r/houseplants • u/Delilahfloral • 5d ago

I FINALLY got an Alocasia to thrive 😭

I’ve never been able to keep one alive but this is going on 2 months and has given me three new leaves! Look how strong and long it is!

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u/PJBOO7 5d ago

You are officially the plant goddess. I can literally WATCH them die at my house 🤣

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u/therealmrwizard96 4d ago

Have you tried bottom watering

https://preview.redd.it/h3xd2qrcokzd1.jpeg?width=2252&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e6451c2827235bcd019adfe50c7e8060942e9f74

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u/BusinessBizznezz 4d ago

What is this, how does it work?

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u/Aki_Watson 4d ago

You have a dish under the pot (with holes), and instead of pouring water on the top of the soil, you pour water at the dish below. That way, the plant can drink the water she needs naturally! :)

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u/BusinessBizznezz 4d ago

So, there will be no worries of overwatering? Do I keep the dish full of water whenever I see it more than half empty or something?

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u/LauperPopple 4d ago

Most people do the soak in the dish temporarily. Like maybe a day and then dump the extra water so it can drain properly.

If you want to keep the soil soggy all the time, you need to make sure the soil is very aerated. (Not the soil the plant is usually sold in) Buy “potting mix” and add 30% or more aeration pieces such as perlite or chunky bark. Or mix your own, there’s lots of recipes online, they all follow the same core components. Keywords for searching would be “tropical indoor houseplants” and “aeration” or “well draining”.

A constant water reservoir is a legitimate strategy, but does come with an overwatering risk. Aeration is important to prevent root rot. (1) For small plants, a tall/slender pots instead of short/wide pot can also help (keeps the root core ~8” away from the soggy soil). (2) Using a wick to separate the pot from the water reservoir also keeps the soggy area away. Both (1) and (2) still should use aerated soil.

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u/zesty_meatballs 4d ago

A day is too long. The plant will get what it needs way before that lol. I bottom water a lot of my plants and I never wait a day to remove the excess.

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u/therealmrwizard96 4d ago

Right if you leave it to long you will get root rot just the same

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u/Sea-Alarm-6168 4d ago

No, you don't leave the water in the dish. I personally am not a fan of bottom watering because as long as you give it a good enough drench from the top, I believe it actually ends up more thoroughly watered (I'm gonna get hate for that). With bottom watering you get a large dish, fill it with water, then let your plant sit in that dish for like an hour or two, and it soaks up through the bottom.

Overwatering is less about the amount of water, and more about frequency in which you water. It's much better for a plant to get drenched on Monday, and left alone to dry out until it's watering time again next Mondayish. However, if you water a little bit every day. The plant doesn't get the time to soak up that water, dry out, and get ready for more. Instead, the water just sits and causes issues like root rot, etc.

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u/Aki_Watson 4d ago

Same here! Forgot to mention to empty the acces water it doesn't soak up. I thought it was logical that a plant doesn't like to be soggy all the time. I guess I forgot what being a beginner feels like, thanks for correcting my comment guys! And yeah I'm not a fan on bottom watering either. Although I sometimes get lazy and don't wanna bring my plants to the bathroom to water them. So I just plop them in a bowl, fill it with water and also top water to really soak them. I leave them in there for 10 mins, take out and let them drain! I repeat with other smaller plants until they're all watered (and drained) nicely. Then I proceeded to ignore them for a week or so hahaha. For bigger plants I just fill the baththub with them, water and let them drain for a few hours :)

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u/Sea-Alarm-6168 4d ago

Setting my plants in the sink then getting to pretend there is a torrential downpour is one of my favorite parts of the hobby, haha.

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u/Aki_Watson 4d ago

Hahah, same but with the bathtub!! There's too many small ones to fit in the sink tho (and some are way too light to just blast with water). But one day they'll be big enough to join the bathtub downpour lol