I Think My Plant’s Soil Is Too Wet — What Do I Do?
By: Roman Gonzalez
Tags: Gardentips, Gardener, Gardening, Garden

All right, you’re growing something that doesn’t like the H20 but you gave it a lot of H20 and we gotta remove that H20 or something and stop saying H20. Typically, if a plant’s soil is too moist or water log, you’ll see the plant either start to die back from the bottom-up (typical in sage and thyme), or the leaves will droop and sag. Note: some plants are just saggy, so be mindful of that.

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SOGGY PUPPY!

How to Remedy Soggy Plants

You’ve got exactly one goal here: Remove moisture from the container. Then apply soft heat and airflow.

Is it raining? Remove your plant from water sources like rain! This may seem obvious, but it’s worth mentioning. Cut off any new water into the plant. Is your plant sitting in a saucer full of water? If so, empty the saucer and let the bottom of your container drain out! Easy win! Got a tampon? Yup, we’re serious. This is actually relatively common with houseplants, but you can insert a tampon to absorb moisture. Naturally, you can do this with a variety of moisture-absorbing materials out there like a cotton ball, cue tip, even some folded up paper. Expose your plant to a little sun and heat. Do not go throwing your plant in the oven, but *do* put your plant in full sun if possible so the heat can naturally evaporate the water. Elevate your plant to allow airflow. Consider elevating your plant over a holey surface like a table with holes in it. This will allow water to drop more freely from the bottom and increase air circulation beneath the plant. Give your plant the fan treatment. Grab a fan and turn it plant-side. The airflow above and below the plant will help to evaporate moisture in the plant more rapidly. Hell, blowdry ‘em. Not gonna lie, I’ve never actually seen this as advice, but we’ve done it here and it’s proven useful. Put your blowdryer on a low setting, and lightly blowdry your plants and the topsoil for a few minutes. It’s about removing moisture, and this helps.

How to Prevent Overwatering In The Future

Water less. Swear I’m not being facetious, but whatever your current water regimen is, cut back. We generally recommend the finger test — place your finger about in inch or two in the soil and, if the soil is soggy, do *not* water. If it’s dry, water. This will also depend on your plant. Rosemary and Lavender are two plants that enjoy a bit of dryness between waterings, and this is increasingly true as they get older. The plants will also communicate by drooping or crisping up. Crisping up typically means it needs water; drooping means it has too much water. Water Your Plants More Lightly. Water with a lighter pressure so there’s less water splashing, and water with a lighter quantity of water, so as not to overwhelm the plant roots. Check your Gardenio plant guides: most plants don’t want to be completely dry for too long, but each has its own moisture preferences.

The bummer truth is that oftentimes if your plant is wilting after being too wet, it’s got root rot or some kind of wilt, and that means contaminated soil, which means you gotta throw out the whole bit. Don’t throw it in your compost, the fungus can travel through to your plants.

Finding the right balance of watering for your plants can be an initial challenge, but checking in on them once or twice a day can queue you in to what they like and don’t like, setting you up for long term success, no matter what you’re growing.