from where, and what times are best for watering my houseplants?

ColmO · August 2022

the plants i currently have are a Hoya bella, a Begonia maculata, and various Jade plants and Spider plants. i always water in daylight, as that seems logical. is it though? and is morning better than evening? and from the top, or from beneath? TIA.

Loxley · August 2022

I don't think morning vs evening matters. Personally I spray all my plants with the shower head every 1-2 weeks or when they are visibly drooping, and let them virtually dry out in between. I tend to not water from beneath. Vital that they never sit in water.

Inglezinho · August 2022

Hoya is Australian, the others South and Central America. As for watering I follow the rule, "when they tell you" ie. when they are just beginning to droop. Some, notably begonias, do prefer being watered from below. Good luck

bédé · September 2022

Get to know each individual plant, its country of origin and climatic and soil preferences.
Most plants will drown in standing water. Succulents, like jade plant, generally will not tolerate damp soil. Others like to dry out completely betwen waterings.

In the wild it rains when it wants to, day or night, hot or cold. Mostly from the top. But some plants don't like water on their leaves or left lodging in their buds. Some composts are water retentive: begonia, spider plant, Others need to be very free-draining: cacti, orchids.

You need to ask the watering question for each individual plant.

ColmO · September 2022

sorry everyone, i've recently moved, and am still trying to sort everything out!

Loxley said:

I don't think morning vs evening matters. Personally I spray all my plants with the shower head every 1-2 weeks or when they are visibly drooping, and let them virtually dry out in between. I tend to not water from beneath. Vital that they never sit in water.

thanks Loxley. i've generally been spraying them once a week, and more in the really hot summer.

ColmO · September 2022

Inglezinho said:

Hoya is Australian, the others South and Central America. As for watering I follow the rule, "when they tell you" ie. when they are just beginning to droop. Some, notably begonias, do prefer being watered from below. Good luck

thanks Inglezinho. actually, i water all my plants from below, i just wanted to check whether that was okay.

ColmO · September 2022

bédé said:

Get to know each individual plant, its country of origin and climatic and soil preferences.
Most plants will drown in standing water. Succulents, like jade plant, generally will not tolerate damp soil. Others like to dry out completely betwen waterings.

In the wild it rains when it wants to, day or night, hot or cold. Mostly from the top. But some plants don't like water on their leaves or left lodging in their buds. Some composts are water retentive: begonia, spider plant, Others need to be very free-draining: cacti, orchids.

You need to ask the watering question for each individual plant.

thanks bédé. that's all very useful. but i will ask the question for each plant, like you say.

Obelixx · September 2022

Regardless of what my houseplants are I water the ones I can lift by dunking them in a bucket or bowl of water till no more air bubbles arise and then I let them drain completely before putting them back where they belong. This works for me for curly and scented leaved pelargoniums that like free drainage and don't like wet leaves but also for aloe vera, tender hibiscus, asparagus ferns and so on.

I also have two very large ficus - elastica and benjamina - which I wheel into the shower so I can rinse down their foliage while they're indoors from mid autumn to late spring and I can use the shower head to moisten their compost thoroughly and then let them drain.

ColmO · October 2022

thank you Obelixx, and apologies, but i've had a lot going on for the past month or so.

anyway, i'll try the bucket of idea method with the begonia. not sure about the spider plants, but they need repotting anyway.

from where, and what times are best for watering my houseplants?

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