What does it mean to water thoroughly
The editor will share some small experiences of flower care knowledge with everyone, explaining what it means to water thoroughly. Let's follow the editor to see the specific content!
Although it may seem easy to understand for beginners what it means to water thoroughly, there are indeed countless precautions hidden within. If one is not careful, the plant may either dry up or drown. So how can we master watering thoroughly? Let's first talk about the meaning of watering thoroughly. Watering thoroughly means when watering plants, you should water enough to let the potting soil absorb the water, rather than just pouring a ladle of water and finishing, because sometimes the potting soil may become compacted, and most of the water will flow away through the gaps, leaving the true roots without water.
Below is a case shared by a flower enthusiast. Please read the following text carefully, as skimming through won't be effective. Although the example is about succulents, it also applies to other plants. Flower enthusiasts should apply the same principles to different situations!
I originally thought that judging the moisture level of the soil was a minor issue that everyone would understand at a glance. However, recent communications with flower enthusiasts have made me realize that if this is not explained clearly, and even a standard is not set, the soil moisture level might cause misunderstandings, similar to how light intensity can lead to confusion (please see the fourth article: The Sunlight in the Eyes of Succulents).
A flower enthusiast asked me what to do when the leaves of their Echeveria plant became watery. Seeing the picture of the soil, which was the common seedling mix of peat and perlite, I realized that the roots might be dampened by the water. I asked them to check if the soil was still moist, and if so, to repot the plant. They replied that the soil was very dry due to the central heating (the enthusiast is from Heilongjiang, where the heating is strong, room temperature can reach 25 degrees, and it is very dry). They asked if they should dig it up. At the time, because their environment was dry, I carelessly told them to remove the watery leaves and observe. The next day, they messaged me saying that many leaves of the Echeveria had become watery. I immediately asked them to dig it up for me to see. This Echeveria was 10 centimeters tall, with well-developed roots and a small section of a stem. The most important discovery was that the peat soil attached to the roots was indeed moist.
This is a classic case. The flower enthusiast used a large, breathable ceramic pot and tested the soil moisture level with the toothpick method. To avoid damaging the roots, the toothpicks were inserted near the pot, and since the pot was larger than the plant and very breathable, a serious misjudgment occurred. With high temperature, low humidity, a breathable ceramic pot, and no watering for 7 days, the toothpick test indicated that the soil was dry. All evidence suggested that the roots of the succulents were dry and well-ventilated, but the result was exactly the opposite.
Many people like using peat because the roots of succulents enjoy intertwining with the fibers in peat, which is beneficial for root growth. For flower enthusiasts with limited experience, these intertwined peat fibers are very dangerous. Once the roots entangle with the fibers, they form a closed water storage environment. This is like putting half a bottle of water in a cola bottle; even with the cap open, it won't dry out for several months. Although the water surface is in contact with the air, the air near the water surface in the bottle is already saturated with humidity, so the water basically does not evaporate, and the air near the bottle opening has a humidity close to that outside, so only a weak amount of moisture is lost. Once this environment is formed, the roots of succulents will find it difficult to stay dry and well-ventilated.
Summing up this case, there are a few points that everyone should pay attention to.
First, soil problems (you can check the sixth article in this series). The more inexperienced you are, the less likely you are to get soil that is easy to grow. Because beginners often start with cheaper succulents and use cheaper general-purpose soil. Most of the general-purpose soil sold in the market is made of too much peat, which is prone to waterlogging. Good peat users are all experts among experts (such as the "master of growing succulents with damp soil" I mentioned before), while beginners should use all-granular soil for planting. They should even sieve out the dust from the granular soil. Although sieving out the dust is not good for the succulent rootlets to grip the soil, it is quite valuable in reducing the risk of suffocation and death of the plants.
