How Often Should You Water House Plants: A Comprehensive Guide
Knowing how often you should water house plants is vital. Water plays an essential part in the growth of your plants. Getting it right keeps them healthy and protects them from diseases.
Knowing how often to water your houseplants is a very important part of owning your plants. Over and under watering can create a number of problems. The good news, is knowing when to water your plants is easy when you know what to look for.
As a general rule of thumb, most houseplants need to be watered once a week. However, this will depend on the individual care requirements of each plant. Understanding your plants needs and its environment are key when working out how often your plant should be watered.
How often to water house plants
Some common signs that your houseplant has been overwatered include brown or yellow leaves and the leaves dropping off. Whereas curled leaves, dry roots and drooping leaves can indicate your houseplant is underwatered.
One way to determine how often do you water a houseplant is to feel the soil dryness. If it is dry, it generally means it is time to water. However, this will depend on various factors such as the time of year and the type of plant.
We will now outline the different factors that determine whther you need to adjust how often you water your houseplants.
1) Time of Year - How often should you water indoor plants?
The time of your will play a big part in how often you need to water your plants. The time of year will mean you need to change how often you water your houseplants. This is because of the varying temperatures levels throughout the year.
How often to water house plants in Summer?
When temperatures are warmer, you will need to water your houseplants more frequently due to increased water evaporation.
How often to water house plants in Winter?
In cooler months, you will typically need to water your houseplants less. This is due to your plants losing less water by evaporation. The colder weather means your plants retain water better and so they need less of it from you.
You will need to consider the impact of central heating during winter months. Central heating causes the air to be drier. This can mean that you need to water your plants more often, as the drier air could dry out your plants quicker!
If you are struggling to know when to water during the season changes. Then a watering indicator or a soil moisture meter are both quick and easy products to help you know when your plants need watering.
2) Size of plant - How often should you water plants indoors?
The size of your houseplant plays a big part in its watering requirements. Typically, smaller plants need watering more often. This is because they have less soil in their pot, making the soil dry out quicker. This means your plant may need to be watered more often.
A larger plant may not need to be watered as frequently. This is because its pot is larger and deeper, which means the soil has better moisture retention.
These pointers are a general guide for most small and large houseplants. You will need to mindful of the specific care requirements for individual plants when deciding how often to water them.
If you are looking for ways to reduce how often you water. One great option is to look for ways to help your soil to retain moisture. The use of decorative stones such as grit and flint stones is perfect for this. They can be added on the top of the soil in your soil. Not only will this help keep your plants moist for longer, adding decorative stones looks great too.
Another way to achieve this is to add clay pebbles to the top of your pots. These are another option to help retain the moisture in your soil.
3) Type of plant - How often to water indoor plants?
The type of plant you are watering will play a big part in determining how often you water. Some houseplants need to be watered regularly whereas other houseplants prefer less water and drier soil. Which means they can go for longer periods without water.
There is no substitute for paying attention to the requirements of your plant. All the plants we supply come with care instructions so you know the conditions your plants will do best in. Monitoring the condition of your house plants before watering will help you determine how often to water them.
4) Growth rate - How often should I water houseplants?
The speed that your plants grows will also play a part in how often you water it. Fast growing plants require more water than dormant or slow growing plants. The roots need more water to support further growth. Slower growing plants may need less water.
This guidance should be used in conjunction with the individual houseplants care requirements.
5) Position of Plant - How often water house plant?
The position of the plant refers to where it is put. The position of a houseplant will have quite a large effect how often it is watered.
Houseplants in Direct Sun:
If your houseplant is in direct sun, the warmth of the sun is likely to make it dry out quicker. This will mean that your plant needs watering more often. Plants in direct sun can quite easily be underwatered if they are not cared for properly. It is important to mindful of underwatering your houseplant in direct sunlight as you may lose more water than you think due to evaporation.
By keeping an eye on your houseplant, you can look for common signs of underwatering (curled and drooping leaves) and make the necessary adjustments.
Houseplants in Indirect Light or a Shady Spot:
If your houseplant is in indirect light or a shady spot, you will typically need to water less. Plants in these spots can easily be overwatered. You will need to take care to avoid overwatering your houseplant. This happens when the soil in your pot is still wet. This is common because the soil will not dry as quickly in a shady spot. This can lead to problems with root rot which is one of the most common causes of issues with houseplants.
6) Humidity level - How often do you water houseplants?
Some houseplants, such as more tropical varieties prefer high humidity levels. A high humidity level results in the rate of water loss from your plant being reduced. In turn, this means that you will need to water your plant less.
If you have plants that prefer a humid environment. A great way to increase humidity is to use a houseplant myst spray. As well as increasing the humidity it also adds extra nutrients to the leaves too.
Another way to increase the humidity around your houseplants is by the use of clay pebbles. These can be added to a tray of water and placed near your houseplant.
Watering accessories to complement your watering routine
There are various watering accessories that you can use to water your houseplants. These are some of the popular choices:
Watering Cans – Watering cans are great for a targeted approach to watering. They allow you to slowly add water where it is needed. This can be useful if you are prone to underwatering as you can control where the water is going and whether you need to add anymore.
Watering Jugs – Watering jugs are ideal if you are prone to overwatering as you can see the amount of water in the jug and therefore how much water you have added.
Spray Bottle – Spray bottles or misters are ideal for adding a small amount of water to your houseplant at a time. They are also useful to increase the humidity around your plant. Great if you need to give your plant a quick pick me in warmer months for example.
Final thoughts on how often should I water house plants
Now that we have made you aware of the different factors that can influence how often you should water your houseplants. We hope that you are equipped enough to assess the factors that you need to consider when you next carry out your watering routine. Getting your watering routine just right can be the difference between a stunning plant and one that is hanging on.
Remember to pay attention to the specific requirements of each houseplant and monitor how your plants respond to watering.
A great way to supplement your watering routine is by the use of specialist houseplant feeds. The use of houseplant feeds can be included at the point of watering as many of the feeds are added to water in order to use them. These will help give your houseplants a range of essential nutrients that will help promote their growth.
Until next time Small Indoor Plant lovers, take care, we hope to see you again soon.
