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water Are there any signs of _under_ watering?

HwyBill

HwyBill

Banned
I've been cautious about over watering my plants. I have given them generous amounts of water in the past, and I think it led to their downfall.

I've heard it said that if the leaves are looking yellowish, that that is a sign of over-watering. So I'm being cautious to give them much less water.

But is there a warning sign of _under_ watering? I just want to make sure I don't over correct and kill them off anyway.
 
They will begin to wilt when they run out of water. If you check on your plants twice a day or more you should notice it in time to give them water again.

Been there, done that.
 
Like Nicholas said they will start to wilt especially the bottom leaves will hang down and have a soft texture to the touch. Signs of underwater or wilting is easier to detect then over watering IMO
 
Over watered plants can wilt before yellowing. But the general rule is anything wilted when it's in the shade, not in direct sun, and the soil is dry, needs watering.
So check them for wilting in the morning or evening, any wilted plants that have dryish soil need watering.
 
The thing about "dryish" soil is that you can't assume the entire pot is dry based upon what is at the top, as the bottom may be quite wet even if the top is dry. Most people either have a way to check the soil down towards the lower parts of the pot (via a sensor, or dig into the dirt a bit), or wait until the leaves wilt just a tad. You will figure out each plant's watering cycle needs as the season progresses, and won't have to check so much later on.

Keep in mind that different varieties uptake water at different rates than others. I found last season, for example, that the aji habanero was a water hog - I had to water it more frequently than the rest of the plants. So don't assume "one size fits all."
 
as dulac stated under watering will recover quick, like a few minutes depending on how long they have been wilting, over watering is more devastating and takes longer to recover.

Typically i water about once every week or so depending on weather for my outdoor inground plants. and my indoor plants i water between 1 and 2 weeks with the exception of my seedlings in jiffy pods and they get more water as the plants get closer to needing to transplant.

With that said, every variety is different and some plants like wetter feet while superhots tend to like dry feet.

To confuse the situation, over watering and under watering actually have some of the same signs but if your soil is constantly wet lets say an inch below surface and you have not watered in a couple of weeks then your probably over watering by not having enough drainage . I almost killed my butch t's by not noticing the pots drain holes were plugged. Surface was dry but tilted the pot and out came water lol.
 
What a relief.

Some of them looked a little whilted and I gave them some water, and now they look much more health

Thanks for the good advice.
 
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