When your indoor plants need to be watered, don't just give them a tiny sip. Soak the soil thoroughly, until water starts to come out of the pot's drainage holes. Giving houseplants a good, long drink encourages healthy root system development.
Bottom watering is an effective technique that waters plants from the bottom up. This is typically achieved by placing a planter or vase (with drainage holes in the bottom) in a bowl or tray of water and allowing the soil and roots to soak up the moisture from the base up.
"Bottom watering encourages strong roots".
The view is that by doing this, you will encourage roots to grow deeper into the soil to reach the moisture deep down and this helps prevent excessive shallow roots and provides resilience in times of drought.
How often should you water houseplants? Most houseplants need watered every 1-3 weeks. You should monitor your houseplants and water when they need it, rather than on a schedule. Frequency of watering will depend on the size and type of plant, size and type of pot, temperature, humidity and rate of growth.
Wetting leaves.
Plants get their moisture through their roots, not their leaves. Direct watering to the soil surface and avoid wetting leaves because water helps spread some plant diseases. Use a watering wand to reach ground level or a soaker hose or trickle irrigation system to wet the soil rather than the leaves.
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.
“A lot of people don't understand the importance of misting,” adds Jenkins. “Misting is one of the top things that you can do for your houseplants. I advise my clients to mist their houseplants one to two times per week.”
Under Watering -
This can also cause the plant to drop leaves. This doesn't necessarily mean that you are consistently under watering, as it could have only happened one time to cause the browning. The brown leaf tips will not turn back to green but you can trim the brown edges to get the plant back to looking healthy.
Inconsistent watering, in particular allowing plants to dry out too long between waterings, will cause leaf edges and tips to turn brown. Excess salts can build up in the soil when too much fertilizer is applied which can also lead to brown leaf tips. Water and fertilize appropriately to prevent further browning.
Chlorine and fluoride
Ordinary tap water, well water, rain water, and snow melt are all okay to use if warmed to room temperature. Chlorine added to drinking water does not harm most plants but some may develop brown leaf tips over an extended period of use.
The best way to give your plants a drink is to put water on the soil near the base of the plant with a hose or watering can. Don't dump water on the plants from above. And do not use overhead sprinklers.
The main drawback of bottom watering is potentially overfertilizing your plant. Because the soil isn't getting flushed from the top, minerals may build up in the soil, which can cause symptoms of nutrient excess or even chemical burn to the roots.
If the soil is wet, it's overwatered - if it's dry, it's underwatered. Browning edges: Another symptom that can go both ways. Determine which by feeling the leaf showing browning: if it feels crispy and light, it is underwatered. If it feels soft and limp, it is overwatered.
During spring and summer in Southern California, she suggests drip watering three times a week for 18 minutes, then adjusting from there if the soil is too wet or dry. Don't know how to tell? Stick your finger in the soil. If it's consistently moist 2 inches down, your plants are fine.
As for the leaves that still have brown tips, you can snip the dead parts away with a pair of scissors without hurting the plant. For some plants that have long, strap-like foliage, such as dracaena or spider plant, make your cuts at an angle to imitate the natural shape of the leaves.
One of the quickest, first signs of overwatering your plants is to observe occurs at the tip of the leaf. If the tip of the leaf is turning brown this is a sign of overwatering. Too little water will result in your plant's leaves feeling dry and crispy to the touch while too much water results in soft and limp leaves.
When you see dead leaves, dormant stems, or brown parts of leaves, cut them away. It's fine to pluck dead leaves or stems with your hands when possible, just don't pull too hard, or you may damage the healthy part of your plant. For tougher stems or to remove brown leaf tips and edges, use scissors or pruning shears.
As a rule of thumb, all cacti, drought tolerant plants, and the great majority of succulents, should never be misted!
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.
So, to avoid overwatering all you need to do is take a more measured approach. According to Reader's Digest, all it takes is placing two large ice cubes or several small ice cubes at the base of your plant once a week to keep them happy and hydrated. This way the plant gets to suck up all that H₂O slowly, but surely.
Types of Plants That Like Mist
Tropical houseplants and plants that love high-humidity—such as the Chinese Evergreen, Boston Fern, and Majesty Palm—will benefit most from misting, says Plunkett. (Zebra plants, orchids, arrowhead plants, and begonias are just a few others that love mist.)
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.