basically what the title says, because I've heard transplanting on a hot day can be stressful for the plant. what do you guys think?
Transplanting at night is always preferred and recommended. It gives plants a time to recover. Having said that I have transplanted at all times of the day and the only time I wouldn't transplant again is mid day. Morning never did me any wrong though but I am careful not to harm the existing root system. Still it is always best to do it at night if possible.
I don't know, but when I transplanted in the morning, I did it indoors (Sat. am), left them in doors with some indirect sunlight for the remainder of the day and night and put them outside in a shady area receiving no direct sun light for another day (Sun.) and then I moved them to their sunny spot on the following morning (Mon.) but took them out of the direct sunlight in the early afternoon. It was a hot intense day. Same thing for Tues. I also washed the roots with 3% peroxide solution in water just in case their was some root rot in the root ball. I don't know if this was good, bad, or neither. I added some B1 and root enhancement nutrients for the first week without adding any veg or bloom nutrients in the hopes that I can jump start the roots and avoid shock. Again, I don't know if this was good or bad.
I think you're right. I like to do my transplanting just as the sun is going off my plot. That way I don't have to interrupt the plants sleep phase, or stress them by working in the sun.
I'm reviving this because I'd like some more input. I've always done my transplants at first light, in the morning, before the sun is up over the horizon. This has worked well for me, but it's not always the most convenient time, so I'm thinking about doing some transplants at night. Pros and cons of doing this versus twilight and versus the dead of night?
I think night would be best. But they key is to shade them from the sun for awhile. I do not have any problems transplanting on nice days though. How big are your plants your transplanting? If they are small just do it. Your not digging up right?
I did my last one from a ten gallon to a garbage can at high noon because I had the time and didn't notice any shock at all..it looked super happy the next morning even
I generally only do transplants on smaller plants, and I don't let them get root-bound first. Even if I need to dig a little, I'm leaving the roots undisturbed by digging in a wide area around them and supporting the entire thing from both top and bottom. Never had an issue with it. As for shading, since I'm doing it so early, they usually don't get the sun on them full-blast for at least 5 hours. I should try doing some at night to compare though.
Plants mainly collect energy in the day and at night use all of that to grow. Root growth is always highest during the dark periods hence the reason I have found some dark period in veg to be beneficial I mean nature does it for a reason.
I've transplanted morning, noon, and night. I've never seen any difference in stress vs. no stress. Some plants reacted great, some looked a little stressed at times, but *from my personal experience* it's never mattered when I've transplanted my plants. Just my experiences. What does matter, though, is waiting until the plant is DRY. Wet plants can fall apart easy, since dry roots always seem to hold the root-mass together better. Then soak the mother fucker until water is pouring out the bottom.