Watering Schedule vs. Routine

This is probably my most asked question from friends who are just getting into plant parenthood. I am a firm believer that plants live their best life when humans give them a watering routine, rather than a schedule. If you think about where these plants come from in the wild, Mother Nature doesn't say "Alright guys, every Sunday it's going to rain so that's when you should expect your next drink of water." When you factor in the type of plant, the current season, where you are in the world, what type of container it's in, and the environment in your home, every plant will always have different needs. Your home is a unique ecosystem. As a plant parent, you should try to understand the needs of your plants based on that ecosystem. You can get the best advice in the world from from a well seasoned plant parent, but unless you both have nearly identical ecosystems, what works for one person will likely not work exactly the same way for another.

I love analogies, so I'm going to try and explain how the words routine and schedule (in terms of watering) are actually very different.

Schedule: Work

Let's say hypothetically I have to be at work everyday Monday through Friday at 7:30am. In order to accomplish this, I have to wake up at 6am to have enough time to get ready and catch the train at 7am so that I'm at my desk right on time. This is a schedule. This is something I do for sure.

Routine: Getting ready for work

Monday through Friday I know I'm going to work, but getting ready for work is not always the same everyday. Sometimes I wake up feeling super tired, so I'll make coffee. If I feel okay, I'll skip it. Sometimes I wake up and my face feels really hydrated so I'll just use a lightweight moisturizer, but in the Winter I usually get eczema, so I'll opt for a heavier cream. A routine is something you know you have to do, but is based on certain conditions and doesn't necessarily result in an executed action.

Going back to watering, my routine is to check in on all my plants every Sunday morning. I first check the foliage for any pests and see if it needs to be wiped down to get rid of any dust or debris. I feel the leaves to see how firm or limp they are. Then, I do the classic finger poke test into the soil to determine if it's dry enough for more water. If the soil still feels damp, I skip it and check in on those plants again on Wednesday.

If I watered on a schedule, that means that no matter what, every Sunday I know 100% that all of my plants are going to be watered regardless of the condition of each plant. In my opinion, this is the perfect recipe for issues like root rot, root rot and... oh, yeah, root rot.

This is my Aralia Fabian, her name is Agnes.

Agnes doesn't particularly require much humidity, but she does dry out faster than most of my other plants.

I know she will need two waterings to stay happy in the warmer seasons, but I don't do it exactly on the same day every week. As I mentioned earlier, my routine is to always check the plants on Sunday. So if on Sunday she's thirsty, I give her a drink. If not, I'll leave her and check in again on Wednesday, unless I can visibly see before then that she needs water.

Fast forward to September as we start to transition into Fall... By this time, the days are getting shorter, the temperature has dropped pretty drastically, and my apartment isn't a sauna anymore. I will keep my routine of checking in on her every Sunday, but will not be watering her twice a week anymore.

I find that having a routine helps you balance your plant obligations with your personal life as well. If I know I'm going on a trip, I can make any minor adjustments to my routine to make sure that they're okay while I'm gone, or, I will at least have a good idea of which plants may need attention from the plant-sitter without them needing to go around and inspect each one.

I suggest choosing two specific days in the week to really take the time to tend to them, and it should be on days where you know you'll be able to commit to it. I chose Sunday as my main plant care day because that's when I know I'm doing a lot of my household chores, and I'm not preoccupied with work (I'm self-employed). I know for a fact that if I scheduled my plant care day on Monday, which is usually the day that I catch up on e-mails from the weekend and have the most work to do, there's a chance I may have to push plant care aside because there are other things that take priority.

Yes, watering is a key element to nurturing indoor plants, but if there's anything you should take away from this, just keep in mind that your plants aren't going to die because it doesn't have the "perfect" watering routine. It doesn't expect perfect, and neither should you. It's a trial and error process, especially for new plants, and we all do it a little different. So do your research, reach out to your plant community and love on those plants, and they will love you right back. 💚

(If you've read through this and you are one of the green thumbs that are successful with a plant watering schedule, big high five to you! I'm definitely not saying that a schedule is impossible or never works, but I will always prefer and recommend a routine to anyone who asks me for advice just based on my own personal experience.)