Watering your Plants

Let's talk about watering. This, in my opinion, is one of the most crucial aspects of taking care of your plants because this is usually how people kill them. Majority of plants are killed by overwatering but there are a few ways to help prevent this.

First, most plants do not want their soil to be moist all the time. There are obviously some exceptions like ferns and some others but many plants like to dry out a decent amount. Sometimes it can be difficult to tell if this is the case especially in deeper pots where you cannot feel the soil that is further down. This is when a moisture meter can come in handy. What is a moisture meter you ask? It is a tool with either one or two prongs that you will stick into the soil, then the meter at the top reads on a scale from dry to wet. Depending on your plant's needs you might water it when it is completely dry or in the middle at the “moist” level. These will usually range from $10-$20 and some have more features than others. Personally, I do not feel that they are necessary for my needs, but I also do not have any larger plants to worry about. More often than not, I will simply lift my plant to see how light or heavy the plant is or stick my finger in the soil to feel it. If the plant feels light, that means the soil is pretty dry and you should water it. This is easiest if your plant is in a plastic nursery pot, or terracotta, because they have so little weight to them. It sometimes can be more difficult with larger pots or ceramic pots, which is when the moisture meter comes in.

Oftentimes your plant will tell you when it needs watering. They will droop, the leaves may curl, and some plant leaves will become more bendable. Nick Pileggi, a houseplant Youtuber, refers to the “Taco Test” in some of his videos to see if his plants need watered. This essentially means if the leaves are soft and easy to bend into a hard-shell taco shape, they may need watered. Once watered they will soon become firmer again, and they could break if you do this. Nick specifically uses this on his peperomia species, but it can be used on other similar plants as well. Succulents and cacti will usually become shriveled a little bit when they need water, usually the leaves will look wrinkly and may be a little soft as well. Here, I have my Neon Pothos that I may have forgotten to water for one too many days and it got very droopy, but a few hours after being watered it perked right back up.

Some people claim that letting your plants get to the point that they are visually thirsty can be detrimental in the long run, but others specifically wait until this point to be sure to not over water their plants. This is just something to be cautious of.

Now you may be wondering what happens when you over water you plant and why it dies. This is due to root rot; this is caused by the plant's roots being over saturated with water and they are not able to dry out or get enough oxygen. They then rot and die, but this might not be the end. Sometimes if you notice your plant declining you can try to save it by taking it out of the pot and checking the roots. If you notice there are still some healthy roots you may be able to bring it back. All you have to do is get rid of all the dead mushy roots and repot it, in new soil, and be sure to not over water it. Sometimes this may not work but it is worth a try.

Now there are even more ways to prevent overwatering and root rot that have to do more with the soil and pot, but that will be in the next post, so make sure to stick around.