Gardening Advice, Houseplant Advice
What’s wrong with my houseplant?
Common houseplant issues relating to watering and how to fix them.
When it comes to houseplants, they aren’t all shiny leaves and pretty flowers, sometimes they can be high maintenance, but we love them all the same! In this blog we will be highlighting some of the most common houseplant issues related to watering and how to fix them to help your plants to thrive.
Watering Your Houseplants
Some of the most common houseplant issues come down to watering, whether that’s overwatering or underwatering. Both can be easily done, however being able to identify when this has occurred and taking steps to treat this can make all the difference in ensuring your plants survive and thrive.

How to check if your houseplant needs watered
When it comes to watering your houseplants, it is better to give your them a good watering then wait until the soil starts to dry out, rather than watering little and often.
Here are 3 ways to check if your houseplant needs watering:
1. Feel – Check the moisture at the top two inches of the soil, if it is dry to touch the plant will need watering, if it is still damp leave a little longer.
2. Weight – If the plant is heavy to lift this could mean the plant is overly saturated and holding too much water, if the plant is lighter that usual this could mean it is dried out and needs attention.
3. A moisture meter – for those of you who have a growing houseplant collection, this may be a worthwhile investment to monitor all of your plants. These can be expensive, so they are not a necessity, but if you are looking to make your life easier it can be a great way to alert you when your plants need watered.
Methods for Watering Houseplants
Top Watering
Watering your houseplant soil from the top and allowing the water to filter through is the most traditional way of watering. This method is the easiest, but not always the best way to water. It is advised if using this method to have a drip tray at the bottom of your plant to collect any excess water that drains through.
Dunking Watering
This is a good method if the compost has dried out fully. By filling a large bowl or bucket, then submerging the plant until it reaches the top of the pot, bubbles will appear and when they stop (this can take a few minutes) this means the roots have been fully saturated.
Bottom Watering
A popular watering method which more houseplant lovers are choosing to adopt. This method requires placing your plant into a drip tray or bowl of water and allowing the water to be sucked up. This method ensures that the water reaches the root ball. Sinks and baths can also be used for a lot of larger houseplants. It also reduces nutrient loss.
Top Tip: Don’t leave plants sitting in water for an extended period of time as this could lead to root rot.

Causes: overwatering and poor soil drainage
How to identify root rot:
- Plants may start to wilt
- Yellow leaves
- Soil may have an unpleasant smell
- Roots will appear brown and mushy (healthy roots will appear white)
Hot to treat root rot:
- Using clean tools, you should remove all brown mushy roots, trying carefully not to affect any roots that may be healthy, and cleaning pruners or secateurs in a sterile solution in between cuttings.
- Remove leaves or stems that may have been infected.
- Leave the affected plant out of it’s container for 24 hours to let roots dry out a bit.
- Repot in a sterile container with new clean compost.
- Remember to water when the top two inches of soil feel dry to avoid reoccurring root rot.
7 signs of overwatering your houseplants
- Wet soil
- Flowers become mouldy
- Leaves becoming limp and wilted
- Yellowing of leaves on new and old growth which then fall off
- Leaves may become dark brown
- Presence of fungal gnats or fungal infections
- Root Rot

You may notice black flies that hover around your houseplants or live in your plant soil, these are houseplant flies/fungus gnats. For the most part they are harmless but can become annoying. The adults cause little or no harm to plants, but their small worm like larvae live in the top 3 inches of soil. They feed on fungi, algae and plant roots which is fine if your plant is healthy, it can handle minor root damage, but if it’s a young plant or not healthy this could harm the plant.
- Sticky tapes – these will capture any flies and break their life cycle
- Invest in some carnivorous plants – these will also capture any flies
- Cut back watering – flies are attracted to damp soils, so by cutting back watering and allowing soil to dry out in between will reduce likelihood of flies
- Cover the top 1cm of compost with grit decorative pebbles or gravel – this prevents flies from being able to lay their eggs
- Use an organic fungus gnat pesticide – these are easy to use and inexpensive
Plants that will forgive you for overwatering
- Ferns
- Spike Moss
- Umbrella Plant
- Babys Tears
- Pitcher Plants
- Strelitzia
- Peace Lily
- Lucky Bamboo
- Zebra Plant
5 signs of under watering your houseplants
- Leaves become limp and wilted, sometimes faded or see-through.
- Flowering plants may not reach the blooming stage
- The older leaves may start dropping off
- Soil feels dry
- Leaf edges become dry and brown

Plants that will forgive you for under watering
- Mother in laws tongue (Sansevieria)
- Ficus Elastica (Rubber Fig)
- Ponytail Palm
- Cast Iron Plant
- ZZ Plant
- Cacti
- Succulents
- Living Stones (Lithops)
- Aloe Vera
- Pothos (Epipremnum Aureum)
- Burros Tail (Sedum)
Watering your houseplants throughout the seasons
Winter
In Winter some plants due to the colder temperatures and less daily light will go into a dormant period meaning they may require very little water. Some plants could go from watering once every week, to once every two weeks, or even once every four weeks. Common plants that do this are cacti and succulents.


Summer
In summer because of the warmer air and long periods of light, houseplants will require more watering. Due to this being their growing season, it is better to keep soil moist (not soaked) for best results.
Find out more houseplant advice in our how to ‘look after houseplants’ blog HERE.
Comments are closed