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Overwatering maybe hurting my indoor houseplants. However, I'm yet to figure out the balance between over-watering and under-watering. I follow the general finger rule and if it feels dry, I water it once in 2 weeks or every week. I feel I either get plants too much water or they get too dry. Not able to get it perfect. What practical tips you all may have on solving for watering balance? Thanks
As a general rule, watering plants once a week should strike a good balance. During winter that should drop drastically. The kinds of houseplants matters. One size does fit most, but not all.
Overwatering maybe hurting my indoor houseplants. However, I'm yet to figure out the balance between over-watering and under-watering. I follow the general finger rule and if it feels dry, I water it once in 2 weeks or every week. I feel I either get plants too much water or they get too dry. Not able to get it perfect. What practical tips you all may have on solving for watering balance? Thanks
OP pick up one of these, solves your problem, costs very little, saves your plants. Under $10.00
Measures moisture. Prevents over-watering. For indoor/outdoor use. Prevents over-watering.
Available at most Garden Centers, Hardware stores, online.
Thanks for your reply and suggestions. I do have a moisture meter. How deep I should let the moisture meter put in the pot. It's usually dry in the top 4-5 inches, but then wet on the right side of scale deeper. Any thoughts?
Thanks for your reply and suggestions. I do have a moisture meter. How deep I should let the moisture meter put in the pot. It's usually dry in the top 4-5 inches, but then wet on the right side of scale deeper. Any thoughts?
How big are these pots?! The usual directions are to put the tip of the probe in the center of the pot. You should, however, try to get a feel for the rythmn of drying so you are not sticking the probe into the roots every few days forever. Really big pots dry out very slowly unless they have really big plants in them.
Where the plants are placed matters a lot. Even in sunny areas some people manage to over-water houseplants because they plants don't get enough sun. If your houseplants are not getting a couple to a few hours of actual SUN daily, not just light, but actual sunshine, hitting the leaves directly or through a thin curtain, then the plants are light deprived by definition and will not use (or need) as much water.
Thanks for your reply and suggestions. I do have a moisture meter. How deep I should let the moisture meter put in the pot. It's usually dry in the top 4-5 inches, but then wet on the right side of scale deeper. Any thoughts?
That sounds like you might not have enough organic matter in the soil to properly wick moisture into the top layers or hold it there.
Thanks for your reply and suggestions. I do have a moisture meter. How deep I should let the moisture meter put in the pot. It's usually dry in the top 4-5 inches, but then wet on the right side of scale deeper. Any thoughts?
As a rule of thumb you should check the soil at different locations around the plant in the pot. Try to think of north, south, east west locations, 1/2 way between pot edge and main stem of the plant. Put the probe into the soil as far as it will go taking readings as it goes deeper into the soil. The deeper you go naturally will be wetter than at the surface level.
Depending on your plants requirements it will depend on if you should water thoroughly and let dry down before re-watering or if your plant requires frequent watering. Soil mixture determines how even and how much the watering will be held throughout the pot.
Pot types depend on water requirements too. Clay pots dissipate water faster than ceramic, plastic or wooden pots. You mention 4-5 inches down but didn't mention pot size. 4-5 inches down in a deep pot such as a 18 inch deep pot for example is not something to worry about.
It's always better to underwater a bit than to over water and get root rot. Watch to see if the plant starts wilting and you put the probe in and it's very wet, then you've overwatered, if it's showing dry then you need to add water.
Remember as the soil starts to dry down some it's also pulling in some oxygen that the plant requires. Overwatering chokes out the oxygen and over time can kill it.
Hopefully I'm trying not to get over detailed to confuse you but give you some basics to aid you.
It's a ceramic spike that's attached to a tube, that you put into a jar of water that is lower than the plant. You wet the ceramic cone and put it into the planter, and the plant will suck the water it needs via capillary action. Then, it's basically up to the plant to use as much water as it needs.
If your soil is getting dry down 4 inches, that's probably too dry.
Oh, and it shouldn't be sitting in water in a dish. So, if the planter is in a dish that holds water after you water it, that will keep the roots too wet.
Another alternative, is to leave it in the dish, then only water in the dish, and let the plant suck up the water from the dish. Then, you need to pay attention to whether that's working or not - are the roots deep enough to suck up the water, etc., and make sure it doesn't stay too wet after it drinks, etc.
This is why I'm going to get some of those hydrospikes. Takes the guess work out of it. You just need to be sure the ceramic cone doesn't dry out.
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