If you’re struggling to keep your potted plants alive, it might not be how often you’re watering them but how you’re watering them. An expert has shared a simple technique that could help
Potted plants around the home are fantastic for bringing the outdoors, indoors, improving air quality and flow, and generally bringing down stress. But keeping said plants alive can prove tricky if you don’t know how to look after them.
Lots of people will get carried away and water too much, eventually making the roots rotten and eroding. Some will forget to water enough and starve the poor babies, causing them to wither and die. And for many of us, nothing we do will be able to keep them going. It’s an uphill battle.
However, according to experts, it may not be how often you’re watering your potted beauties but how you water them.
Bottom watering is suitable for many potted plants and is one way to avoid over or under-watering. “When watering houseplants in my home, I find bottom watering to be the most successful,” says Harriet Thompson, owner of Harriet’s Plants. “It is a great technique, especially if you are a beginner.”
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So what does it mean? It’s as simple as it sounds. Instead of watering the top soil, bottom watering means adding water from below. To try it for yourself, simply place your potted plant in water and let it sit there and soak up the water it needs.
The water gets sucked up through the holes at the bottom of the pot, travels up through the soil, and is taken in by the plant’s roots. The water will slowly move up through the soil, eventually reaching just below the surface. You’ll know when its thirst has been quenched by touching the soil just below the surface to see if it’s wet.
When you water from above, it is very easy to find that you are overwatering or underwatering. You may find that water does not fully moisten the growing medium and that there are still dry areas within your pot. “Monitoring water within houseplants is key, so I encourage bottom watering during the growing months to get the most out of your indoor plants,” says Harriet.
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