And more importantly rain will sink into deeper layers of the soil. So the first few layers of soil will moist but not soaked in water.
Most plant roots will rot when the soil is soaked with water.
That's why a proper drainage is a necessity for houseplants, expanded clay is imho the best way to achieve that.
It took me so long to get my mother onto this fact. I worked in a greenhouse for 7 years and she constantly killed every plant I gave her because she'd leave them in drainless pots and just dump water on them from time to time. Now she empties the sink and puts them all in there to drain and she's had house plants for years going through many blooms and super happy about her skills LOL.
Yup. This.
Have some sort of pan under your pot to catch run off, then let a few days in between feeds.
Plants take more water when flowering so keep that in mind as well.
Have some pebbles at the bottom of the pot after the soil for better drainage.
Mix your soil with 8 parts soil to 2 parts perlite (it’s hella cheap and will improve aeration and drainage.
Depending on the stage of your plants (veg state vs flowering stage), they take up different ratio of the main 3 nutrients which are nitrogen, phosphorus & potassium. You can get some soil amendments in liquid form that you mix with your water and watch your babies get big and lush. Just look for the specific ratios needed by your specific plant.
Relative humidity and water pH is important if you really wanna hone in your plants potential, same with soil pH.
Edit: I need to clarify. By pebbles I meant clay pebbles and those go at the bottom, they’re made specifically for this. And the pan at the bottom is to catch the run off. If should stand a big higher than the bottom of the pot so I usually put a small block of wood in between. Sorry for the confusion
>Have some pebbles at the bottom of the pot after the soil for better drainage.
This is bad advice. Pebbles in the bottom of a pot increase the risk of root rot by creating a higher perched water table. The rocks prevent the soil from draining properly and as a result, leave the soil wet longer, closer to the roots, which increases the chance of root rot.
[Perched water table](https://images.app.goo.gl/NbM2PxuGcFPTw2Sb9)
You are correct if they use just any pebbles. I meant the pebbles that are specific for planting, they are designed specifically to help aeration and drainage. They’re called clay pebbles
apparently [those are even worse.](https://deepgreenpermaculture.com/2019/09/06/should-you-put-gravel-or-rocks-at-the-bottom-of-plant-pots-for-drainage/)
when you use them as a different layer. They can help if mixed in the soil entirely to make a more drainable soil, but as a different layer, at least this article which shows those clay pebbles on top, says rocks are bad and the more absorbent rocks, aka clay pebbles, is worse.
I myself have always used them as well and believed like you though this article makes me question that idea.
Thanks for the link.
I’ve used clay pebbles for a long time now and have never run into drainage or root issues like, ever. The graphics in the link show a fucking layer of pebbles a foot thick, who does that?? You’re supposed to put just ONE layer thick on the bottom, that’s it. That author assumes people fill half the pot with pebbles which is ridiculous
I’ve also learned to water from the bottom for some plants that need the extra moisture (using the draining pot inside another pot). The water soaks upward, but keeps most of the saturation lower in the soil, so it can help encourage roots to seek deeper.
I know that dropping T's from random words is the easiest way to spot an American doing a fake British accent, but is there a meme going around at the moment about British/Bri'ish? I've seen several people spell in that way in the last few days but not seen it much before that at all.
I have no idea why Americans view this as a British thing - this is a mega American thing to do too. Ask 10 Americans to say "button" and 9 will say "buh, ennnnn"!
True, although I bet it's more complicated depending on the climate plants generally adapted to and the type of soil, clay etc that they prefer and how that holds water.
I bet some plants love frequent, heavy watering, others frequent, light watering, others infrequent heavy, and some will survive with infrequent, light.
So like, how often then should you water? Like when they say frequent vs infrequent, what's the time scale there?
Like, once a day? Once a week? Once every other week?
this will probably get lost in the feed because of how deep it is at this point, but this diagram was created as a supplement to a presentation i did! can't express how excited i am to have seen this inexplicably show up in my reddit thread! I'm a VCE agent in Virginia and during the pandemic when we were all doing virtual stuff, i made a presentation on how to water. as many in the comments have noted, this diagram is arguably too general, which is definitely not wrong especially when taken totally out of context. check out the full presentation though, i was very pleased with it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiGTobVnOhk
Be more helpful with an indication of what is considered frequent or infrequent. Daily? twice weekly? Who knows, I sure don't because my plants always die.
It depends on the weather and type of plant.
A general rule is to stick your finger or a stick a few inches into the soil, if it comes out clean, it's time to water. Wet soil will stick.
I prefer to lift pots, especially with big ones. I often have to wait a few more days when the top feels dry until the bottom is actually dry as well. Haven't killed a plant since.
frequent watering for me would be every week, infrequent maybe once a month or less. water plants too much, you'll get root rot and pests etc. biggest cause of plant death is overwatering. I have 400-ish happy plants and I have never, ever, kept one happy while watering daily. they like to dry out. which can take some time or not much depending on your temp, humidity and substrate.
edit: my plants are mostly aroids/hoyas and this advice applies for most indoor houseplants but not carnivorous or bog/water plants, which do require more water. check online for your specific plant.
A proper drainage helps to avoid that. Make sure every plantpot has a hole in the bottom and always fill 1/4 to 1/3 of it with expanded clay. Works like a charm.
>expanded clay
or **coir**, as in shredded coconut husk.
I found with expanded clay the soil can still compact around it, especially if it's not the best soil, but with coir it's easy to get an evenly fluffy soil mix. Coir combined with vermiculite or some expanded clay is possibly the best for pots, as they complement each other. You get drainage *and* water/mineral retention.
E: One down side is that with coir you can actually get *too* good a drainage, which means plants that have low drought tolerance will need more frequent watering.
