gardenfish said:I think humidifiers are a wonderful idea, I use them myself! I read somewhere that the average house has a humidity level inside the house at around 10%, that's desert levels. Humidity is good for plants and people.,
gardenfish said:What I do is first inform myself with every plants watering needs. Next, climatic conditions have to be considered. I don't cool my house to meat hanging temps in the summer; a lot of folks would say my house is too warm, but it suits us. I keep the house very cool in the winter. So plants get more watering in the summer and less in the winter. Also, in winter the plants don't require as much water, and I never fertilize in the winter. All my plants are in pots with good drainage, and all the succulents and cactuses are in clay pots.
For some plants that act like divas and Goldilocks and require exact moisture conditions I will use a wooden chopstick to determine if it's time to water or not. Inser the chopstick all the way into the pot and withdraw it. If there are soil particles clinging to it, it's good. If dry, time to water.
When I have a failing houseplant I consider the two main things I could be doing wrong; light or lack of it, and water or lack of it. Since I seldom if ever have insect issues inside, if a house plant is failing it's due to one of these two issues.
I have lost plants to watering issues; most notably pothos and spider plants. So if I re purchase them on occasion I'm really careful about how I water them. I've learned the watering needs of many of my plants. I have one plant that is 16 years old, it seems the summer outside, winter inside, and is a happy camper!
I always water to the point where the water runs from the drainage holes in the pot, and dump any extra water in the saucer. It's important to make sure the rootball gets soaked when watering. If the plant gets too dry a drop of dish soap added to the water helps break the soil tension for better penetration. Or I put the plant in the sink and let it absorb the water form the bottom up. Bottom up watering is recommended for certain plants with fuzzy leaves such as African violets.
I very seldom have overly dry plants. I believe most gardeners fall into basically one of two categories; under waterers and over waterers. I used to be the latter, and it was many years before I could grow succulents and cactus. I had to re train myself about watering these types of plants.
sallyg said:
I see more plants (posted for help) that look overwatered than anything. Because, naturally, we feel that we must 'do something' and that's easy.
I feel the top of the soil and heft the weight of the pot to help judge.
purpleinopp said:When my plants are inside, they get watered every weekend, or if it's been really cold, every 2 weeks. When they are outside, all get water every 2-4 days, depending on the temps. With a few exceptions like mini gardens and a couple of orchids, there are way too many to provide individual care so the goal is the same for all - add more water before the soil literally dries all the way.
AllieCat said:I give each of my plants individual care first thing in the morning. The soil I'm using right now retains too much water and I need to figure out what to do about that. Unfortunately I bought a big bag so I need to amend it.
For the small plants I use a squeeze bottle with a long neck to water them because it gives me more control and it's easy to add whatever supplements I want.
I have four main plant groupings and then a few scattered plants so it's not that difficult to check on them each day plus I love doing it. I talk to them so they get plenty of carbon dioxide and only water based on checking the soil. If the water runs through quickly then I place it in the sink and let it soak up water from the bottom. (I like the chopstick trick and I think I'll try that.) I try to pay attention to what each plant wants but I tend to be a helicopter plant parent and I'm not sure that's good.
I'm concerned about my unsheltered outside plants that may get too much rain and stay wet all winter.
Off topic: I'm seeing a big difference in my plants since using the desktop humidifiers ($15) and the grow light bars ($20+).
rosebuddy2 said:I seldom water to the point where the water actually drains out the bottom hole unless I've repotted something, and want to get rid of any air holes. May be against what others think to do, but since you asked! LOL.
Humboldt said:
Your plants look great, sounds like that schedule works fine in AL.
Way too buggy in weather here, northern CA.
The best picture of my my first dog Inga, a gorgeous golden retriever, was taking in Alabama when my sister drove from NC to AZ to bring her to me on a road trip.
Beautiful picture and beautiful woods.
purpleinopp said:
Thank you!
Since getting rid of peat, I've only lost plants to getting too dry. It's so much easier to just make sure they don't get dry, than worrying about root rot and trying to magically intuit and wait for the exact mysterious minute when it would be OK to add more water w/o causing "overwatering." And I don't miss hydrophobic soil either, what a pain!