I have a friend who is starting in the Plant Lover world and after talking with her and listening to all the doubts she had about how and how often to water the plants , I thought that an article talking about this topic could be of help and also of interest.
Without further ado … Let’s get to it!
WHEN DO YOU HAVE TO WATER THE PLANTS?
One of the main mistakes we make when watering plants is treating them all the same . Never forget that each plant has its own needs and some need moderate watering and others abundant.
That said, as soon as you buy a plant, check on the Internet or in the nursery where you bought it, what care it needs . And already knowing what their needs are (abundant, moderate or scarce watering) you will be able to understand them and give them what they need.
HOW TO KNOW WHEN TO WATER YOUR PLANTS
We could say - very briefly - that there are three types of plants in relation to irrigation: those that need to be watered when the substrate is completely dry, those that need the substrate to be always wet, and cacti and succulents that need long periods with the dry land.
Identify which of these three types of plant is yours and water it accordingly. To do this, always look at the substrate and insert a toothpick, pencil or your own finger into the soil to see if the soil is wet or dry. If when you take out the toothpick or pencil it has dirt stuck to it, it is because it is still wet.
In case you are not sure if the ground is wet or not, my advice is to wait a few days. It is better to water less than more!
WHAT IS THE PROPER WATERING FREQUENCY?
The plant itself will be the one to tell you how often you should give it away . Imagine that you have a plant that needs to have the substrate always humid and you water it every Sunday. In this case, there could be three situations:
- Let Sunday come and the land is dry. Which means that you will have to water your plant twice a week instead of once.
- Let Sunday come and the earth is very wet. Which means that either you should add less amount of water or you have to water it every 10 days.
- Let Sunday arrive and the soil is slightly damp. This would mean that you have found the perfect days to water your plant.
ADAPT IRRIGATION TO TEMPERATURE
I always insist that the best thing for our plants is to observe them to understand their needs. Do not get used to watering them one day a week -the previous example was just that, an example- since depending on the time of year your water needs will change.
In the summer the temperatures are higher and we will have to water our plants more frequently to keep them hydrated and fresh.
In winter the temperatures drop, the substrate stays humid for longer and also the plants go into vegetative rest, so we will reduce the waterings (always progressively) until they are almost completely suspended in some species.
HOW MUCH WATER SHOULD I ADD?
This depends on many factors such as the size of the pot, the substrate, the type of plant it is (Ficus, Calatea , Succulent, Cactus …) or the temperature / time of year in which we are.
WHEN YOU POUR THE WATER, DO IT LITTLE BY LITTLE
To avoid saturating the earth and going through the water, it is advisable to pour the water into the pot little by little and see how the earth absorbs it and stop when you see that the water begins to flow out of the drainage holes.
It is possible that when watering several plants you will find that some absorb the water very quickly and, on the contrary, others take a few seconds to “swallow”. Do not worry about this, it is due to the amount and type of soil that each pot has.
Of course, the caked substrates that tend to have very compact soil, take a long time to absorb the water and you have to make sure that the water drains through the hole in the pot because sometimes, as caked as the soil is, the water does not it can penetrate to the roots and the plant does not hydrate.
WHY LET THE PLANTS DRAIN?
Not letting the plant drain is one of the biggest mistakes you can make when it comes to watering. What do I mean by drain? Because always, always - I say it once more just in case - always, you have to let the remaining water from the irrigation drain through the drainage hole before placing the plant back in its cover-pot.
In the same way, do not leave your plants with a saucer full of water since many species are prone to root rot and having stagnant water so close to them will cause rotting problems or the appearance of fungi.
If you are reading this point and you just realized that your pot doesn’t have a drainage hole… Please make one right now! Or change the pot because as you go over the watering, it is very easy for your plant to end up rotting.
WHAT IS THE BEST TIME OF DAY TO WATER?
As the popular saying goes: Each teacher has his booklet . In my case, I water the plants in the following way: in summer at dusk since it is very hot and thus I make sure they are well hydrated and cool during the hottest nights.
In winter I usually water at noon . Why? Well, because it is the time when there is more light and all excess water or humidity evaporates more easily. The important thing is to avoid watering them at the coldest times of the day so as not to generate excessive humidity.
WHAT IRRIGATION METHODS ARE THERE AND WHEN SHOULD I USE THEM?
To water my plants I use three irrigation methods: traditional, immersion and spray irrigation.
TRADITIONAL IRRIGATION
I use it for plants that need moderate or little watering. Simply, what I do is pour water with a watering can on the substrate until it comes out of the drainage hole.
IMMERSION IRRIGATION
I reserve it for plants that require abundant watering and are sensitive to root rot. Why? Well, because this way I make sure that the plant absorbs the moisture it needs and that I don’t go overboard with the amount of water.
To water the plants by immersion, what I do is put the plant in a container of water. After about five minutes I remove it, let it drain and place it back in the pot-cover.
SPRAYER IRRIGATION
Sprayer irrigation - a small spray bottle - I use with plants that require a lot of humidity or that need very little water, such as succulents.
For plants that require a lot of humidity ( Marantas and Calateas ) what I do is water by immersion and then spray the leaves and the surface layer of the substrate to make sure that it is always humid.
For cacti and succulents that require a small amount of water, what I also do is water them with a sprayer without wetting the aerial part of the plant, I just spray water on the substrate.
WHAT CAN I DO IF I HAVE WATERED TOO MUCH?
If you touch the soil and notice that it is too wet, remove the plant from the pot and wrap it in kitchen paper until you remove most of the water.
In case you do this and the substrate remains damp, place the plant - without putting it in the pot - on the terrace or in a place where there is air so that the root ball of soil dries as soon as possible.
DO I NEED TO USE BOTTLED WATER FOR IRRIGATION?
In principle, not although there are plants with acidic soils such as Azaleas that do not feel very good in water with lime. If the water in your city is very hard and has limescale, what you can do is fill a bottle of water and let it sit for 24 hours. In this way, we will be able to eliminate most of the lime.
SHOULD I WATER WITH COLD WATER?
Be careful with this! Whenever you water your plants, try to do it with water that is at room temperature. If you do it with very cold or very hot water, you can shock the plants and cause the roots to be damaged.
HOW DO I KNOW IF A PLANT HAS EXCESS WATER?
The most common symptom is that the leaves of the plant begin to yellow and end up falling off.
HOW DO I KNOW IF A PLANT NEEDS WATER?
Because the stems and leaves will look shriveled or withered. As soon as you water the plant and it is hydrated again, these symptoms will disappear. However, when you have excess water, the consequences caused by dehydration do not disappear.