About watering
Many people love watering their plants, they think it's a way to show love to them. Of course yes but proper watering is true love for plants.
1. How often to water
It is a question that many newbies will ask. It's hard to say how often to water, it depends on the season, the soil and the pot. The easiest way is to water when the soil is dried.
How can you tell if the soil is dried? The easiest way to do this is to lift the pot and feel the weight. You know your own pot the best, the weight will be quite different before and after watering. Or check the surface of the soil, about a centimeter or two. If the surface is dried, it means that the soil is mostly dry. Now, go ahead and water it.
Many succulents are dormant in summer and cannot be watered regularly even when the soil is dry. Winter is the season of rain, which means the soil will usually be moist/wet, hardly need any watering.
2. When to water
In the morning? At noon? In the evening? I suggest evening. If you water it at noon, there will be water on the succulent leaves, then there's a magnifying glass effect, and the bright light at noon can burn the leaves. Morning watering has the same problem. Water on some leaves may not evaporate in time. Early evening is the best time, when there are no bright lights, has a good temperature and the interval to the next noon is longer than the other times.
3. How to water
The easiest way is to spray directly, especially on large areas of plants. But experienced people will notice a problem. In some POTS, the soil feels wet and the water is coming out of the drainage holes below. But if you check the soil, you will find that the water is not getting into the middle of the soil, where the roots are. The water ran right along the edge of the pot. So even if you water it often, the leaves of the plant are still shriveled, because the plant haven't absorb any water.
So the best way is to soak the pot in water. We can find a large container, put lots of water, and then put the pot directly in. In half an hour, take out, check the soil, you will find that the soil has absorbed enough water. The added benefit of this method is that you can mix liquid fertilizer with water, so that you can also fertilize the plants as well.
We need to know more about our soil and our environment until we develop our own watering habits.
By Frank Wong