While some towns in Connecticut had rain last week, some towns such as Suffield haven't seen rain since May. Lawns are brown and plants are wilting for lack of rain.
"The best time to water lawns and other plants is very early in the morning," said Joan Allen, educator in residence at the extension service at UConn. "There are a couple of reasons for that. One is, it does conserve water. Less of the water is going to be lost to evaporation."
The other reason is the morning sun will dry the leaves, eliminating the water-borne pathogens that can cause diseases, while the roots get the water they need.
"During hot, sunny weather, people may want to deliver as much as two inches per week of water," she said.
Potted plants are the first to go when the weather gets dry.
"The soil in a pot will tend to both warm up and dry out more quickly than the root zone in the soil," she said.
Another tip: take plants out of the sun at the height of the day, even if they're "full sun".
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"As long as they do get their six hours of light during the day", she said, they'll be all right.
One piece of good news from the dry weather is that chances are, there won't be any late tomato blight this year, she said.