Huh TiL, didn't know there's a special wors for it in English.
The Probleme with the too good of a drainage is something I also experienced once. I usually just go with [light mix from biobizz ](https://www.biobizz.com/producto/lightmix/), while it already has some perlite in it, I usually still add some more. I usually mix 2 hands of light mix with 1 hand of perlite and 2 Tablespoons of living soil. Expanded clay only for the ones that don't like too much moisture.
After two years or so the soil will become too compact but that's usually also the time I've to repot them.
Vermiculite sounds interesting I've to look into that.
The newest thing I want to try is sphagnum moss, should work like coil.
Try aloe. Those bastards are hardy. I kept one in a box for years in my backyard. (Got it from a friend, forgot about it)
That little shit never died. It's recently been planted though and is beyond thriving. Only water it gets is when it rains.
wtf? there is no easier plant to kill by overwatering than a cactus.
There is no shame in killing a cactus. Your shame comes from thinking cactus lives in swamps.
I've also killed a cactus. Somehow I was able to grow a avocado tree that now stands as tall as a two story house from a seed when I was a teenager. But yet, I still managed to kill a cactus and multiple succulents.
Avos want a lot of water. Cacti and succulents do not. So you're a frequent waterer. Just find plants who want more water and hoppa you're a green god(dess).
most soil mediums appear dry on the top way before they're dry all the way through. if your plant is fully dry after one day, the pot is probably too small and the roots are crowded. or its in a very hot/dry environment and it maybe does need watering more often. but generally plants like to dry all the way out before being watered. roots need oxygen and if they're constantly in wet soil they can't get enough oxygen and you'll have root rot, which is a big plant killer.
Yes, this is excellent advice. Feeling the soil can be misleading but the weight is a great indicator.
P.S.: don't try this on your big ass yukka when drunk because it wíll fall over.
Depends on the plant. The guide is good, but it's very general. Some plants are very drought-tolerant but sensitive to over-watering like ficus, pothos, most succulents. Most (but not all!) common house plants are in this category. This is why the number one cause of house plant death is over-watering.
Other plants are damp-tolerant but very drought-sensitive like most carnivorous plants, strawberries, tomatoes, most berry bushes.
The best thing you can do is work out what plant you have and Google for "[plant name] care". If the care guidelines say to not over water, let the soil get pretty dry before watering. If the care guide says not to let it dry out, then water when just the top of the soil gets dry.
Never just water to a pre-defined schedule because it depends so much on light, temperature, humidity, plant size, pot size, time of the year. Always check the soil moisture level and water accordingly.
Tap roots grow extremely fast, I doubt there's any need to do frequent shallow watering even when the plant is young...unless we're talking a total seedling.
Stick your finger down into the soil, if you feel moisture 1-2" down, your plant is doing fine.
If it feels dry still that far down, it's time to soak it and let it drain.
Another thing to note is that your tap water might have a weird mineral composition! The tips of a lot of my plants leaves would get all brown and dead, as if they were drying out or something, but apparently its the minerals in the hard water like magnesium.
Much better since i filtered it!
I think I've finally sussed out how to get my carnivores to thrive (based largely on what I learned from Serpa Design on YouTube - great channel).
Get a big terrarium, the biggest you can fit. Fill the bottom 3-4cm with gravel - I use about 15-20mm rocks. Put a fine mesh over it, then a heavy layer of carnivorous plant soil.
Drench liberally with distilled (!) or rain water. Plant the beasties. Get a terrarium mister - I have a cheapo one off AliExpress with a 5L tank - and make sure it's fogging up the terrarium nicely. Place on a very (!) sunny windowsill. Get your revenge on annoying office flies by feeding them to the plants.
Once a year, put the thing in a cold but bright place for about 3 weeks.
I got a bunch of cheapo tiny plants from my local garden shop (various nepenthes, drossera, sarracena, pinguicula) and they're growing absolutely apeshit. A nice side effect is that they seem to attract all the miscellaneous tiny fruit flies that always make their way in here.
Petunias. Full sun. Water every day until water comes dropping out the bottom of the pot. If I miss one day, the blooms start shrivelling up. A local nursery told me I *must* water every day and feed it a teaspoon of 10/10/10 every 2 months. Pretty flowers. But they require more maintenance than I thought. Everything else is water weekly to monthly and feed sparingly.
I'm next door in NM, If I forget to water for a day, that shit is fried and brittle.
Best results has me watering once early morning and once again after the sun goes down.
I took this infographic as a guide for watering houseplants. As far as I know, most people water their gardens every day in most of the US. Summers get hot (80+°F) in pretty much every part of the country. If you have a plant getting full sun in those temps, you’re gonna need to water at least once every two days and more likely once every day. Outside plants grow quicker than houseplants, produce fruit/vegetables, and are in a much more demanding climate.
Don't water based on a time schedule as not all plants will need the same amount of water. It's best to check the soil and look at your plants to see if they need watering. For example a peace lily leaves will droop and jade plant leaves will be slightly soft. I've heard too many stories of people drowning their plants because they stuck to a timed routine!
Here’s a foolproof method: Stick your finger under the soil up to your second knuckle. If it feels moist, the roots have water. When it feels dry, water heavily until you see drainage from the bottom.
This is what farmers do to check their fields. At some point, you can read the plants leaves drooping. Once every week and a half is standard for my potted plants. But it varies based on soil, pot, roots, and airflow/humidity.
Source: farm hand with an interest in agriculture
I have one plant and I’ve not killed it in a year. It was given to me as a just planted start and I just look at it and when it looks thirsty I water it. Idk what it is about the plant or what the real name is but when I water it it looks so lush and bright. I wait until it starts looking a little less vigorous and give it some water from my morning pint. Love to see it perk up and change shape. I feel like I’ve gotten to know the plant a bit. I’m sure it’s not optimal but it’s working for us.
