Underwatered Plants | Causes, signs and symptoms, rescue tips, and how to stop underwatering plants

Aloha! Are you a chronic underwaterer? Or perhaps don't know how to tell if a plant has been underwatered? Then you've come to the right place! Join me as I walk you through the ins and outs of underwatering houseplants. We will cover the causes of underwatering plants, the two types of plant underwatering that can happen, the signs and symptoms of an underwatered plant, steps you can take to save an underwatered plant, the correct way to water plants, and tips and tricks for being more consistent with watering your houseplants.
This is the second video in a multi-video Watering 101 series, so be sure to hit that subscribe button and notification bell so you don’t miss out on the upcoming videos covering the topics of overwatering, the perfect plants for the chronic underwater, and the perfect plants for the chronic overwaterer. And you can check out the first video on watering basics here: • Plant Watering Basics ...
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TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Intro
1:20 Understanding what underwatering means
2:20 What causes people to underwater plants?
3:53 Signs and symptoms of an underwatered plant
9:27 Understanding the critical dryness stage
11:44 Things you can do to rescue an underwatered plant
15:25 The correct way to water your plants
17:30 Tips and tricks to stop underwatering your plants
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"Aloha Plant Life" is a channel produced by me, Drea Williams, featuring all things plants. The purpose of this channel is to educate, entertain, and discuss anything and everything related to plants. I believe everyone is capable of having a "green thumb", so let me help you find yours while having some fun along the way.
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[@monikabarcikowska6793]

The best video about underwatering plants that I've seen on KZbin. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and not wasting my time by telling me about overwatering, which I wasn't interested in. Good job! ☺️🌿

[@AlohaPlantLife]

Thank you! Glad I could be of help ❤️

[@msscamp100]

@@AlohaPlantLife I don't think you have any idea of how much help you provide to those of us who are trying to figure out the plant thing! I know for a fact that I wouldn't have my Calathea Rufibarba, Rattlesnake, or White Fusion if not for you. I would also not have bought my Stromanthe Triostar or either of my Aglaonema's if not for you. I also, hopefully, will be the proud owner of a Ctenanthe Setosa and Lubbisiana (sp?) tomorrow. That is also thanks to you. All I had heard about these plants is how difficult they are, and I didn't want to kill them so I never bought them. You changed that. Thank you!

[@sherrykumar2883]

I was an under waterer because I feared rot. I did not know I was an under waterer however until I decided to try some self watering pots this last year and my plants have transformed. I have an anthurium crystalinum that only put out one new leaf in the first four months I had her but once she was in a self watering pot she put out SEVEN new leaves within a month!

[@AlohaPlantLife]

I’m so happy you were able to figure it out! Anthurium crystalinum is one of my wishlist plants right now 😍

[@cindywannamaker5299]

I used to be an over waterer. Before i learned about plant stuff i watered every plant on Sunday. Lol. Killed a few plants with that! Im pretty much have become a normal waterer. I do use a moisture meter but also have learned by weight and finger probing. I know you hate moisture meters Drea, but it has helped me to figure out my plants needs and i dont overly rely on it either

[@Superman1of2]

SUBBED! You earned it! Thank you so much! Im an amateur grower but do have knowledge. This year, my fiance and i decided to grow a garden of fruits and veggies. All of our garden we have in 5 gallon buckets because our backyard is so overwhemed by surrounding huge trees, i have to move the buckets throughout the day so they get adequate sunlight (obviously, this is important for photosynthesis). Anyhow, i noticed some older leaves eventually lost their green at the tips. At first, i thought the PH could be off or maybe a magnesium deficiency (i just put NPK in them 3 weeks ago so i know those are present) but i know the worst thing to do is panic and take action before you have targeted the problem. I figured this is the step ill check first (under or over watered) as its the easiest and cheapest fix which brought me here! Im happy to say that 2 days have passed now and the yellowing has ceased! I know the dead tissue will not revive and thats alright as i said, it was just a cpl older leaves and only the tips yellowed! Again, thank you so much!

