How to understand when plants need water?
One of the most common questions is certainly understanding when to water plants.
Too much water could cause root rot and put your plant at risk. At the same time, prolonged lack of water could also cause problems.
So, how do you know when it's time to water your plants? There are many strategies we can use to understand when a plant is thirsty, let's look at them in detail!
5 methods to understand when plants need water
Use a wooden stick, insert it deep into the soil, and then, when you pull it out, look at it and touch it: if it's damp, and there's soil sticking to it, then the plant is still wet. If it's dry, it's time to give it water! An alternative, more convenient and "automated," is to use a mini soil moisture meter.
The ideal choice is to use transparent pots (if you love pots made of various and colorful materials, you can always choose to place them inside the pots you like best!). Transparent pots allow you to always keep an eye on the substrate and the root system: there's no better way to understand everything that's happening! A moist substrate has a darker, more intense color, almost black, while a dry substrate immediately appears lighter and grayish. Furthermore, when the plant doesn't yet need water, you'll notice humidity near the pot walls.
Peeking through the drainage holes at the bottom of the pot is another very useful alternative to truly understand the moisture conditions of the substrate. The first few centimeters of the substrate are not a very valid indicator! The top part dries out much faster than the entire soil ball. It is therefore useful and necessary to understand the conditions of the lower part of the substrate.
Many plants show strong aesthetic signs: they droop or curl their leaves. When this happens, it is almost always due to lack of water. To be sure, however, I recommend also checking the substrate, using one of the techniques listed above.
Another very useful indicator is the weight of the pot: the pot of a plant that is already watered and satisfied will weigh much more than the pot of a dry plant that needs water.
Now that you know all the strategies, you won't have to rush anymore and, most importantly, you won't have to be afraid to water your plants!