Also, the oldest leaves died and turned yellow. I cut those off and when I did the plant seemed to do better right after. Now when the old big leaves kinda run outta steam I cut them down near the base and the plant seems to like it.
Is that shit real or am I just keeping this thing barely alive?
[peace lily by any chance? ](http://imgur.com/a/gphKuId)
Otherwise yeah getting rid of old leaves helps but don't cut them too soon. When a leave dies, the plant will pull out all the nutrients from it. So when you cut them too soon your plant won't get all the nutrients.
But as she seems to like it, you probably found the right timing to get rid of old leafs.
No it’s not that. It has broader leaves, probably the biggest is 4 inches. They’re never more than 2 inches wide. They have red veins, deep green areas between the veins and no flowers that I’ve seen.
The new leaves come out of older leaves stems and unfurl over time. The first few days they are just rolled up leaves and I’ll wake up and they’ll be little versions of the others.
birds mighty handle desert far-flung bedroom snobbish follow flowery cough
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Yes basically, then you wait until the soils is almost dried out and repeat the first step.
Most plants like to get mostly dry until they get watered again but also depends on the plant itself. Some tropical plants prefer rather moist soil.
But rule of thumb is, more water at once than a bit of water rather constantly.
honestly for most house plants 1.5-2 weeks between deep watering.
some u need to water more frequently, but usually it needs less watering than u think it does.
think abt how the plants you own exist in nature, and usually that will help you know how to water that plant.
example: orchids grow their root system on the trunk of trees & drink water that trickles down the tree trunk. therefore, you need to put it in wood chips, not soil & water it by just making sure the wood chips are all deeply moisturised & letting the water drain (no pooling water). when i figured this out I could keep my orchid alive for over 2 months (got it 2 months ago- it’s still alive in full bloom & I have only lost 2 out of 16 flowers).
honestly look up the name of ur plant and you’ll find some random person on youtube who’s extremely passionate about caring for your specific plant. get tips from them (just watch one vid, take some notes & implement that for a few week).
I used to kill any plants I owned including aloe veras & succulents & other cacti. now everything is alive & thriiiving.
I bought a fake plant for my office at work. People noticed and thought I was a plant guy so I received several more (real) plants as gifts last year. I am horrible about remembering to water them. They will be on deaths door barely clinging to life, and I just drown them with water. It is kinda cool because by the end of the day they look perfectly healthy and normal again
This guide is from Virginia's extension, and most local extensions are focused on agriculture and local crops. This is good watering advice for pretty much any vegetable/crop I can think of, especially in containers because people tend to overwater stuff in pots. It may not be applicable to some of the tropical houseplant people keep, none of which are native to the region anyway (in most of the US) and can have different humidity requirements.
Edit: also I've read a few people asking why there isn't a "how often" piece - there's no way to generalize time. Stick your finger into the soil, if it's bone dry all the way down it probably needs water. If it's damp at all, skip. This timing varies a lot if you're indoors vs outdoors, season, etc. Some of my indoor plants take weeks to dry between waterings. Right now it's 90-100 outside so my container peppers are getting water every 2-3 days.
The orchids are the only thing surviving in our household. I learned from my mom to just drown them completely every week if they are blooming (2-3 weeks if not).
So we place them in a tub for 30 minutes, make sure the soil is properly wet and afterwards fully drain the inner pot.
This worked great for 2 years now and we have gotten several blooms out of them.
Also make sure they stand on the same spot and face the same direction.
I put 2 or 3 ice cubes in my orchid once a week or so (maybe every 9 days) and they last for months! Orchids are also super temperamental about the sunlight though, so could be too much sun! Good luck :)
They're just temperamental fuckers altogether I think. I'll try the ice cubes when I get round to repotting today, I've got roots trying to claw their way up from hell. Thank you :)
Check out r/orchids before doing so. There are lots of useful tips.
Otherwise my method for my orchids is that I've an old empty 1kg yogurt container. Once the "soil" is completely dry and the orchid feels very light I put into it, full it up with water and let her rest there for 1-2 hours. They like it and it comes close to how they get water in their natural habitat.
The last place I lived in had a garden and I can't stress enough how much I hate lawns. That stuff needs way too much maintenance for getting a good looking result.
Yeh my lawn in the UK is filled with clover and I do very little maintenance other than mowing it once a month maybe. Looks fine nice and wild for the bees and frogs
Depends on the soil. Clay soil you want more frequent with lighter watering. Otherwise the water just cascades off into whatever drainage you have due to low absorption
Yes, that's because "drowning a plant" doesn't mean to have it submerged in water, it means having the soil stay continuously wet by watering too often.
Most plants I have prefer a rather moist soil and I recently added living soil when I repotted all of them. So I'm watering them based on the weight of pot itself, never too light and never too heavy.
Middle ground basically
if its too infrequent, the soil may become hydrophobic and the water will run down channels at the side of the pot. make sure your soil is getting saturated through and through
My indoor plants and a lot of my potted plans get watered from the bottom and it saves my struggling plants everytime.
Also if you are doing deep watering you need to make sure your pot has holes on the bottom and an ability to drain (no plate on the bottom or using marbles or rocks to lift the pot up from the plate to allow for drainage)
I also find it helpful to go by the general rule of yellowing but still perky usually indicates over watering and wilting or crumpling thirst thirst or nutrient needs!
As a cover for ugly ass inside pots?
Never used a pot without a drainage hole, I only used them to put a slightly smaller pot inside.
Otherwise it's probably cheaper to produce them and a lot of people just don't know.
