped to funnel the water away from the leaf.the hose is so much more manegable with no end on it being moved round the ground every 10 mins or whatever it takes.

The only hard and fast rule is never water in full sun because as already mentioned, the leaves will scorch.

You can water in the early morning before the sun rises and gets hot. Some people like this as the plants have water through the hot days.

Personally, I water in the evenings when the sun has gone down. No risk of leaf scorch as I like to foliar feed as well as root feed and the plants still have plenty of water the next day as evaporation is less.

ditto Llew