Improper watering is the prime suspect of plant wilting, yellowing, or browning — silent but deafening cries of houseplants that are screaming for help. It can be distressing for a newbie as the symptoms of overwatered vs. underwatered plants are pronounced. They could be easily misidentified with other issues, even for a master gardener with collective experience. Various tell-tale signs of underwatering or excessively drenched plants are to look out for. To simplify these, we will discuss and have a deeper understanding of whether a single droplet or an entire can of water is detrimental to your indoor ornaments.
Is Overwatering Worse Than Underwatering?
Overwatering is as equally lethal as underwatering in plants. The colossal factor is blamed on the length of exposure: the more time the soil was soggy or dry, the more a plant is likely not to survive. Boggy earth arrests the gas exchange happening in the roots, while underwatering can lead to the loss of hydraulic pressure within and between the cells, hence the wilted look. Desert and aerial plants tolerate relatively dry soil for a few weeks. In contrast, most houseplants that are tropical in origin would suffer both from overwatering and underwatering. However, with clogged soil drainage, usually, soil-dwelling molds are reactivated and can infect the plant roots. Because of this, you get two issues with one cause: overwatering.
How to Tell if a Plant Is Overwatered or Underwatered?
The signs of overwatering and underwatered plants can be observed in the photo, with peace lily as the model plant. Most houseplants have a moderate watering regime. What happens when you over water a plant? The leaves are to look out for, with brown tips and a yellowish border, often feeling soft and moist. In contrast, plants with parched soil exhibit rather dramatic symptoms, such as droopy leaves showing yellowing or partially browned foliage. Usually, signs can be quite deceiving if your green buddy drank too much or less water. In this case, how to tell if a plant is overwatered or underwatered? One fool-proof way of differentiating is to touch the soil, or if you are fancier, a soil moisture-detecting device becomes handy.
What Does an Overwatered Plant Look Like?
We have been frequently asked what does an overwatered plant look like in our Ask-an-expert feature. To make things less complicated, we simplified the list associated with signs of overwatering of an unhappy plant.
Signs of Overwatering Plants
Brown tips with yellow margins. It does not happen overnight but likely with repetitive fluctuation of soil moisture. Excess water escapes at the guttation glands on the leaves' ends at night, and when reabsorbed, the dirt and germs can enter–killing the nearby cells as the plant's response against invaders.
Soft edges. When the dead leaf tips are excessively rehydrated, the crips-dry area is moistened, making it soft and moist, in contrast to the underwatered plants.
Yellowing or chlorosis of the entire leaf blade. Typically confused with dry plants, this dramatic color change is often observed in a few or most of the leaves in response to poor gas exchange in the roots.
Rotten stems or petioles. The signs of over watering can be easily distinguished by the putrefaction of organs close to the soil, like petioles or the stem. Water molds usually proliferate and attack the roots and nearby parts, turning them as mushy as mashed potatoes.
Wilting. Symptoms of overwatering plants also include general wilting. Although it is associated with other plant issues, we highly recommend starting to troubleshoot the problem when this particular sign is apparent.
Edema. Perhaps one of the uncontested symptoms of overwatered vs. under watered plants is edema. Observed commonly in Fiddle Leaf Figs and Camellia, several brown dots and corky protrusions appear in the young leaves after the leaf cells explode with enormous water pressure.
Stunting. Some plants can withstand overwatering; they tend to slow down their growth to survive rather than theatrically dying with one cup of excess water. If your indoor companion exhibits poor growth than average, we suggest rescheduling its showering time.
Wet soil. The best way to detect over watered plants is to dig into where the water is absorbed: the soil. If either one or two of the symptoms above are present and the dirt is incredibly saturated with water, this is reasonable evidence.