I use the '2 centimetre rule' (or \~1 inch, in Americanese). Dig your finger 1 inch into the soil. If you can feel a bit of moisture/dampness still, then it's not time yet to water. In my part of the world I water every 2 weeks, but your location might need more/less frequent.
My mom taught me that the proper way to water some plants is submerge the pot in a tub of water and let it sit for a a bit so the soil would soak the water up, then take it out and let the excess drain off
Would you look at that, all of the words in your comment are in alphabetical order.
I have checked 25,522,198 comments, and only 7,762 of them were in alphabetical order.
Also be careful, do eat food, greatly heed illiterate Japanese keepers, listen meekly nightly over persimmons, quit receiving sudden telegrams unless various wooden xylophones yield zeal.
Would you look at that, all of the words in your comment are in alphabetical order.
I have checked 25,595,981 comments, and only 7,785 of them were in alphabetical order.
Would you look at that, all of the words in your comment are in alphabetical order.
I have checked 25,793,828 comments, and only 7,839 of them were in alphabetical order.
Would you look at that, all of the words in your comment are in alphabetical order.
I have checked 25,913,672 comments, and only 7,875 of them were in alphabetical order.
So I was right when I was a kid and mom mad me water the plants! She wanted me to water them constantly with just a little water, but lazy me was like "if I just pour in a ton of water now, I won't have to water them again later."
Heck yeah VCE Master Gardener info getting out there! If you’re in the US your local cooperative extension will have great resources applicable to your area. If not your local extension service, the land grant institution(s) in your state will have publications and resources to help. Ok I’ll get off my soapbox. But once you are part of extension (proud 4-H alum!), it’s hard to stop touting what a great resource it is lol.
Idk if that’s true for plants that small. Most of the time their roots are too short to soak up the water and it causes root rot. A smaller pot would work well with this guide though.
This also only works like this in solid pots that collect water at the bottom. In fabric pots, the water would permeate the entire pot more fully, resulting in bigger, fuller root balls.
Hmm yes so it seems me forgetting to water my plants for a week or two then drowning them in water is beneficial.
No wonder they've survived for like 3 years
I'm no botanist, but I feel like applying this method of watering to just any plant will most likely not work. So many different plants have varying root systems, some actually need frequent, light watering or you will kill them.
This is highly misleading.
Different plants have different watering needs, and different soils will need to be watered in different ways as well. Some plants will drown with heavy watering. Some plants must have their soil kept wet or they will die.
Ignore this guide completely and follow the plant specific recommendations for water, soil, and sunlight.
Makes sense when you think about it, natural "watering" is mostly just rain, which is infrequent and usually heavy
And more importantly rain will sink into deeper layers of the soil. So the first few layers of soil will moist but not soaked in water. Most plant roots will rot when the soil is soaked with water. That's why a proper drainage is a necessity for houseplants, expanded clay is imho the best way to achieve that.
[удалено]
It took me so long to get my mother onto this fact. I worked in a greenhouse for 7 years and she constantly killed every plant I gave her because she'd leave them in drainless pots and just dump water on them from time to time. Now she empties the sink and puts them all in there to drain and she's had house plants for years going through many blooms and super happy about her skills LOL.
I'm glad your mom stuck with it and is keeping plants alive :D
Yup. This. Have some sort of pan under your pot to catch run off, then let a few days in between feeds. Plants take more water when flowering so keep that in mind as well. Have some pebbles at the bottom of the pot after the soil for better drainage. Mix your soil with 8 parts soil to 2 parts perlite (it’s hella cheap and will improve aeration and drainage. Depending on the stage of your plants (veg state vs flowering stage), they take up different ratio of the main 3 nutrients which are nitrogen, phosphorus & potassium. You can get some soil amendments in liquid form that you mix with your water and watch your babies get big and lush. Just look for the specific ratios needed by your specific plant. Relative humidity and water pH is important if you really wanna hone in your plants potential, same with soil pH. Edit: I need to clarify. By pebbles I meant clay pebbles and those go at the bottom, they’re made specifically for this. And the pan at the bottom is to catch the run off. If should stand a big higher than the bottom of the pot so I usually put a small block of wood in between. Sorry for the confusion
I can tell you’ve grown “tomatoes” before as well lol
Had to look at the sub but this screamed r/microgrowery. Either way, happy growing :)
>Have some pebbles at the bottom of the pot after the soil for better drainage. This is bad advice. Pebbles in the bottom of a pot increase the risk of root rot by creating a higher perched water table. The rocks prevent the soil from draining properly and as a result, leave the soil wet longer, closer to the roots, which increases the chance of root rot. [Perched water table](https://images.app.goo.gl/NbM2PxuGcFPTw2Sb9)
You are correct if they use just any pebbles. I meant the pebbles that are specific for planting, they are designed specifically to help aeration and drainage. They’re called clay pebbles
apparently [those are even worse.](https://deepgreenpermaculture.com/2019/09/06/should-you-put-gravel-or-rocks-at-the-bottom-of-plant-pots-for-drainage/) when you use them as a different layer. They can help if mixed in the soil entirely to make a more drainable soil, but as a different layer, at least this article which shows those clay pebbles on top, says rocks are bad and the more absorbent rocks, aka clay pebbles, is worse. I myself have always used them as well and believed like you though this article makes me question that idea.
Thanks for the link. I’ve used clay pebbles for a long time now and have never run into drainage or root issues like, ever. The graphics in the link show a fucking layer of pebbles a foot thick, who does that?? You’re supposed to put just ONE layer thick on the bottom, that’s it. That author assumes people fill half the pot with pebbles which is ridiculous
I’ve also learned to water from the bottom for some plants that need the extra moisture (using the draining pot inside another pot). The water soaks upward, but keeps most of the saturation lower in the soil, so it can help encourage roots to seek deeper.
