Too Much Water?

Posted on June 8, 2017

It’s hard to believe that we are talking about too much water given a year ago all we talked about was how to water! What a difference a year makes. The symptoms plants show when too dry and too wet mimic each other closely. Here are some tips to help you determine if your plants are showing signs of too much water.

• Check the soil before watering. It is best to water when the soil is moist to dry to the touch. If your soil is wet and heavy your plant is telling you it has enough water for now.
• Wilting leaves. If the foliage is drooping and the soil is wet that is a sign of overwatering. At the first sign of wilting our first instinct is to hurry up and water. Do some investigating to be sure before making the problem worse by giving it more water. When in doubt stick your finger in the dirt and you will be able to tell how wet it is.
• Brown leaves. When a plant is experiencing too much water its foliage will turn brown from the tips first.
• If you see yellow leaves, poor new growth, and leaf drop this is a very good indication of overwatering.
• Check the roots. If it’s a potted plant this is easy and a little tougher when we are talking about plants in the landscape. If the roots are grey, black, brown, or foul-smelling this is a sure sign of rot root. If your plant has root rot sometimes the best practice is to remove the plant so the fungus doesn’t spread to other plants, so take precautions to not let your plants get too wet.

 

Jason Scire, Nursery Manager