Second, the misunderstanding of red ceramic pots. Many people online regard red ceramic pots as a magic tool for growing succulents, but I don't agree with that. Every type of pot has its own characteristics, and you need to be familiar with them to grow succulents well. It's not that a certain type of pot always has an advantage (we'll discuss this in more detail in our future potting topic). In this case, it was because the red ceramic pot was too breathable, creating a wet in the middle, dry on the edges environment. In this environment, due to the succulents' water-seeking nature, the new roots all grow towards the middle, which leads to even less ventilation in the already suffocated roots.
Also, the outer soil drying too quickly also renders the toothpick method ineffective. Although this cannot be considered a crime of the red ceramic pot, it is worth our attention.
So, for the concept of soil being thoroughly wet, we may find it easy to talk about, but it is very difficult to achieve in practice. To understand the soil's dry and wet state through the pot requires a slow accumulation of experience.
You might be thinking, if it's hard to judge when the soil is dry, then it should be easy to judge when it's thoroughly watered. I won't draw a conclusion yet; let's look at the case below together, and it will definitely give you a new understanding of the meaning of thorough watering.
It was a flower enthusiast from Shantou who is still growing plants outdoors. The temperature and humidity in Shantou in December are relatively good. However, even in such good weather, she encountered a problem with her pot of Xiangfu莲. Xiangfu莲 is an old plant with a diameter of 15 centimeters. It was planted in an 18-centimeter deep porcelain pot, which looked very beautiful. She told me that the leaves of Xiangfu莲 were soft and asked what to do. She had watered it three days ago. Seeing the outer old leaves of the succulents already in the process of consumption and the middle leaves with wrinkles, I would have thought it was due to a lack of water if it hadn't been watered three days ago. Not giving up, I asked her if she had watered thoroughly. She told me that she always waters thoroughly, and the water drains very quickly.
By now, you must be thinking about where the problem lies. Don't scroll down yet; wait until you have an answer before reading on.
The real answer is simple. Before that watering three days ago, she hadn't watered for about two weeks, causing the soil to become slightly compacted. The compacted soil left a little gap from the pot, and the water ran off along the edge during watering. So, although she watered thoroughly (the water drained from the bottom of the pot), the succulent didn't actually get any water. This reminded me of the scene of a hero in ancient times drinking alcohol, pouring the bowl on their clothes and not getting drunk even after several bowls.
This problem often occurs with large, old rosette succulents. The leaves of the succulents cover most of the pot, leaving the edges. If the edges are too easy to drain, it will result in too little water being poured each time. In greenhouse cultivation, people often don't avoid the leaves and use a large faucet to pour water directly. This method is more effective than carefully pouring water along the edges. In similar situations, I suggest not using the water drainage as a standard, but rather making sure to pour enough water, slow down the watering speed, and give the soil time to absorb.
There is also the case of watering too thoroughly. We usually say that water should just start to flow out. This way, the water storage medium in the soil can quickly absorb the free water in the soil particles, making the soil ventilated and breathable. If you continue to water for a while until the medium is fully saturated before stopping, the already saturated soil won't be able to absorb the free water between the particles. Even if you use all-granular soil, the succulents may still suffocate.
We have defined soil moisture in previous articles, so let's repeat it here.
Wet: The soil cannot produce water, but the moisture can make the soil clump together.
Moist: The soil is loose, but the fingers can clearly feel the presence of moisture.
Moisture: The moisture is not obvious when touched, but you can feel coolness when a breeze blows.
Dry: No moisture can be felt, but there is basically no dust in the soil.
Brittle: The dust in the soil can be easily scattered by the wind.
The soil mentioned above in the oversaturated state can produce water when squeezed, which is a wetter state than wet soil. When you water the soil to the point of oversaturation, it's very likely that the plant will show signs of waterlogging in the following days.
If your soil is already in a brittle state, it's not much different from digging up the succulents. The plants will rely on the moisture in the air to survive. If the air is also dry, the root hairs will wither and die, and the succulents will enter a dormant state, waiting for the right time to grow new roots.
The above introduction of what it means to water thoroughly is a comprehensive method explanation, hoping to solve your problems with green plants.