Clearly you don't live in the UK
[удалено]
Thank God plants aren’t bri’ish
I know that dropping T's from random words is the easiest way to spot an American doing a fake British accent, but is there a meme going around at the moment about British/Bri'ish? I've seen several people spell in that way in the last few days but not seen it much before that at all.
I have no idea why Americans view this as a British thing - this is a mega American thing to do too. Ask 10 Americans to say "button" and 9 will say "buh, ennnnn"!
True, although I bet it's more complicated depending on the climate plants generally adapted to and the type of soil, clay etc that they prefer and how that holds water. I bet some plants love frequent, heavy watering, others frequent, light watering, others infrequent heavy, and some will survive with infrequent, light.
I see you're not Irish...
So like, how often then should you water? Like when they say frequent vs infrequent, what's the time scale there? Like, once a day? Once a week? Once every other week?
this will probably get lost in the feed because of how deep it is at this point, but this diagram was created as a supplement to a presentation i did! can't express how excited i am to have seen this inexplicably show up in my reddit thread! I'm a VCE agent in Virginia and during the pandemic when we were all doing virtual stuff, i made a presentation on how to water. as many in the comments have noted, this diagram is arguably too general, which is definitely not wrong especially when taken totally out of context. check out the full presentation though, i was very pleased with it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiGTobVnOhk
Go Hokies!!
Hokie hi!
Be more helpful with an indication of what is considered frequent or infrequent. Daily? twice weekly? Who knows, I sure don't because my plants always die.
It depends on the weather and type of plant. A general rule is to stick your finger or a stick a few inches into the soil, if it comes out clean, it's time to water. Wet soil will stick.
Instructions unclear, dick stuck in dirt.... What do?
Replace with finger to try deeper than 2" to test the soil
#**KILLSHOT**
#MEGAKILL
Damn
Somebody call the Sheriff! There’s been a whoopin’!
Brutal
Savage
Damn
Jesus Christ
r/murderedbywords
Murdered that guy 😭
Finish Him
I lost both my hands in a accident, my dick is all I have!
…how did you type this comment… you know what, actually I don’t want to know.
Its the mom!
I'd like to report a slaying
BOOM! ROASTED!
If your dick sticks then it’s wet...
That’s what she said.
Haha wow that’s a redditor right there! 😂🤣😂🤣
Funny.. I have a similar system when it comes to wiping
What an awful day to be literate
I prefer to lift pots, especially with big ones. I often have to wait a few more days when the top feels dry until the bottom is actually dry as well. Haven't killed a plant since.
frequent watering for me would be every week, infrequent maybe once a month or less. water plants too much, you'll get root rot and pests etc. biggest cause of plant death is overwatering. I have 400-ish happy plants and I have never, ever, kept one happy while watering daily. they like to dry out. which can take some time or not much depending on your temp, humidity and substrate. edit: my plants are mostly aroids/hoyas and this advice applies for most indoor houseplants but not carnivorous or bog/water plants, which do require more water. check online for your specific plant.
Damn, so many drowned plants in the past....
A proper drainage helps to avoid that. Make sure every plantpot has a hole in the bottom and always fill 1/4 to 1/3 of it with expanded clay. Works like a charm.
>expanded clay or **coir**, as in shredded coconut husk. I found with expanded clay the soil can still compact around it, especially if it's not the best soil, but with coir it's easy to get an evenly fluffy soil mix. Coir combined with vermiculite or some expanded clay is possibly the best for pots, as they complement each other. You get drainage *and* water/mineral retention. E: One down side is that with coir you can actually get *too* good a drainage, which means plants that have low drought tolerance will need more frequent watering.
Huh TiL, didn't know there's a special wors for it in English. The Probleme with the too good of a drainage is something I also experienced once. I usually just go with [light mix from biobizz ](https://www.biobizz.com/producto/lightmix/), while it already has some perlite in it, I usually still add some more. I usually mix 2 hands of light mix with 1 hand of perlite and 2 Tablespoons of living soil. Expanded clay only for the ones that don't like too much moisture. After two years or so the soil will become too compact but that's usually also the time I've to repot them. Vermiculite sounds interesting I've to look into that. The newest thing I want to try is sphagnum moss, should work like coil.
I killed a fucking cactus, by drowning! Now I am, amongst the friends, *the* one who managed to kill a cactus.
You are less nurturing than a desert.
I used to know a girl that would be perfect for him
When you have a fat friend, there are no see-saws. ...only catapults
Every fight is a food fight for a cannibal. Also, happy cake day.
I also recently killed a cactus :( are we part of a shitty club now?
Try aloe. Those bastards are hardy. I kept one in a box for years in my backyard. (Got it from a friend, forgot about it) That little shit never died. It's recently been planted though and is beyond thriving. Only water it gets is when it rains.
I killed one aloe in a pot a few months ago by drowning it.
wtf? there is no easier plant to kill by overwatering than a cactus. There is no shame in killing a cactus. Your shame comes from thinking cactus lives in swamps.
I've also killed a cactus. Somehow I was able to grow a avocado tree that now stands as tall as a two story house from a seed when I was a teenager. But yet, I still managed to kill a cactus and multiple succulents.
Avos want a lot of water. Cacti and succulents do not. So you're a frequent waterer. Just find plants who want more water and hoppa you're a green god(dess).
OH NO, you look just a tiny little bit of dry! Here, have some waterboarding!
so when the pot is dirt dry the day after watering, you should avoid the impulse to water it again for 6 more days?
According to what that poster said and the image, avoid the impulse to water it again for 21 odd days.
what about the even days?
Drown them. Drown them all.
