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The Best Way to Water Houseplants
by Walter Chandoha
When the heat is on, houseplants benefit from sitting in a humidity tray of moistened pebbles. (Photo: Walter Chandoha)
Watering houseplants is a whole different ballgame from watering plants in the garden outdoors. Did you know that more houseplants are killed from too much rather than too little water? Here are a few ways to make sure your indoor plants get just enough moisture—but no more.
How To Do It
- Before watering houseplants, use the fingertip test: Insert your index finger in the top half inch of soil. If it feels dry to the touch, water; if it's even slightly moist, don't. Another good trick is the heft test. If the pot feels light, it could use some water. If it is heavy, wait a few days before you water.
- For houseplants, humidity is almost as important as irrigation. Most homes are dry during the heating season—not an ideal environment for houseplants, many of which come from humid tropical climates. Clustering plants closely together helps boost humidity slightly. Even better, keep your indoor plants in a tray over a layer of wet pebbles. As the water, which should not quite reach the top of the pebbles, evaporates, the plants receive some beneficial humidity. But be sure that the pots don't sit in the water; few plants can tolerate soggy feet.
Walter Chandoha has been a professional freelance photographer and writer for over 40 years, specializing in flora and fauna of the world. Much of his inspiration is drawn from his 46-acre farm in northwestern New Jersey, where he has many experimental gardens of flowers, vegetables, fruits, herbs, and ornamental grasses. His photographs and articles have appeared in books for Time/Life, Ortho, National Home Gardening Club, and Meredith Books, as well as in periodicals such as Good Housekeeping, National Geographic, Country Living, House Beautiful, Architectural Digest, Organic Gardening, Garden Design, Better Homes and Gardens, and The New York Times.