When Should I Water My Plants?

One of the most common mistakes plant parents make when it comes to watering is sticking to a blanket one-size fits all watering schedule for all plants regardless of where they are in your home.

I water my Cheese plant once a week

I check if my Cheese plant needs watering once a week

As a general rule, plants won’t need additional water when there is already water in their soil. If you water your plants on a certain day, think of that day or time as an opportunity to check which plants need watering first before going ahead with the watering can.

You’ll want to wait until some of the soil dries out before you top up your plants with water again. Often the top layer of soil will dry out first so you’ll want to dig a bit deeper to at least 1/3 down of the pot to check that the soil is dry before topping up. You can get moisture readers to do this for you but I’d recommend getting your hands dirty and digging into the soil for your fingers a tad to check that the soil both looks and feels dry.

Once you do this a few times with your plants, you’ll start to learn how quickly they are drinking water and when they’ll likely need a top up.

More Natural Light = Thirstier plants

Your plants will drink more water in positions where they receive more natural light. If you’ve got two cheese plants but one is in a much brighter spot, you’ll most likely need to water the one in the brighter spot more often and it’s important that you don’t have the same watering routines for both of these plants.

Likewise, it’s important to bear this in mind as the seasons change. In the summer, your plants will be drinking more water and in the winter, less. You’ll need to adjust your watering habits to accommodate this.

How drought tolerant are my plants?

Some plants, like cacti and succulents are very drought tolerant and are used to periods without water in their soil. They often have large trunks or stems in which they store back up water for periods like this. These plants are often very sensitive to root rot and it’s super important that you allow the entirety of their soil to dry out in between watering.

On the other hand, much thirstier plants like Maranta, Calathea and Ferns have very thin leaves and stems with no place for back up water storage. They aren’t drought tolerant at all and will often need watering as soon as they’ve finished the water in the soil.