Houseplant Watering Tips | Avoid Common Mistakes

Watering mistakes kill plants sooner than nearly any other factor, and letting plants sit in standing water is one of the common ones. J. P. Casey, author of Treatise on the Culture and Growth of Different Sorts of Flower Roots, and of Green House Plants Kept in Rooms (1821), notes: “All green house plants… must be constantly supplied with water, which should be always applied on the tops of the pots, and from no consideration whatever should any be suffered to remain in the water-pans under the pots, particularly in the winter season.” Garden writer Sally Cunningham, of East Aurora, New York, says that most gardeners who grow houseplants learn quickly to water carefully. “But I see a common mistake when the plants go out for the summer. A lot of gardeners still keep the plants in saucers, to protect their deck or patio from stains.Then when the rains come, they forget to dump the saucers. Plants that did well all winter indoors suddenly are suffering from soggy soil, oxygen deprivation, and rootrot diseases. So remove those saucers or dump water after it rains!”

Excerpt from 1,001 Old-Time Household Hints—brought to you by Skyhorse Publishing