Had the worst week for my plants - lost 3 of them in 5 days

I noticed my peace lily looking droopy last Monday so I gave it extra water. Then my pothos started turning yellow on Wednesday and I figured maybe too much sun. By Friday my snake plant had mushy leaves and I finally realized my watering can was leaking way more water than I thought. I measured it and it was putting out like twice what I intended each time. Three plants dead over a simple broken watering can. Has anyone else lost plants to something dumb like a tool malfunction?

3 comments

3 Comments

baker.holly3d ago

Three of my succulents died last spring because I was so focused on not overwatering that I basically starved them for months. A watering can that puts out too much is annoying but you could have just measured the soil moisture with your finger before watering each time. Droopy leaves don't always mean thirsty you know, sometimes they are just in transplant shock or stressed from something else entirely.

aaron_mitchell3d ago

You're totally right about droopy leaves not always meaning thirsty, @baker.holly. I've seen so many people drown their plants because they think every droop needs water, when it's often just transplant shock or even too much light. But I gotta gently push back on the finger test thing - with succulents, sticking your finger in the soil isn't always reliable because so many are planted in really chunky, fast-draining mixes. Sometimes the top inch feels bone dry but there's still moisture trapped lower down, especially if someone used a pot without drainage holes (which I hope nobody here is doing). I usually go for a wooden skewer or chopstick poked in, or just lifting the pot to feel the weight. That said, I still killed two echeverias last month from underwatering too, so what do I know (lol).

ward.kim3d ago

Yeah the finger test is tricky with chunky mixes for sure. What actually saved my succulents was using a bamboo skewer and waiting until the soil was completely dry all the way down, plus looking for wrinkles on the lower leaves instead of just droop. A moisture meter also helped me figure out the right feel for dry vs damp in different pots. Now I just water deeply but way less often and they seem happier. Have you tried checking leaf firmness instead of soil?