Hillside Greenhouse

Watering

Just like animals, plants need water. The amount of water that a plant needs varies depending on how much soil is available to the roots. So plants in small pots, which have only a small amount of soil available, need to be watered more often than plants in large pots.

Plants that are established in the ground and are well rooted usually need about two inches of water per week. This can be supplied by rainfall, by water that you apply, or by moisture stored in the soil. Clay and organic soils can store a great deal of moisture, whereas sandy soils can store very little.

Sandy Soil

Holds very little water

Allows for good drainage

Allows good air flow to the roots

Loamy Soil

Midway in character between sandy and clayey soils

Clayey Soil

Holds a lot of water

Can become water logged

Can be difficult to re-wet when dried.

Organic Soil

Holds a lot of water

May have good air exchange, but often can be excessively wet

A plant's root structure must be kept healthy in order for the plant to properly absorb not only water, but also the nutrients that the plant needs to function. Sometimes when a plant is too wet, it will begin to wilt and appear that it has too little water. Adding more water at this point is obviously only going to make the situation worse.

During hot weather, hanging baskets and containers may need to be watered on a daily basis. During cool or cloudy weather they will need water less often. It can be difficult to tell if a pot is wet by looking at it. There are a couple good ways to tell if a pot is wet or dry. One is to stick your finger into the soil and feel its condition. With a little practice, this is probably the most effective. You can also lift the pot to see how heavy it is. Water is heavy and a dry pot will feel very different from a wet one. Of course, with large pots, lifting can be difficult to do.

There are a number of moisture meters available that you can try, but the best ones can cost a fair amount of money and their accuracy can vary depending on the soil type which can make them difficult to use.

Some plants are much more drought resistant than others. The following plants all do fairly well under dry conditions. Of course any plant will die of allowed to get too dry.

• begonia (wax leaf)
• canna
• dianthus (annual pink)
• dusty miller
• gazania
• geranium
• marigold
• morning glory
• periwinkle (annual vinca)
• petunia
• moss rose (Portulaca)
• verbena
• zinnia (Profusion series especially)

Plants with the following characteristics tend to be more drought tolerant.

fleshy thick stems and leaves (Sedums)

waxy coated leaves (wax-leaf begonia)

densely hairy leaves

silvery, grayish or bluish foliage

narrow leaves (ornamental grasses)

If you are going to hold plants in their original container for some time before planting, you have to watch them very closely for moisture content. Four and one half inch pots and especially packs contain a fairly small amount of soil. In hot dry weather they can dry out quickly. They may need to be watered more than once per day in extreme conditions.