Problems with Watering

Hi, I'm new to Dave's Garden. I've been growing houseplants since I was a kid...well, cactus and aloe, anyway :-). A several years ago an aunt gave me some spider plantlets and pothos cuttings, and I have done well with those. Other house plants I have tried-ficus, palms, dracaena-and haven't done very well. Usually I wait until the soil seems dry, water until water runs out the bottom, and then remove the excess water. The plants seem to do well for several weeks, and even put out new growth. Then, almost over night, they become dry and crispy. The leaves do not brown (they remain green), and when I depot the plant there are enough roots to hold the entire soil ball together. I buy plants in 3-inch pots, and plant them in 4-inch terra cotta-so the root system does expand some before the plant dies.

I am not sure I understand the definition of "dry to the touch," "constant moisture," and "average watering" I find listed in various plant books + website. Could you give me any advice?

When you take them out of the pot is the soil dry through the rootball? Potting soils have a lot of peat in them and if that stuff dries out it is a real beast to rewet through to the middle of the rootball, the water will run right down the sides of the pot and out the bottom without really 'watering' the plant. I've had plants that looked to be suffering so I took them out of the pot and the soil around the rootball seemed to be moist but when I get to the middle of the rootball it's dry as a bone. This is a real problem with plants I buy at places like home depot, if they let it dry too much before they water it will live long enough for them to sell it but not very long for the buyers. Now I completely remove most of the soil from those plants before I pot them up at home to make sure the middle of the rootball is getting water.

I would take a close look at the water you supply your plants. It's very possible that your pH and/or alkalinity is extremely high. If you think your watering practices are such that the plant seems to get adequate moisture and the roots are not remaining wet for extended periods it is a good bet. If you have a municipal water supply, a call to the facility will get you a pH range & alkalinity analysis. If your pH is much over 8, a change in water or supplemental acidification would be beneficial.
You could also buy a couple of plants (twins) ;o) and water one with distilled water & the other with what you've been using. If the plant watered with distilled water shows substantially better vitality, you have good reason to believe it to be water related.

Al

I buy these plants at my local garden center, and they are well taken care of before I buy them. When I repot them the soil is moist in the center. I have repoted plants that were in the process of dying (thinking I might have overwatered them) and some of the soil was dry. Would bottom watering take care of the problem? Or water them 2-3 times within a hour or so to make sure the entire rootball is wet?

My local water has a pH that is almost 8. The water is very hard, though. Could that have an affect on the plants? Would filtered water be about as good as distilled?

I've never had a plant go crispy and stay green, brown and crispy yes. It sounds like it must be something in the water. I'd give them a call and get an analysis, maybe extreme salt buildup would cause the green crispies? I would try at least leaving the water out overnight before using it or buy some filtered water and give it a go. You may also want to pose this question on a more watched forum ,maybe someone will know better what is causing it. And if you find out I'd be curious to know the answer!

Hi, I'm in NM, too. I know all about the hard water. I water all of my houseplants with tap water and have no problem. I'm wondering if the water is really so different from Alb. to Roswell. I used to live in Clovis and I thought the water was hard there, then I moved here and its worse! But my plants seem to do fine with it. I know most of NM has high Calcium levels in the water due to the kaliche in the area. Could it be that?

Jess

I think I may just try filtered water, and hope that makes a difference. I still think I may be underwatering/overwatering, I'm just not sure how to tell which I am doing.

When they go crispy and green, it is like when you pull green leaves off a tree and let them dry...instead of turning brown, they just fade in color and become dry and crispy.

Jess, I also doubt there is much difference between the water in Alb and Roswell, unless theres a significant difference in how it is processed. I think I am going to try filtered water anyway, mostly because I am not sure what else I can try.

I agree with Plant_Madness--I have hard water, too, and I let my water sit out at least overnight. Or, I try to, anyway, and for the most part, I do. You have to do that for changing the water in fishtanks, too, because of the chlorine. Letting it sit for at least 24 hours gets rid of it. It's worth a shot!

Kelly