[@Dwynfal]

I'm a chronic, drastic underwaterer and it's mainly due to my lifestyle! I work 12hr shifts, 4 on /4 off, switching between days and nights at every cluster, all year long. I rarely know what day of the week it is! 😂 So keeping track of watering is problematic. I've tried using reminders etc but if I can't do it right at the moment I get the reminder then I'll forget! Some tricks I use to help mitigate this and keep my large plant collection going strong: 1 - use only plastic pots to limit water loss through evaporation 2 - use a substrate that's more moisture-retentive but still allows for good drainage (I add vermiculite to cactus mix and water-retaining granules to my regular mix for moisture lovers) 3 - water deeply. I will literally plunge the pot nearly to the rim in a basin of water, leave it for 10-15 minutes then onto a draining board before it goes back in its place. I have left critically dry plants submerged in water for a couple of days, especially when the soil had become hydrophobic. The purpose was to get that soil to hold on to moisture again and hope that the dried out roots would slowly rehydrate over the following days/weeks. It has worked for me many times but, yeah, sometimes things are just too far gone to recover and then it's off to the compost bin!

[@viren1929]

Thanks a lot.. You just saved me from killing my calathea becuse of over watering..

[@AlohaPlantLife]

You’re welcome!

[@NaTyra6411]

That is me for sure! There is so much hype on KZbin about overwatering being the number one killer of houseplants, which is very true, but it took me in the opposite direction. My plants started showing signs and I mistook those signs as over watering and watered even less! I became a chronic under-waterer and didn't realize it. Thanks so much for the video!

[@AlohaPlantLife]

Watering can be hard to master at first but eventually you get there💚

[@jcumps]

8 months with that charlie brown plant is serious dedication Bravo

[@juanadearco6356]

I live in a really humid environment >80% everyday so I tried to control my watering. When I did the finger test, the top soil would be dry but the bottom soil would be cool and moist, so I put off my watering schedule for a few days. I only realised my plants needed a drink because my alocasia turned into paper.

[@AlohaPlantLife]

I bet it’s harder to gauge in an environment that humid. I would think everything would feel slightly damp all the time. Learning the difference in how heavy your pots feel right after watering versus when they need to be watered will probably be the biggest help to you.

[@Allknowingkeith]

Just realized I’m an underwaterer. I wasn’t soaking the hole pot when watering. Im amazed my plants lasted this long. Now I know what over and under watering looks like on my plant. Nearly transplanted the plant till I realized the soil was bone dry. Now they are overwatered and the leaves are clawing and stiff when I pulled them towards me. My plant didn’t show any yellowing symptoms. Just wilted.

[@AlohaPlantLife]

It can be tricky! A lot of people go from being one type of waterer to the other because when we try to stop being an overwaterer or an underwaterer we end up over correcting. But eventually you’ll find the balance between the two.

[@Allknowingkeith]

@@AlohaPlantLife I need more training. Planning to water every Thursday. This SoCal heat is tricky.

[@msscamp100]

@@Allknowingkeith I don't know how many plants you have, or how busy your life is, but what about getting a package of cheap wooden skewers and sticking one in each plant in a couple of different places, leaving it there for about 5 minutes or so, then seeing where the skewer is wet? A week of so of that would give you a really good idea of how often your plants dry out and need watered. Your thoughts?

[@Allknowingkeith]

@@msscamp100 I figured it out. Thanks,

[@aub_k2819]

As I do with all your videos... love this! I was wondering, how your prayer plants are doing with distilled water compared to tap?

[@AlohaPlantLife]

Saw absolutely no difference lol.

[@msscamp100]

Great video, as usual! :) I would be most interested in your thoughts on a couple of things: 1) Self watering pots, and 2) Does it make any difference, with the exception of Alocasia's, whether one waters in the morning or at night? I watched your video on guttation, so I know watering Alocasia's at night is a mistake. LOL I'm not sure I trust self watering pots, and I don't see how they wouldn't lead to overwatering. Is that just me? As far as the time of day, during the winter I am basically on 'vacation' - I work on a family hay farm and it's very difficult to put up hay when the alfalfa is dormant, or in the snow. We are headed into haying season, so I won't have time to check my plants in the morning until haying season is over for the year. Does when one waters make a difference, except for Alocasia's which I do not own. Thank you!

[@AlohaPlantLife]

I haven’t tried self-watering pots myself as I just don’t trust it lol. But I feel like they would only work well for plants that don’t need to dry all the way out completely between watering. As far as watering at night goes, as long as it’s not a plant super prone to guttation I personally don’t find that it makes a difference.