We know that having interior greenery is good for the body and soul, but this is only true if you can keep those houseplants alive. Seeing a plant die can be stressful! Are you asking how to water houseplants so that they will grow and be happy? This post will help those who struggle with watering to keep their plants growing and thriving: the main reason that people lose their houseplants is because of improper watering. Too much, too little, or uneven moisture will kill plants.
Here are 6 tips for watering houseplants correctly, with photos below that illustrate these points.
Learn to recognize when the soil in your houseplants is dry. When you see that the potting mix is dry, but before the plant wilts, water it throughly.
Make sure your plants are growing in pots with drainage holes. Do not cover those holes or put rocks or other debris in the bottom if you repot your houseplants.
Have a saucer under the pots so that you’re able to water the plant well. That saucer will catch all the excess water. Place pots with small, built-in saucers on larger dishes or trays.
When you water, apply enough so that the entire rootball becomes saturated. Don’t give plants “a lick and a promise” with small amounts of water.
Let a plant sit in a saucer that contains the runoff for a little while. After a couple of hours, remove excess water with an old towel. (If the water is less than 1/2 inch deep, just leave it in the saucer.) Most plants with roots that are kept constantly wet are prone to root-rot, but don’t let this knowledge prevent you from throughly soaking the root ball when you do water .
Wait until you see the soil is dry before watering again.