Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1895-02-08
Watering IlOuseplants,

frOoaDly more than One-half OF the
failures with window gardening arise
from mistakes in watering. In theory,
watering is a simple operation. All
that we are supposed to do is to give to
our potted plants the requisite mois-
ture for their needs, in lieu OF the
rains and dews they enjoy out of doors,
and are deprived of. In practice,
however, this requisite" amount
calls for good deal of judgment.
Aside from certain elements absorbed
from the air, all plants are fed and
their growth are provided for by vari-
GUS chemical substances found in the
soil, and appropriated by the plants
tissues. These substances must be
first dissolved and made diffusib!e by
moisture, ere they can be carried up
in form Of cap. The water nUt only
conveys this food. but is necessary in
itself to fill out the tissues, and to
give necessary fiuidity to the sap.
Too little moisture means a shrink
age and hardening Of plant fiber, and
a cutting off Of nutrition, and the
plant dies of water starvation. Too
much water means a continuous flood
ing OF the soil, that drives out the air
in the soil with it's life-giving oxygen,
and produces a sodden. sour state of
the earth that creates in its turn
chemical changes that are poisonous
to the tender feeding roots of plants,
and the plant dies of water dyspepsia.
The true secret Of successful water
ing can be summed up in this rule OF
20 words. Whenever plants are
thirsty, give water to reach the bottom
of the pot, then wait until they are
thirsty again. A drop of water to
thirsty plant is . tantalization, but to
aplant already standing in moist earth,
an added flood is an aggravation, quite
enough to send most plants into q fit
of sulks. for plants can be sulky and
contrary quite as we'll as humans.
If water is needed at all. the whole
plant Graves it, and not the top roots
alone. To facilitate the water reach.
ing the bottom OF the pot at each
watering nearly an inch of space
(more if be large one,) should be left
between the top of the soil and the
rim OF the pot; otherwise, the water
will run off the top before enough
moisture has been soaked in to reach
the lower part of the pot. Do not be
afraid of using plenty of water. Water
that is promptly absorbed or that
drains readily off, will hurt no growing
plant. 1t is the stsgnate water and
soured soil that injure plants, to avoid
which, plants once watered should
have no more given them until that is
absorbed, and the soil commences to
get dry, when the same liberal water
ing should be repeated.
There is no indexible rule as how
often to water. In very cold weather
plants need much less water than at
any other time, and in a warm room
pots dry out much faster than in one
kept at a moderate temperature, and,
lastly. some plants require and some
absorb water faster than others. The
most senseless floral rule on earth is
to water every plant in the window
every morning, whether they need it
or not. as though they were run by
hydraulic clockwork. The next most
senseless rule is to give a taste of
water and no more to q plant, as
though what is food to the upper roots
would be poison to the lower ones.
The sensible rule is to water plants
when they want water, whether it be
one or 20 pots that demand it, and
give enouph tn satisfv ther