Watering Tips

Watering

You can drown much more quickly than you can die of thirst and so can plants! Most plant deaths are caused by overwatering rather than underwatering.  To avoid drowning your plants follow the below suggestions:

• Pots with drainage: when watering plants, you don't just want to drizzle a slight bit of water on the top, you want to drench the entire pot, so that all of the roots have access to the water.  Then, like a house guest who is overstaying their welcome, you want that water to leave. Be sure you leave the door open by choosing a well-draining pot, expecting water to drain all the way through, and putting a dish under it if you want to avoid the last few drips!
• Bottom watering: plants in dirt especially appreciate this method, and it's fascinating to watch! Choose a container deep enough to cover at least a couple inches of your plant pot. Fill this container with water, leaving room for displacement, and then gently set your plant pot into it. You can leave the plant there for 30 to 40 minutes, but you will see the plant soak up water from the bottom of the plant pot almost immediately, and it is amazing how much some plants "drink!"
• Add elements to your substrate to help with drainage and aeration: from lava rocks lighting the bottom to a layer of leca, and even adding perlite or orchid bark to your soil, all of these things will help your soil let water drain. The upside to perlite leca and lava rocks is that they will hold on to moisture as well, helping your plant stay moist a bit longer if you tend to be forgetful.
• Self-watering: this is a method of watering where the plant pot does the work. You choose a double layered pot with a reservoir on the bottom. The inner container needs to have drainage holes.  You can find two containers that fit together or buy a self-watering pot that's pre-made. There's usually a fill line to indicate how much water you should leave. Sometimes there will be a thick piece of rope to wick water from the reservoir up into the dirt. As long as you keep water in the reservoir, your plant should remain happy!
• Finally, you can avoid worrying about over-watering if you choose a semi hydroponic method of growth. In this method you choose a semi-Hydroponics substrate like pon or leca and you will be leaving a couple of inches of water on the bottom of the container. I prefer clear containers so I can see where that water is at all times! This method does necessitate the use of semi hydroponic growth chemicals to replace the nutrients your plant is not getting from dirt.

Water roots vs soil roots: 

With all the above talk about not over-watering you may be wondering how we can propagate plants in just water.  This is because water roots are different from soil roots!

Water roots grow to be able to obtain carbon dioxide from the water. It's important that the water has available air-obtained either through a fish tank aerator or frequent water changes.  Soil roots don't have this ability and are overwhelmed and drowned when submerged. Water roots are able to obtain air from aerated soil, but they may prefer you keep things more moist than usual while they adjust. This is why it's much more common to move a propagated plant into soil and far less common to move a potted plant into solely water. Semi-hydroponic growth allows the roots access to both water and air.