How to water plants without getting water everywhere
You may be wondering, how do I water indoor, balcony, and deck plants? How to water indoor plants without making a mess? How to water my office plants without water dripping? How to stop the water from making a puddle?
You can solve this challenge by approaching these two strategies, or a combination of :
– Use the perspective of conservation of every drop of water.
Or:
– Bring the plants to the water, rather than bring the water to the plants.
3 techniques to water your plant from below
Use a saucer. Place a saucer underneath the pot and fill the saucer with fresh water when it’s time to water. Let it soak during several hours. Empty the saucer and let the remaining water drip out. This technique is widely used by garden centers and plant nurseries to maintain humidity and keep nutrients.
Soak your plants in a tray, in a large container, in the sink or in the bathtub. Fill the bottom of it with a few centimeters of fresh water. Place you plant pots in and let them absorb water for a couple of hours. Advantage: you can water several plants at the same time. Let them dry before placing them back.
Self-watering pots. Self-watering pots are incredibly useful and time-saving. No more over-watering or under-watering, the plant does it all for itself. You just need to refill the water reservoir before it’s empty, which is approximately every other month (but varies case by case).
How to water high hanging indoor plants
Stackable Self-Watering Systems
If you want to grow multiple plants in a compact space,then consider using a vertical stackable self-watering container system. This type of system is nice, as you can add additional pots as your needs grow and the pots go upward instead of outward, saving space.
The pots have a reservoir and as you water from the top, the water leaches down through the system, watering the lower plants. They also make attractive additions to the home. Just be sure to use plants with similar light and water requirements.
How to water high hanging indoor plants
How to water large indoor plants without moving
Use A Drip Tray
This is one of the best ways to stop a huge mess while watering plants. Even many indoor plant pot comes with a built-in drip tray.
A drip tray is like a flat tray with elevated edges. It is placed under your pot where the excess water seeps out of. The purpose of this tray is to stop indoor plants from dripping.
However, if your plant pot does not come with a built-in drip tray, you can easily improvise. You can either find and buy the drip trays available on Amazon or can do it yourself. Get yourself a plastic lid or a small pot without any leaks. Make sure the lid is a bit larger than your pot’s diameter. Place it under your plant pot with precision.
We know, placing our plant pots in a place for too long tends to stain that place.
Using a drip tray would not only save you from moping the muddy floor but also help keep your floor and tables stain free.
How to water large indoor plants without moving
Using A Sponge In The Plant Pot
Another DIY trick that helps to absorb water, keeping it in the pot and catch tray is using a sponge. Simply cut a sponge to the sizeof the bottom of your container, place it in the bottom, add soil and plant as usual. The sponge absorbs some of the water that would usually go into the catch tray and possibly on the floor.
how to water indoor plants without making a mess
Use Self-Watering Tray or Container
Self-watering plants are a very good way to get rid of your indoor plant watering hassle. A self-watering tray or container is like a reservoir containing water in it. It is placed below the plant pot where there is the irrigation hole.
Additionally, self-watering plant trays are a mess-free way and it allows the soil to suck water whenever needed. If you do not overflow the pot, your watering the indoor plants goes on smoothly. Even, if your plant is over-watered, the excess water can seep in to the tray. Thus, it can act both as a watering plant and an extra drip tray.
On top of that these watering trays are inexpensive and comes is verity of sizes and shapes. You might even find your favorite colour in it!
how to water indoor plants without making a mess
How to water houseplants from the bottom
Soak Your Plants
Take your plants to a water-friendly space, your kitchen, bathroom, or garage.
This is simply taking your plants into an area that is water-friendly and soak your plants that need to be watered thoroughly, allow to drain, and then return them to their spots. Water is controlled and any spillage is kept to appropriate areas.
Water them either by soaking them with a watering can, under a faucet, or with a sprayer. Watering plants three times in a row will ensure that all of the potting soil is holding as much water as it can, and eliminate dry pockets.
Roots that are in dry pockets will die with no moisture and starts leading your plant down the road of stress due to not having enough roots to support the foliage of your plant. Constantly soggy soil will also lead to root dead, root rot, so a balance is vital for healthy plants.
You can alternatively water your plants by either soaking in a sink, bucket, or otherwise, pool of water. Shallow water will seep up and wick all the way to the top, give it 15 minutes or so.
How to water houseplants from the bottom
How long to soak plants in water
It depends on your soil and your container, but try it once and see. If you come back after 15 minutes and your soil is not wet all the way to the top, either give it more time, pour water from the top as well, or completely submerge your plant’s pot in water. If you are submerging, do so until the air bubbles stop coming up. Then remove your plant from the water and let drain for 15 minutes or so, then return to the area they grow in.
The exact amount of time to drain depends upon so many factors including the type of container, type of soil, the ratio of soil to roots….just try for about 15 minutes, see if there is still water seeping out, if so, leave longer, if not, maybe next time you can move back into position sooner.
Can I use ice cubes to water my plants?
Please don’t. The ice is way too cold for you plant and could shock it.
Can I overwater my plants?
You absolutely can. If you notice yellow leaves, you may be overwatering your plants or have root rot. In order to fix this, you’ll have to completely pull out your plant and repot it. To avoid overwatering, use a moisture meter like this.
