Right Watering of Plants

Plants are calm and quiet living beings, responsive to love, care, watering n nurturing. However, when neglected, they are susceptible to fleeting infections; viral n bacterial diseases; stress due to climatic variations & changes in the seasons, watering et al. Being reticent, they merely exhibit their discomfiture by sudden shedding of their leaves or drooping leaves or even yellowing of leaves etc.

To elucidate the same with the help of an example:

Let’s take a look at this Bougainvillea, which is exhibiting its stressful state with its yellowing leaves, caused due to excessive wet soil conditions. Now these Bougain’s like sunny days and prefer dry soil conditions with only moderate watering. To say the least, this plant should be left sans watering, for its soil to dry out completely or else the roots are likely to decay n rot.

Watering - It is an essential prerequisite to regulate watering of plants keeping in mind a plant’s individual water needs, the soil’s moisture retention properties; the seasonal variations; whether it’s an indoor plant or outdoor plant, potted plant or is growing in garden beds et al

When to water @ Time of the Day:
Plants can be watered both in the Morning and / or Evening. During peak summer months, it might be necessary to water the outdoor plants twice during the day, while during winters, they might need watering only once every two or three days and infrequent watering during the intermittent monsoonal rainy season.

When watering the plant in the morning, the water gets evaporated almost instantaneously as the day progresses and such plants might require some additional watering all over again by the evening.

One should avoid watering them in the afternoon, when the sun is directly overhead as the water is likely to be warm to hot…and so might damage the roots. The water being used should ideally be at room temperature.

On the other hand, when watering the outdoor plants in the evenings, the soil remains wet, retaining its moisture for a considerably longer duration of time, through the night and then through the following day, thereby benefiting n nurturing the plant much more.

It usually depends on a caretaker’s personal preference and habitual itinerary. It is advisable to stick to the same routine and not alter the watering pattern abruptly.

Water logging:

It’s a commonly observed problem in potted plants, usually caused due to a blockage in the drainage hole, thereby leading to water logging especially during the rainy season.
Adequate care should be taken that the soil used is a good mix of manure plus loose mud, granular with some breathing room for the roots and free passage of water. It should not be too sticky, tight and compact thereby disrupting the flow of water through the hole. Prolonged damp and water logged conditions would eventually lead to rotting of the roots and the plant might eventually droop and wilt away.

Succulents, which retain n store water in their roots / leaves / stems, require well regulated watering from time to time. Excessive water (like during the rainy season) can lead to decaying n rotting of the roots.

The picture above shows a decomposing Adenium plant, which if healthy and alive would have borne some of the most beautiful n brightly coloured Flowers... as seen below.


Having lost this Adenium (one of my Fav flowering plants) very recently, I thought I will forewarn friends and fellow bloggers about the ill feted consequences of neglecting one's plant and sometimes even over watering them (more so during the Rainy Season).

A friend from our Bonsai Group, lost a beautifully styled plant @ A Jade recently ..again due to overwatering as she shared a similar tale of losing her plant.

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However, on a Cheer-y note....our Mentor and Grp President, Mrs Arora always has some comforting and encouraging words to share, advising us to exercise caution n check the plants from time to time before its too late to save and recover a stressed out plant.