Grab the watering container, fill the pot with water, and go about your day.
Watering your houseplants is one of most complex aspects of care. The consequences of getting it wrong can be devastating.
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The wrong timing, too much or not enough water can cause fungal, bacterial, and other diseases to your plants. Overwatering your plant can also kill it.
The advice on how to hydrate your houseplants is often vague.
In this guide, we’ll help you understand how, when, and what type of liquid to use to keep your houseplants healthy.
Here’s what we’ll discuss:
Most beginners in the world of houseplants tend to overwater plants. It took me a long time to kick the habit of overwatering.
Try to think about your current irrigation habits as you read on.
Do you follow a set schedule when irrigating your plants? Do you spray liquid regularly on your plants’ leaves? Do you regularly check the soil moisture?
We all make mistakes, that’s part of life. Let’s discuss how to do it right.
How often?
If you’re someone who waters on a schedule, stop immediately. Anytime someone recommends that you irrigate a plant according to the calendar, they’re steering you in the wrong direction.
The soil’s ability to dry out is affected by a number of factors. It can differ from house to house and even room-to-room.
Watering a plant placed in your kitchen every two weeks may be necessary, whereas the same specimen located in your living room might require irrigation only once a weekly.
Watering requirements vary by species. For example, a cactus requires far less water than a piea.
How quickly soil dries depends on a number of factors, including the amount of light that the plant receives, whether there is air circulation from an AC or heat vent, the relative humidty in the air and how compacted it is.
The frequency of irrigating will vary from one season to the next, depending on what you are growing.
If you’re feeling lost, don’t worry. It’s easy to determine when to water by checking the soil.
You can use your finger to do this or a soil moisture meter. If you know your plant well, you may even be able determine its weight when you lift the pot.
You can tell if a plant is starting to wilt. The following are some examples of how to get started: If the soil is dry, it’s a sign of drought. Plants can wilt for other reasons, so don’t immediately assume it’s a drought situation.
Watering in the morning is better than evening, as it allows the leaves to dry and you to empty drainage saucers or cachepots.
How Much?
The amount of water you should apply is highly subjective.
You are being misled if you hear someone say to add water every time.
The amount of water you’ll need to provide depends on the needs of the species you are growing, your particular environment, and the water-retentive qualities of the potting medium.
Determine the same as you would determine When you are looking for a way to improve your finances, then look no further than You will have to depend on the moisture of the soil to know how much you should add.
It is here that a soil moisture sensor comes in handy. It will tell you exactly how damp the potting soil is and then you can compare that to the recommended moisture level for the species you’re growing.
If you don’t have a moisture meter, you can stick your finger in the soil.
“Moist” would be a texture similar to a well wrung-out sponge. Dry would feel similar to a dry sponge. Wet would feel like a sponge that hasn’t been wrung out yet.
You can also roll the soil in your hands. If it falls apart, it’s dry. If it stays together but no water squeezes out, it’s moist. If moisture squeezes out, it’s wet.
What type?
Most plants can be irrigated with municipal tap water.
If you’re worried, go ahead and leave the liquid in a container without a lid for 24 hours to let some of the chemicals evaporate.
If you have soft water, don’t use it on your plants. Soft water contains salts which can quickly build up in soil and kill your plants.
Use rain, filtered water or distilled for plants sensitive to poor water quality.
Water should be kept at a temperature that is close to room temperature. Your plant can be damaged by liquids that are too hot or cold.
How to Water
You’re ready for the easy part now, right.
Takeaway Your watering can Fill it up. Pour slowly the water onto the surface.
Water the soil and not the foliage. If you wet the foliage, it can lead to fungal disease.
Add enough water to the pot so that the water starts to drain out the drainage holes on the bottom.
What’s that you say? Your pot doesn’t have drainage holes? You’re playing with fire, my friend.
Unless you’re growing a species that doesn’t mind wet feet – and very few do – a pot without drainage is going to result in standing water around the roots and will inevitably lead to root rot.
It is important that you ensure the soil has been saturated through and through. If you just add a little bit on the surface, it won’t reach the roots and will encourage shallow root growth, which isn’t ideal for most plants.
After 30 minutes of irrigating, you can empty the outer container or catchment basin.
You can also use the bottom watering process.
Place the pot into a bathtub, sink, or container with water and allow the medium to absorb the moisture. You can follow our guide to help you with the process.
Signs You’re Doing it Wrong
Plants usually aren’t shy about telling you the moisture situation is wrong.
A lot of water can cause yellowing, brown patches, wilting and falling leaves.
The roots become dark, black or mushy when they are under the soil. You might smell something bad when you remove the plant from the container.
That’s the build-up of bacteria or fungi and it smells a lot like a vase that has been holding cut flowers for a week.
Foliage that is not given enough water will wilt. The soil will feel very dry if you touch it. This can occur if you have allowed the soil to become too dry.
Hydrophobic soil is characterized by a waxy surface. When you water it, moisture will run off the top and down the sides, rather than soak into the medium. You can either replace the medium or switch to bottom watering.
If your container doesn’t have drainage holes, you need to repot as quickly as possible.
Without adequate drainage, there’s nowhere for the water to escape and even if you don’t add too much, it can still stagnate in the bottom of the pot. This causes a build-up of bacteria, fungi and other harmful organisms.
Instead, place a container with drainage inside a decorative vase.
In addition, please don’t put rocks or other material at the base of the pot to improve drainage. This is the one myth I would like to dispel.
Adding this drainage material won’t work and it actually increases the risk of root rot. That’s because there’s a process called capillary action that causes water to pool when it encounters a different texture.
The water will therefore collect closer to the root area at the transition of the soil with the drainage material.
Healthy Plants Begin With Water
The most important part of caring for your houseplants is to master the art of watering properly.
The health of your houseplants can be greatly improved by finding the right amount, timing and type of water.
What kind of indoor plants do you have? How do you water your houseplants? Tell us in the comment section below.
After you’ve mastered watering, there are Raising houseplants requires many other skills.. Here are a few guides that you may find helpful on your journey. These are worth checking out: