When watering my momstera, when should I rewater her? I keep seeing posts that the app tends to overwater. Ive heard I need to let her dry out, and I usually let the top 1-2 inches of soil dry out but should I be waiting until the bottom of the planter is more dry?
Yes! I would water her once she is mostly dry (75%) but keep her nice and humid. Ive watered my monstera about once a month for the last year and she’s thriving! If you’re worried about overwatering/root rot you can add hydrogen peroxide to the water
2 LikesThank you so much! How can I tell shes 75% dry? Is it ok for me to dig up some of the soil and feel how it is deeper in my planter?
0 LikesOf course! And what I do is stick a skewer all the way in the soil near the edge of the pot, wait 10 min, and pull it out. This way the skewer can absorb the water, indicating where the soil is still absorbing water. Once only the bottom portion of the skewer is wet is how I know to water
2 LikesAnd once you figure out how long is takes on average for her to get 75% dry, you can customize that schedule into planta so you don’t need to use the skewer method anymore ☺️
0 LikesWow you are so smart! Thank you I will try this and learn how much water she needs. Thank you so much!!
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I also wait until mine are 75% dry. Clear pots are amazing because you can watch the potting mix dry out between waterings.
1 LikeDo clear pots ever hurt the plant? I was worried the light would hurt the roots or something
0 Likes You may notice some algae growing in your potting mix with a clear pot, especially if the potting mix isn't drying out between waterings. The algae isn't toxic to your plant, but it does compete with the plant for nutrients. The amount of algae that may grow, however, is unlikely to be enough that you would actually notice any changes in your plant's health.
0 Likes Besides algae growth, the light hitting the roots shouldn't be an issue unless the light is incredibly strong and able to cause burns. But if the light is strong enough to burn roots, your leaves would also look burnt anyway.
1 LikeI’ve had good success with the app prompts but I think a key thing is to make sure you’re accurately selecting what kind of soil mix you’re using AND how humid it is. The soil in the bottom of the planter doesn’t need to be DRY, but it shouldn’t be dripping wet anymore. The bottom of the planter reading as moist is ideal. Always true but especially if you do let it dry out more make sure you’re totally completely soaking the whole root ball, which can take some time if it’s root bound or a larger plant.
1 LikeHow do you typically check if the the bottom of the planter is dry enough to water?
1 LikeI assumed you were using a moisture meter - most of the time I just stick my finger in the soil or use a chopstick. Checking the bottom of the planter every time isn’t necessary unless the root ball is undersized for the pot and you’re worried about overwatering for that reason. The more soil sticks to the chopstick, the more moist it is. One thing that tripped me up at first is “dry” does not mean “literally bone dry/dust.” It just means “little to no moisture.” What I previously thought of as “moist” was actually dry and what I used to think of as “wet” was actually moist.
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