The watering, or not watering, of house plants, or indoor plants - would have to be the most common reason for house plant death. There is a tendency to either, drown the poor thing, or just let it shrivel up - and of course to then claim "I\'m no good with plants!" Then again, let us not forget the mysterious realms of feeding plants - a much easier topic than water, and causes a lot less deaths.

With too little watering, it is a fairly easy problem to fix, namely, add water. Whereas with over watering, to merely stop watering too much, quite often does nothing to solve the problem. Much more damage can be done through over-watering than through the opposite.

Let us look first, at just "how" to water an indoor plant. When watering potted plants and we are talking about only once a week, too, unless your house is super hot, it is best to soak the pot. By this I mean, immerse the entire pot in a bucket and begin filling it with water, until the water comes up to just beneath the top of the pot. Leave it there until air stops bubbling from the soil, about 20/30 minutes, then top up the water again and leave it for another 20 mins. Then remove the pot and allow it to drain, just until water stops actually flowing from it. This extra care allows the soil to soak up lots of water, giving the plant some moisture reserves that it can pull on as needs must. This method relies on the soil in the pot being potting mix to begin with. If you are using any old soil you dug up out of the garden, probably you will create more problems than fix. Potting mix, specifically for pot plants, is an open medium designed to facilitate natural drainage of the pot. Soil from your backyard may very well have a high percentage of clay in it, which is only going to make matters worse. If your pot is really heavy comparative to the plant that is growing in it, and the material of the pot itself, then you may be in need of a bit of repotting. If the pot is relatively light, then more like as not, it has potting mix in it.

How do you know if your plant needs water, or not?

When you go to water your plants, keep in mind that, just because a pot looks dry can be a bit deceiving, and does not necessarily mean that it needs watering. Dig your finger into the soil of the pot, about an inch and a half. The soil should be a darker colour, soft and feel DAMP - not wet. If this is the case, leave it for a day or so, if it feels too dry, obviously, it needs water. And if, when you pick up the pot, you almost throw it over your shoulder, because it is SO light, then yes, give it a drink.

If the soil is WET, you are probably over-watering. First check that it is not sitting in water, like a full saucer, remove it and drain. It used to be quite common practice, many decades ago, to have a pot sitting in a water filled saucer - all the time. This is bad practice. Plants actually take oxygen up through their roots, and if the plant is sitting in water all the time, it is probably going to drown, or at the very least, the roots will start to rot and this can and often does, just continue to the detriment of the plant.

Some people start to panic as soon as a plant droops a bit, thinking the worst. Well do not panic, plants are after all incredibly resilient. A drooping or wilting plant, is not necessarily in need of water. The reason could be environmental, as in the immediate environment. If the day is unseasonably warm; maybe the heat inside has been turned up; possibly the plant is too close to a window and getting too much direct sun - window glass can have the same effect as a magnifying glass; all can cause house plants to look a little sad.

If upon checking the soil for moisture content, it is indeed dry, well o.k. water it. But, if you can find no obvious reason for the wilting - first remedy the previous mentioned environmental reasons, if they exist. Then, leave it alone for a day. If the plant was too hot, or dry, it will rectify itself within hours. Too wet, or cold, should see recovery within days.

Most indoor plants will appreciate being sprayed with a fine mist of water once in a while. Makes them look fresher, too.

So, as we can see, there is a little more to it than just throwing a bit of water around, when watering your indoor plants.