How to water houseplants: the ultimate guide (2024)

Do you want to know more about how to water houseplants? In that case, we’ve got you covered. Keeping your houseplants happy and watered requires knowledge and know-how on when how often and how much to water, especially during the more challenging seasons.

Ideal winter guidelines

As the weather gets colder and wetter, it’s important to adjust your care routine for your plants. Here are the best tips to ensure that your houseplants stay healthy throughout winter.

Tip 1: Reduce watering

During winter, you should cut back on how often you water your plants. If you have a routine of weekly or fortnightly, you want to reduce that drastically come late November. When you water your plants, make sure that the soil is dry by, ideally 50%.

Make sure the potting soil is moist but not cloggy once watered, and that there are drainage holes in the plant pot. Leaving your houseplants sitting in water can cause many to die or wilt away.

Tip 2: Move your plants

Once the winter months come, the days are shorter and any sunlight stays low, meaning your houseplants are getting less than their normal amount of light. To combat this, move your plants closer to the window and away from any draughts.

Tip 3: Check your watering schedule

Let your watering schedule be about checking whether the potted plant needs water at all. Many plants won’t need to be watered as much as you are used to doing. As potted plants consume less water during this time, the potting soil surface stays wetter for longer. It’s important to not water “unconsciously” frequently, as you may have done in Summer.

Most houseplants are happy with any water, however, there are some plants, like the Phlebodium Blue Star, which hate tap water and prefer softened water. Ideally, you can collect rainwater to give them, or use filtered water.

Tip 4: Mulch around your plant’s soil

Mulch can be a great addition to gardens and outdoor spaces, as it helps retain moisture in the soil, protecting plant roots from drying out. Mulch creates a barrier between the soil and the surrounding environment, insulating it from fluctuations in temperature as well as helping to prevent weed growth.

Heatwaves and how to handle them

Heatwaves can be devastating to indoor plants, especially when your plant gets direct sunlight. Where houseplants require regular and ample watering sessions in order to flourish during the warmer months of the year, heat waves can definitely become a problem. If you live in an area that’s prone to heat, we suggest you take a look at the following watering tips.

Tip 1:

Heatwaves are very real and can be detrimental to your precious houseplants. In this regard, it’s wise to water them deeply before summer temperatures befall them. For most plants, watering in the morning or evening is the best way to go! You can use a moisture meter to check that none of your plants is being forgotten.

Tip 2

Getting water on leaves will not cause burning but it can cause fungal diseases in some plants, so watering most plants in the morning is ideal. Adding a layer of mulch to compost helps to maintain moisture which is always a good idea and a great potting mix for drainage is best.

Tip 3

Moreover, by moving some plants into shady areas, you can save them from harm. You can also try setting up a shade cloth for the duration of the heatwave, protecting your green friends from direct sunlight and overheating. Make sure to adjust how often you water your potted plants if you change their location.

Tip 4

It is especially important to ensure that plants are getting enough water to stay healthy. The best way to water them is with room-temperature water. This will give the soil and roots of the plant a chance to adjust gradually, and help keep them from wilting or drying out too quickly even if the plant gets direct sunlight.

Going on holiday and keeping your plants alive

Generally, it’s not rocket science to water houseplants throughout the year. However, these same houseplants cannot survive if there is no watering schedule for a long period of time, aka when you leave for holiday.

Tip 1

Make sure to leave your large plants, like the Monstera or Swiss Cheese, in their saucers with a little added to water but place them on plastic sheeting in a lightly shaded room.

Tip 2

During the week before you leave, water them several times making sure you don’t over-water them by taking a look at the reaction of the soil. If your vacation is only a week to ten days, your plants should be alright during that time.

Tip 3

In this regard, getting an individual plant sitter might not be a bad idea. Your friends or a neighbour can help you by watering your indoor plants on an agreed schedule and making sure they are well taken care of.

Signs of overwatering

The nr. 1 rule regarding the watering of houseplants, is to avoid overwatering. That might be harder than it sounds, though! Where most folks tend to overwater their houseplants, it will be no exception to find one or two wilted plants in your indoor plant collection.

Signs of overwatering your indoor plants may not be limited to the appearance of new and old leaves falling off and discolouration. Leaves, stems, or flowers may also become mouldy, soggy, and wilting. In addition, there may be a bad odour hanging around the plant. Make sure your pots have drainage holes in them to avoid your plants sitting in water.

Also, keep an eye out for grey and slimy roots. Basically, if the plant looks droopy or the compost is wet and mushy, it’s usually overwatered. If there is water pooling on the surface of the top around your plants, it is a sign of overwatering.

