If I’m watering a plant I usually do a quick “all over” of the plant, flowers, leaves etc, then put a bulk of the water directly in the pot to get the roots.
Is the initial step necessary? Does it do anything?
I’ve heard it is better just to wet the soil, not the leaves. I think it’s to prevent mold.
What kanicbird said. Roses especially don’t like their leaves to be wetted every time.
Some of my plants like foliar feeding like I use a dilute solution spray of KNO3 (Potassium Nitrate) to feed the mango shrub and some others during active growth season. You can also Citrus zinc and other nutrient deficiency through foliar sprays.
Depends on the plant, on the humidity level, and on whether there’s anything on the leaves that the plant would benefit from having washed off.
Also depends on the disease pressure. Some diseases really like wet leaves, and can’t grow on dry ones.
It probably doesn’t do any harm to wet down the leaves of a plant (especially outdoors) when watering. Supposedly this is best done early in the day so foliage dries out fairly quickly and doesn’t remain damp when it gets dark. It’s actually beneficial to regularly hit the undersides of foliage with a gentle spray of water, to wash off aphids or other pests.
Some plants can be susceptible to rot/damage if water collects in the crown/crevices of foliage (African violets are an example).
As a previous poster mentioned, foliar feeding with dilute fertilizer can be beneficial.
I’ve also heard that water droplets on a plant can focus sunlight like a magnifying glass and cause leaf burns. I have suspected that this was an urban legend, but apparently it’s true for some plants.
I’m not sure what the article means by “floating fern leaves” showing evidence of water droplet-associated burn damage (detached fronds on the surface of a pond?), but as a long-time gardener I have never seen evidence of foliar burning caused by sunlight acting as a magnifying glass on water droplets.
So on a practical basis, I conclude that this is nothing to worry about.