I'm pretty sure that's spot on for established plants, but for young plants that's not correct. Start frequent and light for new plants. Also appropriate if it's a smaller plant or in a smaller pot.
this post was submitted on 21 Oct 2025
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You and infographic are both correct. Depends on the plant but mostly what you’re saying for new “house plants”. Also keep an eye out the size of the pot and fuck plastic pots.
Why plastic pots?
Terra-cotta pot let the moisture seep out if there’s too much. Think of it as a smarter soil, water comes back in if the soil demands it in the right areas. Plastic with no drainage lets water sit and break down the soil and weaken roots, could cause drowning. With drainage the plastic pot acts as a funnel and pours out where the soil may not hydrate enough and let the plant feed off it on its own terms. Treat everything like it’s alive and your way of thinking for the plant changes……. This is how I learned to take care of my partners plants while they’re away and I still live another day lmao.
That's really interesting, thanks!
They chafe less than ceramic.
The trees are strong, my lord. Their roots go deep.
Most of my plants I only water after the leaves start wilting and they've never been happier. This doesn't work with every plant as they'll just die but in my experience it works with most of them. For the rest I just let the soil get bone dry and then I water quite heavily. I don't think I've ever killed a single plant by underwatering it but I've overwatered several to death.
This supports my practice of waiting until the plant is wilted and dropping leaves, right?
Infrequent is wrong according to my experience. Also start with a small pot and move up when the roots start growing out of the bottom hole. Too large pots for small plants don’t work well.
Thank you! My wife waters outside almost every day, but not deeply. I've been trying to tell her this.
Does this apply to grass lawns? My city is in perpetual drought restrictions so we are only allowed to irrigate once a week (for sprinklers). I set it to 10 mins.
Yes. Also deeper watering helps to cut down on weeds and crab grass taking over your lawn.
Biased. Only works for temperate/cooler climates. If you live somewhere actually warm, watering once or twice a day is the norm. Smaller pots should be watered more often than larger ones. Do not water if the top 2cm of soil is moist. Do water during late morning/early afternoon on very hot days to cool plants down. Do not water in late evening/night, the damp will cause your plants to rot. Garden gnome out.