Dripping houseplants- Hello, I planted a house plant and for some reason, whenever I water it drip.?

I am not sure what I did wrong but this plant isnt holding water. I planted it with regular potting soil in a pot with holes in the bottom for drainage and everytime I water it, all the water pours out the bottom. In the mean time my plant is dieing because it isnt getting all the water it needs (the plant is a spider plant or airplane plant). Someone please tell me what to do here! Thanks!

Dripping houseplants- Hello, I planted a house plant and for some reason, whenever I water it drip.?
The problem is that your potting soil is getting too dry between waterings.





Is it a high peat moss mix? Is the soil a light brown as opposed to black? Does it feel more fibrous than it does like dirt? If so, it is a high peatmoss mix.





The problem with these soils is that they tend not to absorb the water immediately, the water just runs through them.





As the soil becomes completely dry, it actually becomes water resistant.





When this happens you actually have to water the plan multiple times. DO NOT SOAK THE PLANT. Soaking the plant is actually very bad. There are minerals in the water that accumulate in the soil over time. By soaking the plant you allow them to accumulate. By watering and allowing the water to flow through, the minerals get washed away, stopping the buildup, which can be harmful to plants.





When watering, place in a sink or over a bucket. Slowly pour water onto the surface of the soil. Pour about 1 cup of water for a one gallon pot - about a 6 inch diameter pot.





Wait about 10 minutes and repeat the process, this second time, you should notice that more of the soil is retaining the water. After about 10-15 minutes repeat the process a third time. Three times should be enough.





After this, make sure you water the plant before it completly dries. Using a toothpick or wooden chopstick, test the soil every few days. Once the soil is dry an inch or two down, it is time to water again (dry soil will not stick to the wood). If watered at this time, the soil will still be absorbant and will absorb the water much more readily.





You will quickly learn how often to water, I use this type of soil and have to water every4-5 days.





Good luck!
Reply:A spider plant is usually very forgiving of first-time owners. First, I rarely if ever plant any houseplant with just potting soil alone. I usually add a few stones on the bottom of the pot and quite frankly, I have been known to place broken pieces of styrofoam down there -- and it has always worked out well with my spider plants. The stones/styrofoam assist in drainage but also seem to help keep the soil from running out of the bottom with water. By the way, it is perfectly natural for a potted plant to drain water.





Second, it sounds to me like you are not watering your plant enough and it is drying out between waterings. And are you using water straight from the tap? Be careful with that because tap water contains chlorine, and chlorine can cause brown tip with spider plants -- so let the water sit for a few hours or even a day. Then again flouride can also cause brown tipping and you can't get rid of that through evaporation like the chlorine. I can remember watering my spiders with bottled purified water to avoid that whole mess. But then again, I can't say that I ever had much trouble with brown tipping even when the water was floridated.





In general though, this sounds like a potting problem rather than a watering one. You might have to add soil or pack it down tighter. Once a spider get used to its new pot, it usually takes off.





Then again, are you putting it in full sun? That's a no, no with spider plants. And that in itself may be giving the plant the look of being stunted or dying.
Reply:You didn't put your soil in tightly enough, it needs to be packed down.
Reply:do water it all the way through until you soak all of the soil all the way through,let it drain over the sink, it is true that you'll get brown tips from not watering thoroughly when you do, let dry out pretty good in between waterings, spiders tend to be root bound plants by nature,
Reply:soak it in kitchen sink intill the soil absorbs the water and water it regerly the soil is 2 dry and rejecks it
Reply:Replace the potting soil with a mixture of top soil and peat moss. If you think about outside plants recieve and use water, they usually like moist, but not wet, soil. Potting soil can be oversaturated one day and dry the next, putting the plant in a cycle of extremes. Using a soil that accepts water and then retains it at a more natural rate produces less shock to your plant and therefore promotes good health.


Also, be sure to feed your plant with a ferilizer that has the correct content for either foliage or flowering. There is a difference.
Reply:soak it like the others have said then whenit is thouroughly soaked hang it back up and look to see if it needs more soil