The Greener View: Watering Houseplants

Q: I brought my houseplants indoors for the winter, and I have saucers under the pots. When I water some of the plants, water immediately flushes out of the pots and overflows the saucers. When the plants were outdoors, I used a garden hose to water them, and I never gave a thought to water flooding out of the pots. In fact, there weren't any saucers under them. Now, my weekly watering is taking so much longer, since I water each pot slowly to make sure the water is soaking in. Besides getting saucers that hold more water, do you have any suggestions on how to water my plants now that they are indoors?

A: Plants use water 24 hours a day, but we don't have to water them 24 hours a day, because the soil acts like a sponge and releases water to them. The sponge of soil in some of your flowerpots appears to be damaged. The hose water may have washed away some soil to create channels along the edge of the pot so water can just run down the inside of the pot between the soil and the pot.

There are a couple more possibilities: Small animals such as worms, slugs and millipedes may have created their own channels that now allow the water through. Plant roots may have grown and changed the shape of plastic pots to allow the water through. Whatever the reason, you should look at repotting the plant, even if it remains in the same flowerpot. Filling in the gaps and channels with new potting soil helps replenish the sponge, which will slow the water flow and give more places for roots to grow.

In general, potting soil is porous and allows water to drain away quickly while retaining water like a damp sponge. Depending on where they are in the house, tropical plants and soil may not be drying out; since there is already enough water, the excess is allowed to drain away when you add more. Those plants may need to be watered less than once a week.

On the other hand, succulents and cacti may be in a sandy, fast-draining soil. Depending on where they are in the house, the plants and soil may be drying out quickly, so they may need to be watered more often than once a week.

Before you just pour water into the pot, make sure the plant needs to be watered. It is better to water when the plant needs water than on a weekly schedule.

Try adding water to the saucer instead of the top of the pot. How fast does it soak up? Keep adding water until it no longer gets soaked up. That may show you that you have been adding too much. It also won't overflow the saucer since you are only adding as much as the saucer can hold. You can try using wider and taller saucers if there is room between plants for bigger saucers. You can also raise the pots up in the saucer so they take up less space. Add some marbles or pebbles to move them up. In all cases of the pot sitting directly in the tray, whether watering from the top or the bottom, do not let the water sit for more than a few hours or else the roots in the bottom of the pot may begin to rot.

========

Email questions to Jeff Rugg at info@greenerview.com. To find out more about Jeff Rugg and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.