A gardening expert has shared a simple watering tip to avoid sunburnt leaves on your plants – and it’s something many people may not know they are doing wrong
Summer has arrived, and it’s time to give your garden some extra attention.
If you’re getting your hands dirty for the first time this season, make sure you’re doing it correctly after all, your plants’ survival is in your hands. A savvy gardener has taken to social media to alert his followers about a common mistake people make while watering their plants during hot weather.
The green-fingered guru, known as @garden2table.australia online, showed his fans the proper technique. In his viral video, which has racked up over 24,000 likes, he cautioned against spraying water directly onto plant leaves, warning that it could lead to “sunburnt leaves”.
Sunburn on plants occurs when they receive too much sun exposure.
Water droplets can act like miniature magnifying glasses, concentrating sunlight on the leaf and causing intense light and heat that may damage or destroy the leaf cells, resulting in brown or yellow discolouration.
This damage is akin to how our skin might burn if we spend too much time in the sun unprotected, particularly if plants are watered at the peak of daytime heat.
To reduce the risk, he advises watering the ground around the plants instead. “Water like this to keep foliage dry and avoid sunburnt leaves,” he advised in his post.
He added in the caption: “I learnt this watering tip the hard way.” TikTok users were amazed by the revelation, flooding the comments section with their thoughts.
One green-fingered enthusiast said: “Watering the wrong way is so satisfying,” and another added: “That’s why we water at 4-5pm.” Another contributor wrote: “Sunburned leaves are just myth.”
A fellow user chipped in: “There’s nothing wrong with watering your plant like that. You just have to do it very early in the morning, during and after sunrise.”
