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In this post, I’ll review five tips to know when to water your houseplants so that you don’t overwater and kill your plant babies. (I’ve also provided the video version in this post for those who prefer it!)
First, I’ll say that everybody struggles sometimes with watering plants—don’t feel bad if you’ve overwatered and killed a plant because we’ve all done it! Knowing when to water your plants is hard. It’s not like they can tell us when they’re thirsty, right?
Tip 1
Feel the soil before you actually go in and start dumping water on your houseplants. Plants don’t need to be watered on a set schedule!
I know we want to be able to write down on our calendar, “Water houseplants every Sunday morning.” Unfortunately, it can’t always work out that way.
You can definitely CHECK your plants on a schedule, but you always just want to feel and assess the moisture level before dumping water on your plants.
Tip 2
Understand your houseplants’ needs. I mean that on both a species level and also just each individual plant in your home.
On the Species Level
Desert plants like to dry out and then be totally poured on as if they’re in a rainstorm.
Jungle plants like to have constant moisture and humidity. They don’t ever want to completely dry out, so perhaps instead of drenching them every time you water, you water a little bit at a time, but more often.
It’s about understanding the basic needs of these species and how you can best replicate that.
On the Individual Plant Level
Your home has different environmental factors that affect your houseplants’ needs.
For example, if it’s the middle of the summer and you have air conditioning blasting throughout your home, or in the winter you have a plant that’s right underneath the heat vent, they’re going to be drying out a lot faster.
They’ll likely need to be watered even more often than in their natural habitat! Things like temperature, light level, time of year, climate, etc.— you’ll have to adjust your watering based on those factors.
It might sound a bit complicated, but this is something you’ll get used to over time as you get to know your plants. You’ll notice when they’re happy versus unhappy.
Tip 3
Droopiness! Stems and leaves are normally full of water, so when they’re NOT full of water they will deflate and droop.
This is more obvious on some plants than others, but you’ll notice the stems and leaves aren’t sticking out and up as much and the leaves might be a little bit curly. It’ll basically look like a sad, sad plant!
Once it’s watered and those stems and leaves fill back up, within a few hours to a day, you’ll see that the plant is nice and perky again.
Tip 4
The weight of your plant’s pot. If something is totally bone dry, you’re going to pick it up and it’ll basically feel like an empty pot! On the other hand, if the soil is saturated with water, it’s going to be heavy.
Although this is relatively easy to notice, it DOES require you to pick up your plants! So, pick up your plants from time to time so you can get used to how they feel when they’re well watered versus too dry.
Tip 5
Crispy, brown leaves, yellow leaves, or if your plant generally looks bad. I put this tip last because it doesn’t necessarily mean your plant needs to be watered, but it’s a sign that something is wrong and could be indicative of long-term stress.
Crispy, brown leaves are a good indicator that it’s too dry either from the potting mix or the humidity is too low and things are getting a little bit crispy.
Yellow leaves are often a sign of overwatering, but they CAN be a sign of underwatering and a lot of other unhappy plant things. (I’m talking MANY yellow leaves, not one or two.)
Essentially, your plant is unhappy in some way so it’s time to check it out, see what’s wrong, and give it some TLC!
(P.S. If you’re a chronic overwater-er, you could also try bottom watering. Check out my post on bottom watering plants for instructions!)
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