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Because no plant evolved to live in your living room, to water our indoor plants, we can't just pour in some water every time they need it. In nature, worms dig tunnels through the soil and allow air to penetrate to the gaps around the roots. To overcome the sad lack of worms in the potting mix of your indoor plants, we must dip water.
Dip watering works best when your plants are still small enough to lift and carry. It can be difficult to dip water plants in hanging baskets and on high perches. More about that later.
How to Dip Water
Supplies list:
- Bucket or tub that is just larger than your largest pot,
- Extra-large saucer,
- Liquid organic fertiliser (to find out why we use fertiliser every time, check out my article here),
- Tap water (this is fine as long as it is room temperature and drinkable),
- Planting mat to keep the mess contained (optional).
Technique:
- To water your indoor plants, take your tub and saucer and set up in an area that can get a little wet and a little mucky.
- Fill the tub with water (room temperature drinkable tap water is fine).
- Add liquid organic fertiliser (I explain what this is here) to the tub by following the label instructions for indoor plants.
- Dip your plant pot into the water and lower it down until the water is level with the top of the potting mix. You might see bubbles escaping. This is the carbon dioxide that has built up around the roots being pushed out by the water.
- Then lift the pot out and let the excess water drain. This pulls in oxygenated air to the gaps in the potting mix, which will really help your plant thrive.
- Finish draining the first pot on the saucer and repeat with the rest of your plants.
- Only return your pots to their permanent position when all the drips have stopped. It does the plant no good to sit in water.
- When you’re done, the remaining water can be put on outdoor plants, or offered to your pets to drink. As long as your fertiliser is chemical-free, it is safe for plants and animals alike.
What to do if Your Plant is Too Big or Too High for Dip Watering
You know, I don't have a good solution here. I could say, presumably by the time a plant gets too big to carry while in your care, you'll know exactly what its needs are. But this hypothesis falls over very quickly. Some plants come into our houses at that size. Others are thriving in hanging baskets and their leaves are too delicate to remove the pot from the hanger—even if you could lower it for watering (I'm looking at you, Chain of Hearts and you, String of Pearls).
What I do With My Plants
I have a couple of indoor plants that are approaching this size, a pot with four Epipremums growing in it and the longest is nearly 4m stretched out. The other is a Monstera that lives on top of a bookcase.
Currently, I take the tub to the Epipremums and just lift it up and in to the tub, then sideways into the saucer to drain. This is working so far because I'm just lifting the pot. Most of the plant stays on it's pyramid frame. The Monstera is problematic. There's no way I'll water it in place because of the danger of spills going all over my books. I think that it is possible a plant has no business living on top of a bookcase and I'll have to find another home for it.
I'm going to point to my opening statement (no, not the one about commissions—that's just a way for you to support me indirectly), about how plants evolved for living in nature, not living rooms. What is your solution to this problem? how long have your plants been thriving with this treatment? Tell me in the comments, I'm intrigued.