“Spritzing your plants is not the correct way to water your plants. In fact, it doesn't water them at all,” she says. While spritzing can provide some moisture, unless the plant really thrives in humidity (ferns, orchids, or bromeliads, for example), Hovis says spritzing can do more harm than good.
Misting creates humidity, and some tropical plants appreciate it (though there are more effective methods for increasing humidity around your plants), but it should supplement watering. To water properly, pour water directly on the soil until it runs out the drainage holes at the bottom of the pot.
"Misting the surface can provide a bit of humidity to the foliage without directly spraying leaves," Resta notes, "and it can help oxygenate the soil." Additionally, she says misters can be really helpful during summer, or growing season. "Leaves are unfurling, and a mister is perfect to have handy," she says.
“Some plants thrive in humidity,” explains Hank Jenkins of the Plant Provocateur in Silver Lake. “If you don't give them moisture, their leaves will dry out. If you want new foliage and growth, you need to mist them.”
An Essential Tool. This said, a good mister is still considered an essential tool for houseplant longevity. That's because misting is one of the best ways to keep your houseplants clean and healthy. Over time dust settles on leaves making it more difficult for light to be absorbed for photosynthesis.
As a rule of thumb, all cacti, drought tolerant plants, and the great majority of succulents, should never be misted! In addition to these plants, there are some plants that actually enjoy decent levels of humidity but, should not be misted because of their fuzzy foliage texture.
Also, don't mist plants that don't require a lot of moisture, like succulents, dragon tree (Draceana marginata), fiddle leaf fig (Ficus lyrata), yucca, pothos, ponytail plant (Beaucarnea recurvata), cissus and spider plant.
Letting the leaves get too wet and / or allowing them to stay excessively wet for a prolonged period of time can encourage mold growth on the leaf surface, so it's always important to ensure you don't ever allow puddles of water to form on your plants' leaves - this applies when watering as well as when misting.
Your Spider Plant will do well in normal household humidity but will thrive with a bit more humidity. Brown leaf tips may indicate the air is too dry, so mist your Spider Plant regularly using a Mister.
Some plant owners mist the base of the plant and the surface of the soil, but this has little benefit. Don't worry about misting the soil because the water won't make it to the roots to be absorbed.
Types of Plants That Like Mist
(Zebra plants, orchids, arrowhead plants, and begonias are just a few others that love mist.) "It's best to mist each of these plants as you see the top inch of the soil become dry to the touch," he says.
As for misting — for the plants that need to be misted to thrive like air plants and ferns — it's best to mist them in the morning *and* the evening whenever possible. The morning mist helps to prepare them for the day ahead, while the evening misting helps create a little extra humidity.
In general, houseplants' potting soil should be kept moist, but not wet. They normally need watering once or twice a week in the spring and summer, but less in the autumn and winter. However, depending on the type of houseplant, this is not always the case.
Some plants want daily misting; others are OK with two to three times a week.
Consider misting your plants once or twice a week during the cooler months because the air is dry, and require less frequent misting in warmer months when humidity levels are higher.
A: To a plant, there's no difference in the mist temperature. However, warm misting humidifiers sanitize the water as they heat it to vapor. That means there's a slightly smaller chance that humidity-borne diseases can develop with a warm mist temperature.
If you are growing the plant indoors, Bendall suggests leaving them alone. "They are called pups and are like newborns. While the pup is still attached to its mother, plant it in its own container in lightweight, easily drainable soil. Wait to detach until the pup is established on its own, and then cut them apart.
Other house plants such as a spider plant, philodendron, peace lily and crassula also prefer to be always watered from the bottom. Seedlings are vulnerable to damage from watering from above so should always be placed in a tray of water to soak up the moisture they require.
2. Misting. This method of watering is not recommended for succulents at all. Instead, you should only mist your succulents when propagating cuttings, as mature succulents store water in their leaves.
However, snake plants don't really benefit from misting, as they're native to arid regions and are used to dry conditions. The thick leaves of a snake plant also help to prevent water loss, so misting is usually unnecessary.
Cyperus. If your houseplants repeatedly succumb to root rot, get yourself a cyperus. Cyperus plants have tall grass-like shoots topped with slender bracts that droop downward in an umbrella shape. Cyperus are natives of tropical swamps, so it's virtually impossible to overwater them.
By regularly spraying your houseplants with water, you raise the humidity around their leaves, keeping delicate species from the tropical regions of the world happy in distinctly untropical homes.