Watering schedule

How often to water Yesterday-Today-and-Tomorrow (Brunfelsia pauciflora) — the schedule

Also called Yesterday-today-and-tomorrow, Morning-noon-and-night, Kiss-me-quick, Lady-of-the-night, Franciscan rain tree.

More about yesterday-today-and-tomorrow

Watering at a glance

Base rhythm	Keep evenly moist; water when the top of the soil starts to dry, roughly 1-2x per week in growth.
Spring / summer	Spring and summer: keep evenly moist, watering when the top centimetre is just dry — typically when the soil tells you it is time.
Autumn	Autumn: let it dry a touch more between waterings as growth eases, but never to the point of wilting.
Winter	Winter: water less and check the top 2-3 cm first; warm dry rooms can still dry it surprisingly fast.
Light	Bright indirect light (just back from a sunny window)

About Yesterday-Today-and-Tomorrow

Brunfelsia pauciflora · also called Yesterday-today-and-tomorrow, Morning-noon-and-night · flowering

Yesterday-today-and-tomorrow (Brunfelsia pauciflora) is an evergreen tropical shrub whose fragrant flowers fade from purple to lavender to white over three days. Give it bright, slightly filtered light, consistently moist acidic soil, warmth and high humidity. The ASPCA lists it as toxic to dogs, cats and horses, so keep it away from pets.

Ideal humidity: 50-70% (high)

Watch for — Yellowing leaves (iron chlorosis): Caused by soil that is too alkaline or hard tap water. Acidify the mix with peat, bark or pine needles and apply chelated iron; switch to rainwater or filtered water.

The watering schedule, season by season

Yesterday-Today-and-Tomorrow wants steady, light moisture and is fussy about water quality — fluoride and minerals in tap water are the main cause of its crispy edges. The base rhythm for yesterday-today-and-tomorrow is keep evenly moist; water when the top of the soil starts to dry, roughly 1-2x per week in growth., but the real interval moves with the season, the light and the pot — so treat the figures below as a starting point and always confirm with the plant itself.

Spring & summer (active growth): Spring and summer: keep evenly moist, watering when the top centimetre is just dry — typically when the soil tells you it is time.
Autumn (slowing down): Autumn: let it dry a touch more between waterings as growth eases, but never to the point of wilting.
Winter (rest / dormancy): Winter: water less and check the top 2-3 cm first; warm dry rooms can still dry it surprisingly fast.

Maintain consistently moist (never soggy) soil during active growth, easing back slightly in winter. Do not let the rootball dry out completely, as this triggers bud and leaf drop. Use rainwater or filtered water where possible to preserve soil acidity.

Want this turned into a live reminder that adjusts to your home and the weather? The Growli watering calculator takes your pot size, light and season and returns a starting interval for yesterday-today-and-tomorrow in seconds.

How to tell yesterday-today-and-tomorrow needs water

A calendar is the worst way to water yesterday-today-and-tomorrow. Check the plant and the soil instead — for this species, look for these signals in order:

The top centimetre of soil is just dry to the touch.
Leaves look slightly less perky or begin to curl inward in the day.
The pot is lighter than after a recent watering.

The most reliable single check is the first one on that list. When two signals agree, water; when they disagree, wait a day and look again — under-watering yesterday-today-and-tomorrow for a day is almost always safer than over-watering it.

Overwatering vs underwatering yesterday-today-and-tomorrow

The two failure modes can look alike at a glance, so check the soil weight and wetness before you decide. For yesterday-today-and-tomorrow specifically:

Signs you are overwatering

Yellowing lower leaves and a constantly wet, heavy pot.
Limp, mushy stems at the base.
Fungus gnats and a sour soil smell.

Signs you are underwatering

Crispy brown edges and tips (also caused by tap-water minerals — rule both out).
Pronounced leaf curling and drooping that recovers after a thorough water.

Watering yesterday-today-and-tomorrow with hard or fluoridated tap water is the top cause of brown, crispy leaf edges — the watering rhythm is usually fine; the water itself is the problem.

Water quality notes

This is the key point for yesterday-today-and-tomorrow: use rainwater, distilled, or filtered water. Tap-water fluoride and salts accumulate in the leaves and burn the margins brown — no watering schedule fixes that.

Seasonal and environmental adjusters

Every figure above shifts with the conditions in your home. For yesterday-today-and-tomorrow, the levers that matter most are:

Higher humidity reduces leaf-edge browning and lets you water a little less.
Flush the pot with clean water every month or two to leach out accumulated salts.
In brighter, warmer spots the topsoil dries faster, so check more often in summer.

Pot choice is part of this too — work out the right size with the pot size calculator, since a pot that is too big stays wet long enough to rot the roots of yesterday-today-and-tomorrow.

Yesterday-Today-and-Tomorrow watering — frequently asked questions

How often should I water yesterday-today-and-tomorrow?

Water yesterday-today-and-tomorrow keep evenly moist; water when the top of the soil starts to dry, roughly 1-2x per week in growth.. Spring and summer: keep evenly moist, watering when the top centimetre is just dry — typically when the soil tells you it is time. Winter: water less and check the top 2-3 cm first; warm dry rooms can still dry it surprisingly fast.

How do I know when yesterday-today-and-tomorrow needs water?

The top centimetre of soil is just dry to the touch. Leaves look slightly less perky or begin to curl inward in the day. The pot is lighter than after a recent watering. The single most reliable test for yesterday-today-and-tomorrow is the first signal on that list — checking the soil or the plant directly always beats watering by the calendar.

What does an overwatered yesterday-today-and-tomorrow look like?

Yellowing lower leaves and a constantly wet, heavy pot. Limp, mushy stems at the base. Fungus gnats and a sour soil smell. Watering yesterday-today-and-tomorrow with hard or fluoridated tap water is the top cause of brown, crispy leaf edges — the watering rhythm is usually fine; the water itself is the problem.

What are the signs of an underwatered yesterday-today-and-tomorrow?

Crispy brown edges and tips (also caused by tap-water minerals — rule both out). Pronounced leaf curling and drooping that recovers after a thorough water.

Can I use tap water on yesterday-today-and-tomorrow?