Salvia Divinorum Scotland - Plant Care - Watering

<body stylesrc="../../technical/backgroundformywords.htm" background="../../technical/leafwords.jpg" bgcolor="#C0C0C0" text="#003300" link="#0000FF" vlink="#000080" alink="#800080"> <table border="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td width="25%"> <p align="center"><font size="5" color="#008000">Salvia Divinorum Scotland ~ Plant Care ~ Watering</font></p> </td> </tr> </table> <hr> <blockquote> <p><strong>Watering: </strong>Some advice will emphasise the plants' thirst without warning of the dangers of over-watering. Over-watering may encourage root-rot. </p> <p> You do not need to have the soil constantly soaked. Allow the topsoil to dry out between watering. To help with this I tend to water the plants from the bottom, that is, by adding water to the saucer rather than pouring over the top of the soil. This gives the topsoil a chance to remain relatively dry and not constantly saturated. The topsoil can be wetted occasionally, but if it doesn’t also get a chance to dry out between times you’ll more likely suffer from bugs (see 'unhealthy' signs section), not only that but mould and/or fungi growing on the soil.</p> <p> During the summer I usually water about once a week, possibly more often during a hot spell. During the winter I water every fortnight (approximately). This is based on my plants in large pots (25-30cm), smaller pots will need watering more often, but if you are forgetful then the plant will tell you it's thirsty by wilting. After watering it will soon perk up, without too much harm being done. </p> <p>In fact, I use this as an <i>occasional</i> technique to ensure that the roots are not (have not been) waterlogged for months on end. What I do, unless I’m going away on holiday or something when I won’t be able to keep my eye on them, is I sometimes don't water a plant until it actually starts to wilt. When it does, then I’ll fill the saucer that the pot is standing in. The water is quickly soaked up, so I’ll fill it again until standing in a steady 3 to 4 cm of water. The plant quickly picks up . </p> <p> I figure that by occasionally leaving plants until they just start to wilt, the soil is guaranteed not to become waterlogged long-term, i.e. you can be sure the soil has dried out this way.  Don't do this <i>all</i> the time though, because you'll just stress the plant.  Frequent moderate watering is fine for most of the time.  Letting the plant wilt is just an occasional option to guard against a build up of water over a longer period, which could increase the risk of root-rot. That’s my theory anyway.</p> <p>The technique of 'flooding' the plants is of course handy if you are leaving the plants unattended for a while.  If you especially saturate the soil and leave them standing in a good depth of water, there is no reason why you can't leave them for a couple of weeks.  This assumes that you have them in a fairly big pot with a fairly deep saucer.</p> </blockquote> <hr> <table border="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td width="24%"><a href="../../salvia/plantcare/index.html#watering"><Back to Plant Care</a></td> <td width="19%"> <p align="center"><a href="../../salvia.html">Salvia Menu</a></td> <td width="19%"> <p align="center"><a href="../../home.html">Main Menu</a></td> <td width="19%"> <p align="center"><a href="../../menu2.html">Menu 2</a></td> <td width="19%"> <p align="right"><a href="../../contact.html">Contact</a></td> </tr> </table> </body>