How to Water Your Houseplants
Get ready to get excited about watering day!
Most of the problems I encounter with clients are related to watering. Either too much or too little water can quickly lead to a myriad of problems that can kill your plants. On top of that, it’s surprisingly hard to get your watering right. But don’t worry!
I’ll set you up with tips and a routine that are simple and straightforward and will lead you on the path to success.
TIP #1: Establish a Watering Day
Choose a day, once a week, where you can dedicate some time to watering your plants. Set a reminder on your phone so you don’t forget, and do your best to stick to it.
Make it FUN! Watering the plants can either feel like a chore or become something you look forward to - the choice is yours! Think of watering your plants as part of your self care routine, so put on some loud music, get dressed up, make yourself a drink - whatever makes you feel great - and grab your watering tools!
TIP #2: It’s more important to water thoroughly than on a strict schedule.
Don’t just water all of your plants because it’s watering day - or don’t NOT water because it’s not watering day if you have a plant with saggy leaves. This is an opportunity to learn more about your plants. And the first thing they want you to learn is to communicate with them. Believe me, they have a lot to say!
Even if you putter around the house with your watering can on a regular schedule, you can STILL be under- or over-watering your plants! Here are a few of the most common factors that go into this:
If you have pots with no drainage holes you can drown your plants without knowing it!
If you have a larger plant and are only watering towards the center of the plant, the rest of the soil (aka roots) don’t get saturated, and your plant can’t grow.
If you water until you see it seeping out of the bottom of your pot, you are probably not giving your plant enough!
My system eliminates these issues - you water all of the soil in your pot THOROUGHLY and completely every time. If you water that way, your plants can tell you the next time they need a soak and your days of guessing are OVER.
The Setup
You’ll need to gather a few supplies. I like to check my plants for pests, trim off dead leaves, and wipe off any dust when I water, so I bring all of that stuff along with me. Today I’ll just talk about watering supplies.
Watering Can & Mister I use a couple different watering cans: a smaller 2 pint size for my indoor plants and a larger 1/2 gallon one for the larger plants on my porch. You can use whatever works for you, depending on the size and number of plants you have.
I also bring a plant mister with me, because many houseplants love getting a boost of humidity by spraying their leaves with water.
This is the smaller can I use for indoors. This set is great because you also get a high quality mister with it!
Image: terrain
Moisture Meter I’m really obsessed with this gadget, and I talk about it a lot in my blog posts. Because different plants like to reach different levels of dryness before being watered again, the moisture meter is great because you can put it deeper into the soil and it’ll give you a precise reading. This tool is a must-have!!
Amazon also sells more complex ones with soil pH and light meters - if you want to get more technical those are also great options!
Image: terrain
Bucket If you don’t use a bucket you can also use your bathtub or sink. I love using Tub Trugs because they are super strong and flexible, come in multiple sizes and colors, and are easy to carry around and pour from without spilling!
I use the medium size for watering, which holds about 7 gallons.
Image: Red Gorilla
Watering Schedule I’ve created a FREE downloadable schedule that you can use to track your watering and fertilizing! Just carry it around with you on a clipboard and mark when you water and fertilize each plant. It makes life SO MUCH easier, and helps you spot trends in watering that can help you learn the specific needs of each of your plants over time.
The Routine
Check your plants. First I go around the house with the moisture meter and check all of the plants. Mark off the reading on your watering schedule - you can either just check the appropriate box or put the number in if you want to get fancy.
TIP #3: Place the moisture meter into the root ball of your plant, not the side of the pot. Go in at an angle so you don’t damage the plant itself.
Based on your meter reading, take one of the following actions:
Wet - leave your plant until next week
Moist - top off with water from the watering can
Dry - (and it’s not a cactus) bring your plant to the sink, bathtub, or bucket for dunking
The Dunk
For smaller plants
I fill my bucket about a third to half-way with room-temperature water.
Take your first plant and push it down under the water. You should hold on to the soil with your fingers, because when it’s really dry it has a tendency to float out of the pot!
