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Watering is a chore that’s driving me CRAZY! For instance, my Baltic… | Anything about plants | Planta community

Lynda

Watering is a chore that’s driving me CRAZY! For instance, my Baltic Blue has not been watered for well over 60 days, and since it’s a pothos, I always use a wooden stake, as well as two other moisture meters, to see how dry it is. Today, I used two different wooden stakes, and the two other moisture meters. Guess what, the stakes were absolutely CLEAN, however, both moisture meters registered wet! How can this be? I usually go by what the stakes tell me with plants like my pothos, but this is a real conundrum! Have any of you had this experience, and what did you do? Do I water, or don’t I water… 🫤! TIA!

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19 comments

  1. Carolinagreenthumb

    Moisture meters are liars! Ban them from the premises! 😆 A wooden dowel or wooden stake is your best indicator IMHO….( in my humble opinion) I use L O N G. Wooden knitting needles I pick up at garage sales, thrift shops. Wherever!

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    • Lynda

      So even though both of my moisture meters show wet, if the wooden stakes are clean, I can safely water my Pothos? TIA!

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    • Carolinagreenthumb

      I would give it some water if it has t had a DROP for 60 days! Yes! By all means give the poor thing a drink! Can you water it until the water flows out of the bottom and leave it in your shower or tub? Here in FL we just sit them outside in shade to drain. But I know we are the exception in location.

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    • Lynda

      You are a lucky lady; I’d love to live in Florida, and soak up the sun, as would my plants! But, I can, or my husband can, move my plant to the shower, and give it a good soak. Why then do you think my moisture meters are showing wet, when my wooden stakes come out completely crumb-less? TIA!

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  2. Amy

    Stick your finger in the dirt. How does it feel?

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  3. Carolinagreenthumb

    Wrap a paper towel around your wooden stake and give it a good twist to keep it in place. Push it to where the roots are and see if it is sopping wet or dry when you remove it. If your wooden stake has varnish or paint or a stain on it. Then it could be not absorbing the moisture. But a tightly wrapped/twisted paper towel will show the true moisture in the soil. Good luck!

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  4. Abbi

    I have one plant that a wooden stake will always shoe dry even when its still damp. Idk why, maybe the soil texture is a bit weird. Anyways I usually test that one with my finger to make sure.

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    • Carolinagreenthumb

      That is strange! You could always repot it and see for yourself if the roots are wet. Prob the only way to really know. Then just repot it back into the same pot. Just an idea, I’m definitely not an expert by any means. I was always an outside gardener, but in the last year have switched to house plants.

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    • Abbi

      I am gonna repot it this spring. Its currently producing babies(its a spider plant) so I must be doing something right

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    • Lynda

      Please see my reply to KJM regarding soil testing with my finger!

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    • Abbi

      I do understand that. Mine is in a pot pry that big and has no drainage but that means I don't water it a lot at a time and possibly don't even get all the soil wet. Could you maybe just let it sit until it starts drooping a bit and then next time just not wait quite that long, maybe a day or two sooner?

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    • Lynda

      👍🏼!

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  5. KJM

    I definitely view moisture meters with suspicion but I do use them occasionally. I've never used a wooden stick but that doesn't mean it doesn't work. I use my finger and hefting. I'll explain hefting. I water my plant until it's thoroughly watered let it drain and then pick it up to see how heavy it is. When I want to know if it's time to water I pick it up again and see how heavy it feels compared to when it was soaked. I realize this isn't entirely scientific but in most cases it's pretty accurate.

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    • Lynda

      TXS for your post! I also use the “heft” method with my plants, along with the other things I’ve mentioned. However, this plant is in a large ceramic pot which is 11 inches in diameter; it’s not only large, but it’s really heavy, and I don’t pick it up on a regular basis. In fact, I let my husband do the heavy lifting, for the most part. So this won’t work for me. Any other ideas? TIA!

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    • Lynda

      KJM, you also mentioned using your finger to test a plant to see if it’s ready to be watered. First of all this plant is a Pothos, and I understand they need to be fairly dry before they’re watered. This plant pot is also 7 inches deep; now I can only get my finger in about 3 inches max. It does feel dry the first 3 inches, but what about the bottom of the pot, where my moisture meters are reading wet, but the wooden stakes are clean? I have no idea what to do in this situation. Comments? TIA!

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  6. KJM

    Hmm, so I will ask how long has this plant been in this pot. I will assume the pot has a drain hole. If it does not then this problem should be fixed. If the plant has not been in the pot for very long it's possible The Roots have not had time to penetrate all the way to the bottom of the pot. This would mean there are no roots down there to absorb the moisture. You probably know this already but this is why you avoid putting a plant into two big of a pot. The excess soil around the roots can generate root rot. So in your situation, the plant actually looks appropriate size for the pot but if it's newly planted it perhaps hasn't had time to fill that bottom space and you should water it based on the depth of the roots. Does that make sense? And really I'm just mulling this around in my brain trying to think what could be going on.

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    • Lynda

      TXS for sticking with me, and being so helpful! I went back and researched some info on this plant and she was repotted 10/24, and the last day she was watered was 11/18/24… I didn’t realize it had been so long! However, no leaf tips have turned brown or crispy, and my plant looks healthy; it’s also growing quite well and has added several inches. The pot does have a drain hole, so no problem there. I went back and retested my plant with the two different moisture meters I use; the white one, which is usually reliable, shows this plant is wet. The other one, with a pink band around it, shows that my plant is quite dry, and ready to be watered. I know my moisture meters can measure differently, but this is ridiculous! There’s nothing to indicate that the white moisture meter is not working, since I’ve been using it on other plants, and it seems pretty accurate, as far as I can tell. Soooooo, what do you think? TIA, and I really mean that!

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    • Lynda

      Here’s a bit more info…🙃, bear with me, please… I’m back with the same moisture meter on the left; it’s in the same place it was before, but the reading has changed a bit since a few minutes have passed. I pulled out an old moisture meter, which I normally don’t use at this point, and this is what it showed. Of course, there are no percentages to indicate how wet or dry it is, which is why I don’t use it anymore. Is something off with my white moisture meter? I use it all the time, and I don’t think I’ve have any problems with it since none of my plants show any problems of being overwatered or underwatered. Any thoughts? TIA!

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    • Lynda

      I’m sorry these replies have been so weird…😵‍💫, but please hang in there. I really appreciate your help… TXS, again!

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