Watering or overwatering ??

Let’s clear this up a little. The fear of overwatering does not mean that you should only give your plants small amounts of water… or that soaking the soil is a death sentence for your plant. Take a look at nature… soft rainwater showering the plants foliage, soaking the soil thoroughly and where excess water can drain away easily. For most of our indoor plants, this is not possible, so we chose the next best option, cleaning the leaves regularly and standing the pot in a tray of water, allowing the soil to soak up as much soft water as it needs to saturate the soil (bottom watering). When the top of the soil is moist, take the plant out of the tray, and let the excess water drip till it stops, before placing your plant back in its decorative pot. Remember that the roots need moisture, oxygen and nutrients, to grow so the soil should be loose enough to aerate the roots and without restriction of compacted soil.

So… how often a plant needs watering? This depends on the plant type and its capacity to store water in its leaves, stems, roots, bulbs or rhizomes. Think of the two extremes, cacti and succulent-type plants can store lots of water, grow in hot, dry sandy areas and survive on dew drops and the occasional rain. Aroids grow in tropical areas, in and under the trees, high humidity, so don’t need to store water, have even temperatures and grow in nutrient rich, loose often barky soil. So, using the correct soil type, knowing your plants characteristics or natural environment will tell you how moist or dry the soil can become before watering.

A little research goes a long way for a happy plant.