All plants need water to stay alive. But how much do plants need? What if you overwater a plant? Unfortunately, there’s no simple answer for how much (or how little) water your the best home for your plant. What happens if you overwater a plant? let’s jump to it.
Can Overwatering kill a plant?
Yes, overwatering can kill a plant. Sometimes this is called “drowning,” but that’s not quite accurate.
When you over-water plants, you’re adding water to the soil when it doesn’t need it. It’s possible to drown a plant if you leave it in standing water or if its roots are submerged underwater for long periods of time (or both).
Plants need water just like we do. In fact, they need it even more than us because their cells don’t contain much liquid water and they lose a lot of it through transpiration (the process by which plants release moisture into the air through tiny holes in their leaves).
When you over-water your plants, you add too much liquid too quickly and push out all of the air from around their roots. This prevents them from absorbing oxygen through their root system and forces them to extract oxygen from their leaves instead — which causes them to wilt and die.
Signs of Overwatered Plants
The most common sign of overwatering is puddling on the surface. If water collects in a pool and does not drain away, then it is because there are too many roots in the soil that are sucking up all the water. The plant will become stressed and will eventually die if the problem is not addressed.
Another sign of overwatering is yellow leaves on your plants. This can be caused by over fertilization or too much water. The leaves will turn yellow and drop off if the plant does not get enough nutrients or if it gets too much water.
Overwatering can cause root rot which makes your plants look wilted and discolored. If you see this on any of your plants, check to see if they have been getting too much water or not enough air circulation around them.
Stems become soft and mushy with no sign of wilting or yellowing leaves. Overwatering can cause stems to become soft and mushy with no sign of wilting or yellowing leaves if it has been going on for some time; this is because the roots cannot absorb as much water as they normally would so they weaken over time and eventually rot away completely leaving just mush on top of the soil with no green leaf.
Can a plant be saved after overwatering?
Depending on the plant itself some plants are resilient and can survive when the water finally dries out. However, most plants will suffer from root rot if they are overwatered for too long.
The best thing to do is to cut back on the water for about a week, but do not let your plant dry out completely. You may need to gradually increase watering over time to bring your plant back to health.
You need to let the soil dry out completely before watering again. You can check to see if the soil is dry by using your finger to poke into the dirt. If the dirt feels dry when you poke into it, then the soil is ready for watering again.
If the dirt is still wet after poking into it, then wait until more water has evaporated from the soil before watering again.
Final Thoughts
Plant overwatering is a common mistake for beginners it is crucial to find out watering information about the specific plant you are watering. If you have any questions about the proper watering of your plants, feel free to leave a comment below.
