How Often To Water House Plants

When you have an abundance of indoor plants, you will most likely have various types. Each of these will have different indoor gardening conditions, and thus, you will need to be on top of your indoor plant watering.

Different plants like water of various quantities and like it at other times. So, for gardening for beginners can be a little confusing right at the start. (Read Best Garden Hoses)

You can use this guide and find out all there is, from the frequency of watering to how the type of pot makes a difference. You can also find the best way to water your houseplants, no matter what pot or what kind of plant you are growing.

How Often Should You Water Potted Plants?

How often do you water a plant can lead to premature plant death because of overwatering. Before you know the frequency of watering, there are other factors you need to know.

When planting indoor plants in a pot, make sure the pot has drainage holes in the
bottom.
Adequate drainage is vital for healthy roots. Any pot that has no holes can easily be over-watered.
Instead of watering set schedules, you need to check your plants need a little water. So, check the top of the soil surface visually or touch it. Wet potting soil is dark, while dry will be a lighter color.
If using peat potting mixes, a dark brown to black means it is wet. If it is the color like grocery bags, it is dry.
If the soil looks like or feels dry, then you need to water your plants. You should check twice per day, depending on your area and the time of year.

It is important to note that just because your first pot will need more water doesn’t mean every plant needs more water. Knowing when plants need water for your indoor gardens is a balance between seeing when soil is dry, and the next time you water houseplants.

How Do You Know if You are Overwatering Your Plants?

To understand if your plants are over-watered, you can use the symptoms below as a guide.

Wet and Wilting

If the houseplant looks wilted and the soil is wet, or if the houseplants are green and well-watered but struggling, then it has probably received too much water.

Brown Leaves

If plant leaves turn brown and wilt, it is another sign of too much watering. This symptom is the same as if your houseplants are sick, so don’t make the mistake of watering houseplants as you think it lacks water.

Edema Blisters

If indoor plants absorb more water than they require, it may cause cells to expand and stress. Signs of lesions or blisters can mean you may have watered too often.

Falling Leaves

If a plant has yellowing leaves with new growth falling, then this is too much watering of your houseplants.

Root Rot

If you see root rot, you may find it is too late as this is the worst thing to happen to your houseplant. Root rot comes from plants standing in too much water, and they quickly lose the ability to take up water. The fungal disease causes roots to go gray, brown, and growing slimy.

What is the Best Way to Water House Plants?

Once you try and find the best ways of watering your plant, you can see it isn’t just how often should you water plants.

While many people water their houseplants from above, the preferable method is from below. Doing so almost eliminates the chances of overwatering. Besides, you won’t wash any nutrients away from the upper part of the soil.

Here are some simple steps to water your houseplants from below

Use Saucers

You should place a saucer or likewise container under your pot. Once it’s time to water, fill the saucer with fresh water. You can let this soak for a few hours before emptying any excess water, and then you can let the last drops drain from your pot.

Garden centers and nurseries use this as it helps maintain moisture, humidity, and keep nutrients.

Soaking Plants

Take a large tray or container, and place it in your sink or bath. Fill to a couple of inches of water. Stand your pots inside and let them soak the water for a couple of hours. It is handy to water several plants at once, though you need to carry them to and from your sink.

Self-watering pots

Self-watering pots are useful and save you time; these have a water reservoir, and water is taken as the plant requires it. The problem here is, you never get to learn how to water your plants.

How Many Times a Week Should I Water My Plants?

Here’s a few more things you need to know about watering an indoor houseplant.

Type of plant – Some plants like more moisture and wet conditions, while others like it dry. You can even find some that will last a few days without watering, such as cactus. Others may need constant moisture. You will need to check what your houseplant like before you begin watering.
Pot Weight – Although not reliable, it can be an indicator as a heavy pot compared to a light pot will contain more water.
Drain holes – You can check the drain hole underneath to see if it is damp.

Besides this, you can see here things that determine the days when you need to water more or water less.

Size of Plant – A larger plant type will want more water than small ones. Although, if you have young plants, these need more watering than mature plants, which require less.

Temperature – Higher room temperature increases evaporation along with the metabolic rate of your plants. Winter to summer can vary a lot, so you will want to adjust your watering to compensate. The amount of light can also have an impact on this.

Type of Pot – One thing often an oversight is the type of pot. If you use a ceramic pot that is coated, then this won’t absorb any tap water. On the other hand, Terracotta will suck moisture from the soil and help get the top dry every day.

Add to this; your potting mix can also help dry the soil if it is fast draining.

Once you understand the above, you can name the day when you water as long as you make sure the soil for your plants is moist enough, and it doesn’t affect their growing.