Overheard a gardener in Seattle say something that flipped my whole view on houseplants

I was at the Ballard Farmers Market last weekend and heard a woman telling her friend she only waters her snake plant once every two months. I always watered mine every week and it was getting brown tips. I tried her way, and after three weeks, the plant looks way better. Has anyone else had a plant do better with way less water than you thought?

4 comments

4 Comments

sageg992mo ago

Watched a friend drown a cactus until it finally thrived on neglect.

-1

nathan7752mo ago

Yeah @sageg99, I did the same thing with a snake plant. I was watering it every week and it started to rot. Left it alone for like a month and a half, and it finally put out new growth. They really do better when you forget about them.

simon37828d ago

Ngl, I had this old pothos plant that was basically a stick in dirt for like two years. I kept trying to water it on a schedule, gave it plant food, moved it to different windows - nothing. Then I went on a two week vacation and forgot to ask anyone to water it. Came back and it had three new leaves and a vine starting to trail over the pot. Plants just seem to know when you're trying too hard. They're like cats that way.

jenny_jackson28d ago

I read somewhere that a lot of houseplants actually come from parts of the world where the soil dries out completely between rains. So watering them on a strict schedule is basically the opposite of what they want. It makes sense that they perk up when you back off.