Over or underwatering

I realize many people have probably asked this but how do i know if my plant is underwatered or overwatered?

The way they look. overwatering.


underwatering

they both look similar but its ez to tell because u know the watering schedule. if u have been watering it non stop and the waters been soaked for days its clearly over watering, soak the soil once the top 1" is dry

never keep giving your plant water because they look under watered. Chances are they have more than enough and are just waiting to drink it all up before next feeding. Small soil plants will drink very small amounts sometimes only once a week. It's onlu when the plant reaches a few feet and bushy when it needs up to 5 gal a day! (that's what I've been giving my last one) It's all about what the plant needs, feeding schedules are a great reference but personal connection and observation of the plant will tell you more than you need to know. just as sk8punk said, don't be afraid to stick a finger into your soil, if its dry up to the first joint, perhaps you need to water soon.

Ight thanks guys i think mines a little underwatered its leaves are very light green and the soil is pretty dry. Also i only water once every 2 days or so because i dont want to overwater it.

do the leaves look limp and sort of lifeless or just droopy? my 2nd pic didnt load for some reason but thats one of the things that will help you tell. Imo its pretty much impossible to mix the 2 up as long as you know what to look for(edit-not a jab at you or anything, re-reading it it kind of came off as that to me.) let me find you another good underwating pic.

heres a good one, hope it works and shows up unlike the other one. Notice how limp and lifeless the leaves look compared to the droop for overwatering?

Underwatering looks like the plant just gave up. The stems will even get floppy. Overwatering is just dull and not springy...starts to yellow.


It's hard to underwater MJ if it is healthy and you don't go to extremes. I can get pots almost feather light and plants look fine. Of course two hours later they do the limp fish on me if I don't water then. Don't take it quite that far. A bad underwater can really slow a plant down. It will shed leaves and wilt beyond recovery.

Oh, here's a good way to tell which you have. If the limpness just happened over a couple hours it's underwatering, if the condition happened over days, it's overwatering.

a plant that is overwatered looks very similar to a plant that has been deprived of watered. if you put your finger in the medium, and it is dry a good finger joint or two down, it's time to water. overwatering is a common mistake when first learning. the plants need to dry up a bit between watering/feedings....

Silky Shagsalot said:

a plant that is overwatered looks very similar to a plant that has been deprived of watered. if you put your finger in the medium, and it is dry a good finger joint or two down, it's time to water. overwatering is a common mistake when first learning. the plants need to dry up a bit between watering/feedings....

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I must strongly disagree. It's extremely easy to tell. I would go with the lift method instead of the finger in the soil method, its alot more foolproof and easier to tell. I instantly know if my plants need water when i lift them.

darkdestruction420 said:

I must strongly disagree. It's extremely easy to tell. I would go with the lift method instead of the finger in the soil method, its alot more foolproof and easier to tell. I instantly know if my plants need water when i lift them.

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i agree the finger thing tells me its dry to my knuckle if i got a 5 gallon bucket i can be holding a ton of water even a 3 gallon wont let u know by that finger trick people use

bigbud888 said:

Exactly, I was wondering when someone was going to bring up the "know the weight of your plant method". Thats what I've used and it works very well. Its simple lift it before you water it and after. Eventually you'll get a feel for how it looks vs. how much it weighs. Very practicle and it really helps you in learning how to read your plants.

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now that was well put to many people rely on how much there plant weighs and thats ok for a quick way to tell if u need water....but u need to study your plant while doing this and not just lift and judge by weight....when u grow outdoors this is when all that lifting up your plant and studying comes into play.

darkdestruction420 said:

I must strongly disagree. It's extremely easy to tell. I would go with the lift method instead of the finger in the soil method, its alot more foolproof and easier to tell. I instantly know if my plants need water when i lift them.

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Excellent advise! +rep darkd420

What does yellowish leaves mean?

John420Doe420 said:

What does yellowish leaves mean?

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Allot ! depends ....got a pic? would help to determine what might be going on?

i agree with with dark destruction,....youre plants are definately underwaterd ,....youll need to increase your watering but good watering once or twice is way better than overwatering,....if you water too much then your roots wont spread evenly and your plants will become root bound