How to Bottom Water Houseplants

06.06.2023 - 20:18 / gardenerspath.com / Kristine Lofgren

If you want to keep your plants alive, there are a few things you have to do: give them light, feed them now and then, and – of course – water them.

Watering seems pretty straightforward to me. You fill a jug or can, bring it over to your plant, and dump the liquid in, right? Not much room to run into trouble.

But despite that, I’ve managed to find trouble so many times, and I can pretty much guarantee that you have as well.

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Fortunately there’s a different way, and it can help take the guesswork out of figuring out how much to provide. That means healthier, happier plants.

Plus, it can protect your floors and shelves (and books!) from overzealous watering.

Up ahead, here’s what we’ll discuss to help you figure out the art of bottom watering.

To put it simply, bottom watering (sometimes called reverse watering) is giving your plant’s roots hydration from the bottom up.

Instead of dumping liquid onto the top of the soil of your container plants, you allow the soil to soak it up into its roots from the drainage holes in the bottom of the pot.

This isn’t the same thing as wick watering. That’s when you use a central container like a bucket to slowly wick moisture via ropes into nearby containers.

It’s a super handy skill to have in your back pocket if you travel a lot, but not what we’ll be covering here.

I warped my hardwood floors when I spilled an entire watering can once. But beyond architectural disasters, I’ve also managed to drown my plants, and to chronically underwater them.

And don’t tell me you haven’t overwatered to the point