Plant Care & Watering Guide

Here you’ll find our care and watering guides to ensure your indoor plant companions live long and happy lives.

Watering Guide

When and how much water?

Only water a plant when it needs it.

To test for this, look at the soil. If it’s dark black, it is very wet and needs no further watering. If it’s lighter brown, press your fingertip into the soil or shift the topmost grains. If at 0.5cm deep it feels damp and looks dark, don’t water it.

How much water is required depends on:

Big, dry plants need 1 or 2 cups of water.

Small cuttings need only a splash.

Big palms may require a couple of cups every two days and shouldn’t be allowed to dry out fully.

If root bound, plants will take up water very slowly, so sit them in water for a few minutes. Heavily root bound plants will need 1/2 a cup of water every couple of days.

If a plant has completely dried out, it needs to soak up from water pooling underneath in order to saturate fully. If you’re unsure, pour a few drops of water on the soil. If absorbed immediately, it’s fairly wet and doesn’t need much, if any, water. If the drops pool or run over the top, it’s quite dry.

Too much water?

Try not to leave plants in water. If a plant already has water in its water dish, tip it out and do not water. For hanging plants, this will mean taking the bottoms off the pots to empty excess.

More water tips

It's generally better for a plant to be dry than to get too wet.
For hanging baskets, you can tip the basket on its side to see if water comes out, if it does, don't water; if not, 1 cup of water is all it needs.
For succulents, water medium sized pots about 1/2 cup once a week, and only if needed; succulents really need to dry out fully before being watered again.

The roots of plants can rot if over-watered (especially if left to soak for more than a day), leaving the leaves with no nutrients (eventually, plants with no nutrients will die) Over-watered soil can become moldy and full of bacteria and fungi. This kind of soil must be thrown out and the pot cleaned before reusing.
Cuttings from a dead plant will sometimes work, but an unhealthy cutting will be an unhealthy plant.