How Often Should I Water My House Plants?

What can you do to increase humidity for your houseplants? There are several ways to increase the relative humidity around indoor plants. You can mist or douse the foliage with water, or hang water-filled pans on the radiators. A hot-air furnace can be equipped with a humidifier. Or pots can be set on - not in - a layer of sand, gravel, or moisture-holding material like peat or vermiculite. Evaporating water humidifies the air up and around the plant above. A platter or small tray will provide for one plant; some sort of shallow tray is better for a group of plants. Also, several plants growing near each other will increase humidity slightly.

Or you can operate an electric humidifier like the "steam kettles" for treating babies' croup, for several hours a day. For particularly tender, tropical, humidity-loving plants, you can build a terrarium-type indoor greenhouse of glass or plastic, or close off a window or bay to hold in moist air.

The casual decorator who simply wants the effect of a vine hanging from a mantel can select varieties that do not need high humidity, or can use plants as temporary decorations and replace them when they begin to fail.

Watering

Here is where any attempt to set down specifications goes completely haywire. There is no answer to the question, "How often should I water my plants?" Frequency of watering depends on many factors or a combination of conditions: the plant itself, whether it likes to grow dry or moist, and whether it is in a period of active growth; the temperature, which may dry out soil in a hurry or keep it moist; the humidity or lack of it; the size of the pot (small ones obviously dry out faster than large ones); the texture or structure of the soil or soil mixture (sandy soils dry long before heavier types); and even the weather - less watering is required in cloudy and rainy weather than when the sun shines brightly.

Basically, www.plant-care.com/irrigation-water-treatment.htmlplants are watered when they need it - and then, watered so thoroughly that the pot and soil are completely moistened. There is one sure way to tell whether a plant needs water - feel the soil with your fingers. If it feels dry, water. If it feels moist, don't. If you have plant watering problem then try the irrigation water treatment.

To make sure that the soil in a pot or hanging basket is thoroughly soaked, set the container in a pail or sink full of water until it is wet all the way through. Let excess water drain away before replacing or rehanging it.