My neighbor pointed out I was watering my patio plants all wrong and it clicked

She watched me spraying the leaves for like 10 minutes and finally said 'you're just watering the dust, the roots are bone dry'. I had been using a mist setting on my hose nozzle for months because I thought it was gentler. Switched to a slow trickle at the base of the pots last week and my geraniums in Atlanta already look way less sad. Anyone else make this dumb mistake with container plants?

3 comments

3 Comments

miles27919d ago

Well you were just giving them a nice bath instead of a drink, weren't you? At least the dust on those leaves is probably sparkling clean now.

jesse_williams6219d ago

Doesn't it figure that's exactly how things would go with houseplants? I read somewhere that some people actually rinse their plant leaves with a diluted milk solution to make them shine, apparently it works like a natural polish. But then you'd have to worry about it getting sticky or attracting bugs. Guess we're all just out here accidentally finding new ways to keep our plants alive, even if it means giving them a bath instead of a drink.

lucasw8219d ago

Honestly @jesse_williams62 I gotta push back a little on the milk thing. Tbh that's an old wives' tale that can actually mess up your leaves. The proteins and fats in milk will leave a film that traps dust and yeah, attracts bugs like nobody's business. I tried it once on a snake plant and it looked decent for two days then got all sticky and gross. Way better off just using a damp microfiber cloth or even a little neem oil dilution if you want shine without the trouble.