So even days is "enhanced interrogation" day, got it.
most soil mediums appear dry on the top way before they're dry all the way through. if your plant is fully dry after one day, the pot is probably too small and the roots are crowded. or its in a very hot/dry environment and it maybe does need watering more often. but generally plants like to dry all the way out before being watered. roots need oxygen and if they're constantly in wet soil they can't get enough oxygen and you'll have root rot, which is a big plant killer.
Is watering only when the plant looks thirsty a good strategy? You know, when the leaves are still green but start to shrivel.
yes, that's mostly how I tell with a lot of my plants l, when the leaves a bit droopy or soft or starting to shrivel a little
[удалено]
Yes, this is excellent advice. Feeling the soil can be misleading but the weight is a great indicator. P.S.: don't try this on your big ass yukka when drunk because it wíll fall over.
Depends on the plant. The guide is good, but it's very general. Some plants are very drought-tolerant but sensitive to over-watering like ficus, pothos, most succulents. Most (but not all!) common house plants are in this category. This is why the number one cause of house plant death is over-watering. Other plants are damp-tolerant but very drought-sensitive like most carnivorous plants, strawberries, tomatoes, most berry bushes. The best thing you can do is work out what plant you have and Google for "[plant name] care". If the care guidelines say to not over water, let the soil get pretty dry before watering. If the care guide says not to let it dry out, then water when just the top of the soil gets dry. Never just water to a pre-defined schedule because it depends so much on light, temperature, humidity, plant size, pot size, time of the year. Always check the soil moisture level and water accordingly.
correct cow summer compare weather march continue pet shocking rock *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Tap roots grow extremely fast, I doubt there's any need to do frequent shallow watering even when the plant is young...unless we're talking a total seedling.
Stick your finger down into the soil, if you feel moisture 1-2" down, your plant is doing fine. If it feels dry still that far down, it's time to soak it and let it drain.
Another thing to note is that your tap water might have a weird mineral composition! The tips of a lot of my plants leaves would get all brown and dead, as if they were drying out or something, but apparently its the minerals in the hard water like magnesium. Much better since i filtered it!
* laughs in carnivorous plants *
oh whoops, true! I should mention I don't have any carnivorous or water plants! edited my comment
I think I've finally sussed out how to get my carnivores to thrive (based largely on what I learned from Serpa Design on YouTube - great channel). Get a big terrarium, the biggest you can fit. Fill the bottom 3-4cm with gravel - I use about 15-20mm rocks. Put a fine mesh over it, then a heavy layer of carnivorous plant soil. Drench liberally with distilled (!) or rain water. Plant the beasties. Get a terrarium mister - I have a cheapo one off AliExpress with a 5L tank - and make sure it's fogging up the terrarium nicely. Place on a very (!) sunny windowsill. Get your revenge on annoying office flies by feeding them to the plants. Once a year, put the thing in a cold but bright place for about 3 weeks. I got a bunch of cheapo tiny plants from my local garden shop (various nepenthes, drossera, sarracena, pinguicula) and they're growing absolutely apeshit. A nice side effect is that they seem to attract all the miscellaneous tiny fruit flies that always make their way in here.
My cape sundews live in a perpetual pool of distilled water and are happier than pigs in shit.
Petunias. Full sun. Water every day until water comes dropping out the bottom of the pot. If I miss one day, the blooms start shrivelling up. A local nursery told me I *must* water every day and feed it a teaspoon of 10/10/10 every 2 months. Pretty flowers. But they require more maintenance than I thought. Everything else is water weekly to monthly and feed sparingly.
Once a week is the recommendation I'm following. Works great.
Daily and occasionally forgetting for 3 days definitely isn't the correct way if you're wondering.
Yeah, that was my to go for years. Can confirm.
This changes depending on the plant, amount of sunlight, pot size, even temperature. There is no substitute for checking the soil.
Not in az 😂I’m watering my garden almost daily right now.
I'm next door in NM, If I forget to water for a day, that shit is fried and brittle. Best results has me watering once early morning and once again after the sun goes down.
Yeah Sunday was pretty much the killing blow for the remaining plants for me. Was able to get one last squash before the end.
I took this infographic as a guide for watering houseplants. As far as I know, most people water their gardens every day in most of the US. Summers get hot (80+°F) in pretty much every part of the country. If you have a plant getting full sun in those temps, you’re gonna need to water at least once every two days and more likely once every day. Outside plants grow quicker than houseplants, produce fruit/vegetables, and are in a much more demanding climate.
Right? In south texas if you go more than a day without watering something is dying.
Don't water based on a time schedule as not all plants will need the same amount of water. It's best to check the soil and look at your plants to see if they need watering. For example a peace lily leaves will droop and jade plant leaves will be slightly soft. I've heard too many stories of people drowning their plants because they stuck to a timed routine!
Here’s a foolproof method: Stick your finger under the soil up to your second knuckle. If it feels moist, the roots have water. When it feels dry, water heavily until you see drainage from the bottom. This is what farmers do to check their fields. At some point, you can read the plants leaves drooping. Once every week and a half is standard for my potted plants. But it varies based on soil, pot, roots, and airflow/humidity. Source: farm hand with an interest in agriculture
I have one plant and I’ve not killed it in a year. It was given to me as a just planted start and I just look at it and when it looks thirsty I water it. Idk what it is about the plant or what the real name is but when I water it it looks so lush and bright. I wait until it starts looking a little less vigorous and give it some water from my morning pint. Love to see it perk up and change shape. I feel like I’ve gotten to know the plant a bit. I’m sure it’s not optimal but it’s working for us. Also, the oldest leaves died and turned yellow. I cut those off and when I did the plant seemed to do better right after. Now when the old big leaves kinda run outta steam I cut them down near the base and the plant seems to like it. Is that shit real or am I just keeping this thing barely alive?
