A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2005 About watering...

If a plant's moisture requirement is "normal", does that mean that I should wait until the soil is dry down to about one half the length of the pot? For instance, if I have a pot that is four inches tall, should I wait until the top two inches are dry?
If my plant likes "even moisture", should I wait until the top one inch of the soil is dry? Or when the surface of the soil is dry to the touch?
If a plant likes to be dry before watering, like a snake plant or ponytail palm, does that mean that the soil should be dry to the very bottom? Almost to the bottom? HELP!!!!

Normal usually means water well weekly. But the size of the pot the plant is in can have an effect on that so to check it I wouldn't let it dry out more than an inch down.

Even moisture is a pain for a beginner like me. I've been pretty much trial and erroring that one lol. I have a coleus that likes to remain moist but depending on weather it's in a growth phase or not the amount of water it wants changes radically. When it's growing sometimes it wants water as much as every other day. But when it goes dormant it can go a week without water. So I'm not sure what to tell you.

Dry usually means the top two inches of the soil become dry. And that you should be using a fast draining soil like cactus soil in the pot.

I wish I had more info or better info. But a lot depends on the type of plant the type of soil the size of the plant vs. the size of the pot. And weather the plant is active or dormant. So there are bunches of consideration to get the watering just right.

Amany, hi. We need SO much more info to answer your question. What kind of plant are you asking about? What kind of pot, what kind of soil? You may not know the soil if it's new, but what kind of plant is very important. Lots of plants rest in the winter, like snake plants, and normally want a lot less water than in summer. Tropicals don't, so normal for them is more. I don't know ponytail palms but someone here will. Until you get/give better info, let the top inch of soil get dry before you water again.

I agree. We need to know the plant(s) you're talking about. For instance, Peace Lilies like an always moist (not soggy!) soil. plants lile Pothos,jades,cactuses and ficuses like to dry out between waterings.

Once we know what plant we can help!

Tom