That day I finally stopped overwatering my monstera

I had this big monstera by my window for like 3 years and kept watering it every 2 days because the top soil always looked dry. Then a master gardener at a plant swap in Portland told me to stick my finger all the way down before watering. Found out the bottom was soaking wet the whole time and I was slowly drowning the roots. Has anyone else been doing this wrong for years?

2 comments

2 Comments

leo_johnson1mo ago

bro the finger test is a game changer but there's something else nobody talks about. that dry top layer you were seeing? that's actually the soil pulling away from the pot walls, creating air gaps. so when you water every 2 days like you were doing, the water just runs down those gaps and pools at the bottom without actually soaking into the root ball. i used to see my monstera looking all droopy and thought it was thirsty, but it was actually drowning down below while the top roots stayed bone dry. switching to a bottom watering method fixed everything for mine, i just fill the saucer and let it drink what it needs for an hour then dump the rest.

wren_mitchell1mo ago

Whoa okay you just blew my mind a little bit. I was totally one of those people rolling my eyes at bottom watering thinking it was just some extra step for no reason. I had a peace lily that was doing the exact same thing looking dramatic and droopy even though I was watering it all the time. Turns out I was just pouring water down those stupid air gaps and the poor thing was basically living in a swamp at the bottom while the top was a desert. I tried the saucer method after reading something similar and my plants actually perked up within a week. I still do the finger test first though just to check but now I let them bottom drink instead of dumping from above.