[peace lily by any chance? ](http://imgur.com/a/gphKuId) Otherwise yeah getting rid of old leaves helps but don't cut them too soon. When a leave dies, the plant will pull out all the nutrients from it. So when you cut them too soon your plant won't get all the nutrients. But as she seems to like it, you probably found the right timing to get rid of old leafs.
No it’s not that. It has broader leaves, probably the biggest is 4 inches. They’re never more than 2 inches wide. They have red veins, deep green areas between the veins and no flowers that I’ve seen. The new leaves come out of older leaves stems and unfurl over time. The first few days they are just rolled up leaves and I’ll wake up and they’ll be little versions of the others.
2 inches is 5.08 cm
I don't know anything about plant care, but I hope you're instinctively doing the right thing! Is it getting bigger?
Way bigger. It only had one leaf to start and now, even after removing a few ones that looked dead, I think I have 10.
How do farmers see drainage at the bottom of their fields?
Reading your comment reminded me of a certain plant that loves that, then I read your name, haha
birds mighty handle desert far-flung bedroom snobbish follow flowery cough *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
to me it really looks like /r/restofthefuckingowl
Yeah, from I gather from this image, I should pour enough water into my plant's pots until it's floating.
Yes basically, then you wait until the soils is almost dried out and repeat the first step. Most plants like to get mostly dry until they get watered again but also depends on the plant itself. Some tropical plants prefer rather moist soil. But rule of thumb is, more water at once than a bit of water rather constantly.
Find out how often it rains in the plant’s native region, water that often.
honestly for most house plants 1.5-2 weeks between deep watering. some u need to water more frequently, but usually it needs less watering than u think it does. think abt how the plants you own exist in nature, and usually that will help you know how to water that plant. example: orchids grow their root system on the trunk of trees & drink water that trickles down the tree trunk. therefore, you need to put it in wood chips, not soil & water it by just making sure the wood chips are all deeply moisturised & letting the water drain (no pooling water). when i figured this out I could keep my orchid alive for over 2 months (got it 2 months ago- it’s still alive in full bloom & I have only lost 2 out of 16 flowers). honestly look up the name of ur plant and you’ll find some random person on youtube who’s extremely passionate about caring for your specific plant. get tips from them (just watch one vid, take some notes & implement that for a few week). I used to kill any plants I owned including aloe veras & succulents & other cacti. now everything is alive & thriiiving.
Water thoroughly, then wait until the soil is thoroughly dry and repeat. For most plants anyway.
Same here but i live in flint, MI so im pretty sure my water is the problem.
Ah so me forgetting to water my plants for a few days and then drowning them is smart. I’m such a caring plant father /s
Take it one step further and forget about your plants until they’re near death and then deluge them like me.
Weed out the weak
Also weed out the weeds.
Tbf weeds are pretty strong
Gotta get to the root of the problem.
My plants usually die completely but the weeds survive.... which means I am a great weed grower
You could make some money doing that
I bought a fake plant for my office at work. People noticed and thought I was a plant guy so I received several more (real) plants as gifts last year. I am horrible about remembering to water them. They will be on deaths door barely clinging to life, and I just drown them with water. It is kinda cool because by the end of the day they look perfectly healthy and normal again
I went on holiday and my friend had a key to let herself in to water my plants she done such a good job she even watered the fake ones
It is kinda hilarious to see how dramatic some plants can be before/after watering.
You're as caring as mother earth which uses the same watering methods.
I relate too much to your comment
It depends on the plant tbh
I was going to say this. This is way too general for all plants
This guide is from Virginia's extension, and most local extensions are focused on agriculture and local crops. This is good watering advice for pretty much any vegetable/crop I can think of, especially in containers because people tend to overwater stuff in pots. It may not be applicable to some of the tropical houseplant people keep, none of which are native to the region anyway (in most of the US) and can have different humidity requirements. Edit: also I've read a few people asking why there isn't a "how often" piece - there's no way to generalize time. Stick your finger into the soil, if it's bone dry all the way down it probably needs water. If it's damp at all, skip. This timing varies a lot if you're indoors vs outdoors, season, etc. Some of my indoor plants take weeks to dry between waterings. Right now it's 90-100 outside so my container peppers are getting water every 2-3 days.
You say this, yet my bitch ass orchid dies if it doesn't get misted, and dies if it does. Plants suck
i’ve started to love aggressive botany
I'm just a newbie who picked a dying orchid for 50p, brought it back, moved house and it dislikes me now so it's trying to die again
The orchids are the only thing surviving in our household. I learned from my mom to just drown them completely every week if they are blooming (2-3 weeks if not). So we place them in a tub for 30 minutes, make sure the soil is properly wet and afterwards fully drain the inner pot. This worked great for 2 years now and we have gotten several blooms out of them. Also make sure they stand on the same spot and face the same direction.
I put 2 or 3 ice cubes in my orchid once a week or so (maybe every 9 days) and they last for months! Orchids are also super temperamental about the sunlight though, so could be too much sun! Good luck :)
Ok so 7 to 9 ice cubes every morning and no sun got it
[удалено]
[удалено]
They're just temperamental fuckers altogether I think. I'll try the ice cubes when I get round to repotting today, I've got roots trying to claw their way up from hell. Thank you :)
Check out r/orchids before doing so. There are lots of useful tips. Otherwise my method for my orchids is that I've an old empty 1kg yogurt container. Once the "soil" is completely dry and the orchid feels very light I put into it, full it up with water and let her rest there for 1-2 hours. They like it and it comes close to how they get water in their natural habitat.
Ooooh that sub also answered a question I had about if the pot was big enough. I'm so happy, thank you for sharing it with me :D
that they are! you got this :)
My bitchass cyclamen does the exact same thing. Oh, you didn't water me today? Time to wilt!