During the growing season, it is common to experience water pooling on the surface of the soil around your plants. It is important to be aware of this issue and take steps to protect your plants from its negative effects.

Signs of underwatering

Of course, the most obvious sign of underwatering is if the soil is dry as opposed to having consistently wet soil. If you have multiple plants in your indoor garden, you’d want to be on the lookout for the following signs of underwatering:

• Drooping leaves that look completely lifeless.
• Soil pulling away from the outsides of the potting soil.
• If the stems of your plant are weak and/or brittle. If so, then that means your plant is underwatered and it is important to approach them with caution.

Dangers of overwatering and avoiding it

Did you know that overwatering your plants can be just as harmful as underwatering them? Overwatering can cause your plants to suffocate, leading to yellowing leaves, wilting, and even death.

No air

If your compost becomes completely saturated with water, it means there is no air for the roots of the plant. No air leads to wilting and limpness. A slime will cover the compost. If you notice this early enough, you can fix it.

Root rot

If you have noticed a lack of air due to watering, it will surely and inevitably lead to the next worst-case scenario: Root rot. In the case of this, be sure to take the plant pot and turn it over. Slip the root ball out of the plant pot.

Wrap several pieces of paper towels around the root ball to soak up some of the water. Remove any root mealybugs. Leave the root ball wrapped like that until it is almost dry.

When you notice roots growing in waterlogged soil, it may be too late. Overwatered soil can cause a lack of oxygen and therefore entirely stop growth. And the longer the roots go without air, the greater the damage.

Death of plants

The death of a houseplant is sadly very common when dealing with overwatering, and it is the ultimate result of misinformation on how to water your indoor garden. Check out the section below for more information on how to avoid it!

Decreased vigour

Plants don’t absorb excess irrigation water; instead, they tend to accumulate around their roots and drown them. This leads to reducing vigour and weakens the plants’ natural defences against disease and pests.

Taking steps to avoid overwatering will ensure the optimal health of your plants and will lead to improved vitality and better-flourishing performance overall.

More Indoor Watering Tips

Non-arguably, potted houseplants require proper watering spikes to keep them happy and healthy. When it comes to indoor watering requirements, all your plants need to be tended to equally. As a general tip, the old saying “it’s better to be underwater than overwatering”, remains true.

Basically, to boil it down to numbers for you, it’s time to water plants whenever they plant is 25% dry in summer or 50% dry in winter. To test, you can use bamboo sticks or something to dip into the soil to see if the soil is dry or wet. If it is wet the soil will stick to the bamboo.

Furthermore, it’s important to ensure that all your plant pots allow good drainage.

When to water when you get your plant first

You finally get that plant you’ve been eyeing for weeks, and you can’t wait to get it home and into your space. But then, when you finally have it, you realize you have no idea how often you’re supposed to water it. How much is too much? What if I overwater it? Is there such a thing? To help ease your mind (and so your new plant friend doesn’t die on Day 2), here’s a quick guide on when to water your new plant.

When you get your plant, check the soil before watering it

When you’re ready to introduce your new plant to its new home, it’s essential to check the soil before watering. The need for watering depends on a variety of factors including temperature, humidity, and type of plant.

A quick inspection of the soil can tell you a lot about these conditions and how much water your plant needs. By checking the soil before watering, you’ll be able to save time, energy, and money in the long run as you avoid overwatering or underwatering your plants.

We have a detailed guide on every one of our plants that will tell you everything you need to know about which one!

If the soil is dry, water your plant immediately

It’s important to periodically check if the soil is too dry for your plant and provide it with an adequate amount of water during dry conditions. When checking if a plant needs water, it should be noted that moist soil is optimal for the health of your plants. If the soil is too dry, watering your plants immediately will help them recover and potentially thrive.

If the soil is moist, wait a day or two before watering your plant again

When it comes to watering your plants, it’s important to pay attention to dry soil versus moist soil. As described earlier, you can assess whether the soil is dry or moist by dipping a bamboo stick into the soil and if it feels dry, it’s time to water.

On the other hand, if you find that the soil is still moist from a recent watering, wait a day or two before giving your plant more water.

Remembering how much water your plant needs can also help – some plants require full sun and dry soils in order for them to thrive and others prefer well-drained soils that are kept slightly moist but not wet.

Now you know!

Watering houseplants can be challenging. But once get the flow of things and set up a proper watering schedule, you should be enabled to avoid future problems. Where the main challenges include not to over-or-under water houseplants, this guide intends on giving you solid and easy-to-follow guidelines for avoiding both of these unfortunate occurrences. Keep your houseplants happy and be sure to give them just the right amounts of water – preferably at the right times.