Lawn watering schedule (Orlando: pros and cons, gardening, best time)

[travelingfood]

Like to know the pros and cons of watering in the morning or late afternoon. With St Augustine grass.

[tamcim72]

I believe the best time to water is just before sunrise so that any standing water on the grass will evaporate/dry up and be less likely to get certain diseases.

[Karla with a K]

Originally Posted by tamcim72

I believe the best time to water is just before sunrise so that any standing water on the grass will evaporate/dry up and be less likely to get certain diseases.

Yup, with the humidity returning in full force your lawn is more at risk for developing fungus and other issues when you water late afternoon or at night. There isn't time for the excess water to evaporate

[Keith-n-Jax]

Not just grass, but plants as well. Hopefully we will have enough to where we don't have to water as much. Not TOO much!!! rain though!!

[riveree]

In a perfect world, I'd always water early in the morning, but it just doesn't work out that way for me.

I've almost always watered after 4pm - for years - and never had any problems with it. I've never had a fungal issue. Probably the worst thing I've faced is that wind can be more active later in the day so it can blow the water around a bit more than if I were to water early in the day.

I have always followed the old adage not to water past 8pm though .

Tom Maccubin is a great resource for dispelling gardening myths . His book "The Perfect Florida Lawn" is really good:

Tom MacCubbin -- OrlandoSentinel.com

Amazon.com: Tom MacCubbin: Books, Biography, Blog, Audiobooks, Kindle

[cricketfan]

Well, I go against conventional wisdom ... I water in the evening. Seems counterproductive to water a lawn so that most of it can evaporate with the morning sun. Haven't had a fungus problem ever.