Caught myself overwatering my pothos for 6 months until a leaf turned yellow

I kept watering my pothos every 3 days because the soil felt dry on top, but the bottom was still soaking wet. A friend who runs a plant shop told me to stick my finger all the way down to the drainage hole before watering. Has anyone else had to unlearn that basic plant care rule the hard way?

2 comments

2 Comments

sage_perry23d ago

Oh geez, that's a tough one. I did the exact same thing with my snake plant for almost a year. I kept thinking the top inch of soil being dry meant it needed more water, but I was basically drowning the poor thing. Now I lift the whole pot to feel how heavy it is before I even think about watering. It took three of my snake plant's leaves turning mushy and yellow at the base before I finally figured out what I was doing wrong. Your plant shop friend gave you solid advice, the drainage hole check really is the only way to know for sure.

ellis.charles23d ago

Respectfully disagree with @sage_perry here. You can totally just use the finger test if you know what you're looking for. The top inch being dry is actually a fine rule for pothos, you just have to actually check the whole pot not just the surface soil. If you stick your finger in deep and still feel moisture, walk away from the watering can and come back in a few days. I've got pothos that have been thriving for years using nothing but the finger method. The yellow leaf was probably from something else anyway like getting too much direct sun or being rootbound. People overthink plant care way too much, plants are tougher than you think.