You’ll see bubbles start to come out of the soil - this is the air in the soil getting pushed out and water replacing it. Keep holding until the bubbles have stopped.
Bring the plant back up out of the water and let it drain out for a few seconds, then set aside somewhere you don’t mind getting wet - more water will continue to drain.
Once you’ve dunked all of your plants and allowed them to drain, they can go back to their normal homes.
For Larger Plants
If your larger plants are moveable, already outside, or you aren’t worried about overflow:
Use the bucket water, hose, or watering can to liberally water it from the top. You’ll have lots of water running out. I usually give it a big soak for 15-20 seconds or (or until the water reaches the rim of the pot), then come back and do it again in 15 minutes
If you can’t move your plants:
Top them off with some of the leftover water from the bucket, or use a watering can to add some water to the top, being careful to avoid spillage or overflow. Take it slow!!!
If you don’t already have some overflow water in your saucer, pour some water in there.
Leave for 15 minutes.
If there is still water in the saucer, empty it out and give another dose of water at the top.
If there’s no more, add some water to the saucer. Repeat until there is still water after 15 minutes.
Discard any excess water
Why Dunk?
When soil gets really dry, it becomes hydrophobic - it will actually repel the water. You may have noticed this when watering a really dry plant - most of the water just shoots right through the pot and back out the drainage holes.
TIP #4: If you only look for water coming out the bottom of your pot as a sign that you’ve watered thoroughly, you could actually not be watering enough!
The dunking method erases this question by forcing the soil to thoroughly absorb water into every part of the soil.
TIP #5: You should dunk your plants once a month, even if you’re watering regularly with the watering can.
The watering can isn’t always great at wetting ALL of the soil in your pot, so not all of your roots are likely getting what they need. You’ll have a healthier plant if you use a combo of watering can and dunking.
Tips & Troubleshooting
Pots with no drainage holes Here are your options if you have a pot that doesn’t have drainage.
Drop the plastic nursery pot inside and remove that at watering time
Drill holes in the bottom of your pot
If your plant is planted inside a pot with no holes:
Follow the normal dunking routine.
When the bubbles stop, cover as much of the soil surface as possible with your hand and tip the pot over, allowing the excess water to drain out. Really hold this for a while until the dripping has slowed significantly - you can still drown your plants if you leave too much water in here!
Soil surface is hard Even if you water regularly with the watering can, you may find that your soil surface becomes kind of caked and hard. This is common, but can make it harder for water to absorb evenly into your soil. If you find that this is happening, take your fingers, a garden tool, a knife, etc, and scratch up that top layer of soil. You’ll see right away how the water seeps into the soil faster and more evenly!
Soil is spilling out It’s ok for some soil to float away when you dunk your plants. But some plants like really light, fluffy soil which can be really hard to contain when dunking. If you have a plant like this, it’s better to water it under the sink faucet with room temp water and a gentle stream. You don’t want to see big divots in the top of your soil from the water hitting it. Really soak the plant, letting the water reach all around the top of the pot, and leave it to drain in the sink. You’ll notice when you do this that your plant becomes much heavier - this is a good sign!
Saucer overflowing If you’re top-watering your larger plants and the saucer is filling up, take it slow. Leave the plant for a while to allow some of that water to absorb back in. If it doesn’t, pour it out and give it smaller doses of water from the can more frequently until your moisture meter says it’s wet enough.
TIP #6: Saucers should be properly sized to collect the right proportion of water. A good rule of thumb is to buy a saucer that’s the same diameter as the opening of your pot.
Recap
Choose a watering day and have fun!
Print out our watering schedule
Check your plants with the moisture meter and follow our guidelines
Dunk as needed
Revel in the fact that you’re an amazing plant parent
And remember… If your plant says it doesn’t need water one week -
DON’T WATER IT!!
If you’re running into trouble or you have questions, please reach out on social media or in the comments below!
Does all this sound like no fun at all? You’re in luck! Did you know that Wild Violet offers a full range of plant care packages? Check out our Plant Care page to learn what’s included, how it works, and to see pricing.
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