This week, I’ve continued to study plants and I’ve been getting more into the scientific processes that occur in plant growth. Recently, I’ve been studying the cellular structure of plants and I’ve learned about cellulose. Cellulose is an organic compound found in plant cells that keeps the plant upright and perky. I’ve also joined a plant forum to try to understand the community a bit better. So far, I’ve figured out that everyone is just about as lost as I am. I’ve actually been able to give advice to a couple of people. I’ve noticed many people don’t understand the warning signs their plants are giving them. When a plant droops, it is not because it is being overwatered- it’s usually the opposite. A plant will actually turn yellow and look bloated if it is overwatered, this is not true for all plants but from many I’ve noticed. I’ve found the best way to avoid over or under-watering a plant is to let the plant decide when it’s had enough. What I’ve started doing is placing my plant (if it’s pot has a drainage hole) in a container of water and waiting about half an hour to an hour for the plant to suck up as much water as it needs. I’ll usually pull the plant out when I see that the topsoil is moist. This essentially allows the roots to carry all of the water it needs up to the plant and disperses the water in a convenience manor for me. I like to do this with plants that are especially picky such as cacti or succulents. If these plants are underwatered, they get wrinkly and ugly and it freaks me out! When they’re happy and well watered, they look great and are stiff to the touch. A great way, aside from visual cues, to determine whether or not a succulent needs water is by lightly pinching the leaves. I’ve noticed when my jades or echeverias are dehydrated, their leaves feel squishy. This is when I tend to freak out and water them until they have drained a couple times to ensure that the water is being absorbed and not just running through.
I previously believed that watering plants was a simple task! I’ve now learned that it is very complicated. You have to take into consideration the hardness of your water, the temperature, and the soil when watering your plants. Certain waters from all around the water contain different levels of minerals and salts in them. Most plants do not react well to harder water with more minerals in them and they can leave an ugly white cast over plants. This white cast is very rare though and would indicate a very high level of calcium or other minerals in your water, which isn’t necessarily common. The water hardness is not typically an issue since the mineral levels are most likely a tolerable level to houseplants. On the other hand, using soft water on your plants is far worse because it usually has a high level of sodium in it and this is unsuitable to plants. The best option for gardening plants is rainwater since it is soft but does not use sodium. There are many methods of collecting and storing rainwater, but I just prefer to use water from my tap since it is the next best thing.
Another very important thing to take into consideration when watering plants is the temperature of the water. I like to think of it like this; where is my plant and what is the temperature of the rain would be its main source of water? Most of my plants are from tropical places or very humid places where it would typically rain lukewarm water. I try to image that my plants would prefer something that is fairly close to our body temperature. Most plants do not like being watered with cold water as it can stun them and it also does not get absorbed by their roots as efficiently. I’ve learned this information off of TheSill.com and many online forums. I’ve also noticed that my plants seem to take in water quicker and drain slower when I use tepid or warm water. In the future, I would like to do more research on this and see whether or not it actually has an impact on plant growth.
The final aspect to watering plants that I think is highly important is being able to read your soil and understanding what your plant is trying to tell you. I used to think it was best to let my plants sit until the soil pulled away from the pot and the plant could be lifted out of it. This would mean the soil was bone dry. Initially, I believed it was better to do so as it would force the plant roots to go searching deeper for water. Now I realize that not only is this kinda mean, but it also makes it harder for the plant to absorb the water when it finally receives some. Often times, the soil will be so dry that the water will just run through the cracks. This is certainly not ideal and can lead to unbalanced watering and the water will most likely not reach all of the roots it needs to. This will leave the plant under-watered and very cross with you.
Overall, this project is teaching me a ridiculous amount of information on plants I didn’t even realize I was learning until now. I think it’s a little hilarious that I’m able to write an entire essay on how to properly water a plant when it seems as simple as holding it under a faucet. I hope that my plant mom rambling has been at least a bit entertaining and stay tuned for the end of the week when I post about what other plant nonsense I’ve learned. I hope to begin reviewing the nitrogen cycle and diving a bit deeper into the environmental science field.
Isabella Sampedro Innovation Lab Blog 