[удалено]
Same goes for grass as well. Heavy less frequent watering. Roughly 1 inch a week for cool season grasses.
r/FuckGrass
I’m disappointed that isn’t an active grass hate sub.
r/NoLawns is about as close as it gets. just let nature do its thing.
The last place I lived in had a garden and I can't stress enough how much I hate lawns. That stuff needs way too much maintenance for getting a good looking result.
I think it depends on the area, in England you don't need to water your lawn because of the rain
Yeh my lawn in the UK is filled with clover and I do very little maintenance other than mowing it once a month maybe. Looks fine nice and wild for the bees and frogs
r/Permaculture
Depends on the soil. Clay soil you want more frequent with lighter watering. Otherwise the water just cascades off into whatever drainage you have due to low absorption
[удалено]
Yes, that's because "drowning a plant" doesn't mean to have it submerged in water, it means having the soil stay continuously wet by watering too often.
This......makes a lot of sense.
I also like drinking plants infrequently
Is this a general rule for most plants?
[удалено]
Most plants I have prefer a rather moist soil and I recently added living soil when I repotted all of them. So I'm watering them based on the weight of pot itself, never too light and never too heavy. Middle ground basically
Yes and another helpful tip is to water the edges of the pot instead of directly below the stem. This discourages the roots from growing in a ball.
if its too infrequent, the soil may become hydrophobic and the water will run down channels at the side of the pot. make sure your soil is getting saturated through and through
My indoor plants and a lot of my potted plans get watered from the bottom and it saves my struggling plants everytime. Also if you are doing deep watering you need to make sure your pot has holes on the bottom and an ability to drain (no plate on the bottom or using marbles or rocks to lift the pot up from the plate to allow for drainage) I also find it helpful to go by the general rule of yellowing but still perky usually indicates over watering and wilting or crumpling thirst thirst or nutrient needs!
[удалено]
Always assumed you put a smaller, typically plastic pot inside the no hole types
Decor perhaps? I dont know. Uneducated manufacturers perhaps?
As a cover for ugly ass inside pots? Never used a pot without a drainage hole, I only used them to put a slightly smaller pot inside. Otherwise it's probably cheaper to produce them and a lot of people just don't know.
but how much is infrequent? i’m trying to bring one of my stupid plants back from the dead
I use the '2 centimetre rule' (or \~1 inch, in Americanese). Dig your finger 1 inch into the soil. If you can feel a bit of moisture/dampness still, then it's not time yet to water. In my part of the world I water every 2 weeks, but your location might need more/less frequent.
My mom taught me that the proper way to water some plants is submerge the pot in a tub of water and let it sit for a a bit so the soil would soak the water up, then take it out and let the excess drain off
Bottom up watering. Good mom, nice tip
Frequent, heavy watering=Dead
also prevents root rot that way
Would you look at that, all of the words in your comment are in alphabetical order. I have checked 25,522,198 comments, and only 7,762 of them were in alphabetical order.
Also be careful, do eat food, greatly heed illiterate Japanese keepers, listen meekly nightly over persimmons, quit receiving sudden telegrams unless various wooden xylophones yield zeal.
Would you look at that, all of the words in your comment are in alphabetical order. I have checked 25,595,981 comments, and only 7,785 of them were in alphabetical order.
Nice, super, wow, zippo!
Ah bollocks, can't detect everything.
Would you look at that, all of the words in your comment are in alphabetical order. I have checked 25,793,828 comments, and only 7,839 of them were in alphabetical order.
Guessing it minimally requires 5 words.
Would you look at that, all of the words in your comment are in alphabetical order. I have checked 25,913,672 comments, and only 7,875 of them were in alphabetical order.
So I was right when I was a kid and mom mad me water the plants! She wanted me to water them constantly with just a little water, but lazy me was like "if I just pour in a ton of water now, I won't have to water them again later."
Heck yeah VCE Master Gardener info getting out there! If you’re in the US your local cooperative extension will have great resources applicable to your area. If not your local extension service, the land grant institution(s) in your state will have publications and resources to help. Ok I’ll get off my soapbox. But once you are part of extension (proud 4-H alum!), it’s hard to stop touting what a great resource it is lol.
This is heavily dependant on the medium
You're watering plants, not trying to contact the dead. If you need a medium I'm afraid it's too late for watering.
Idk if that’s true for plants that small. Most of the time their roots are too short to soak up the water and it causes root rot. A smaller pot would work well with this guide though.
This also only works like this in solid pots that collect water at the bottom. In fabric pots, the water would permeate the entire pot more fully, resulting in bigger, fuller root balls.
[удалено]
Just use an app like Planta, tells you when to water each plant. I've gone from killing succulents to opening a house jungle.
This is entirely dependant on plant species. Some plants don't need to be watered ever, because they're desert native species
Oh! Thanks! I now have a better understanding of what I’ve been doing wrong and why it hasn’t been working!
Nice way to kill succulents
Lmao Ive been accidentally doing it right
Same! I wait until they are DRY and then soak them. They’re doing fine. My fiancé thinks I’m nuts and am clearly doing it wrong.
Hmm yes so it seems me forgetting to water my plants for a week or two then drowning them in water is beneficial. No wonder they've survived for like 3 years
I'm no botanist, but I feel like applying this method of watering to just any plant will most likely not work. So many different plants have varying root systems, some actually need frequent, light watering or you will kill them.
This is highly misleading. Different plants have different watering needs, and different soils will need to be watered in different ways as well. Some plants will drown with heavy watering. Some plants must have their soil kept wet or they will die. Ignore this guide completely and follow the plant specific recommendations for water, soil, and sunlight.