You’re watering your potted plants incorrectly – put an end to a common soil mistake

ONE gardening professional wants to save your plants from a common but counterintuitive practice.

Instead, she has an easier and much more effective method to incorporate into your watering routine.

A gardening professional wants to avoid watering your plants incorrectlyCredit: TikTok/fromdreamtoseed

“If you’ve been told to put rock or gravel in the bottom of your containers to improve drainage, I hope you haven’t listened,” said Jessica (@fromdreamtoseed).

She even held up a plastic cup filled with soil and rocks at the bottom to demonstrate why this common practice does more harm than good gardening.

“Water will not easily move from a fine-textured medium like potting soil to a coarse-textured medium like stone or gravel.

“Instead of moving all the way through the container, the water stops at the level just above the rocks. The water then begins to move sideways, completely filling all the micropores,” she said.

Instead of improving drainage, this results in a supersaturated layer that will not move through the rocks until more water is added and gravity causes it to be pushed through the bottom layer.

There’s no need to worry, though, as Jessica had her own technique to ensure water would find its way through the plants.

“So instead, throw away the rocks and choose a container with adequate drainage,” she said.

The bottom of her own container now had a hole in the center.

No heavy stones required.

She also recommended choosing the right potting mix for whatever you’re planting.

“Let at least the first few inches of soil dry out between waterings,” she said.

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Her fans were also surprised by the advice.

“That sounds like it defies physics,” said one follower.

‘That’s correct, right? The bottom is funny that way,” she replied.

“Wow thanks,” said another viewer.

According to bloomingplants.comThere are proven reasons why putting rocks in the bottom of a container is not a good idea.

This has to do with the fact that the saturated zone borders the soil surface and reaches the roots.

The saturated zone is in the soil at the base of a planter and does not drain. The roots then remain wet for a longer period of time, resulting in root rot.