How To Tell If Your Plants Are Thirsty + 5 Top Watering Tips

Most of the time when people notice their houseplants getting droopy or discolored, it's a watering issue. Too little water and your plant will lack the nutrients it needs to grow strong. But too much water and its roots will be deprived of oxygen.

Striking a moisturized middle ground usually isn't too tough; it just takes some intuition and a dash of plant know-how.

Plant pros Monai Nailah McCullough, the horticulturist behind Planthood, and Paul Thompson, M.A., NYC-based plant expert and chemistry teacher, agree that it's best to ditch a structured schedule in favor of a more intuitive watering style.

"It's not a one-size-fits-all for watering. It really depends on the need of the plant, how much light it's getting, the type of soil, all that," Thompson tells mbg. He adds that your plants' watering needs will also change throughout the year as different seasons lend different light levels.

This is the easiest way to gauge how much moisture is in your plant's soil, as all it requires is an index finger.

"Use your finger like you would a cake test," McCullough says. Stick it about 2 inches into your plant's soil (a good way down your finger) and feel around. If the soil is totally dry to the touch, it needs water. If it's still wet, move on and wait to water another day.

If you don't want to go by feel alone, you can also observe what your finger looks like after this little probe. "If you stick your finger in and there's water, you'll have some dirt on your finger when it comes up. If you don't, the soil is pretty dry."

Again, think cake-tester: Residue on your finger means that the plant needs to go "back into the oven" so to speak, and dry out a little more before it's ready for watering.

For those who don't want to get dirty, using a chopstick for this would work too. No matter the tool you're using for this method, it's important to really get in there. Don't just graze the surface level of the soil; get down to root level.

For an extra level of assurance, you can buy a moisture probe. These small, inexpensive gadgets you can find online or in a garden store for under $10 are basically thermometers for your plants: They give you a quick reading on how much moisture the soil has on a scale of 1 to 10. Any less than a 3 and the soil is dry and needs to be watered.

A few nice things about moisture probes: They're more exact than the finger test and give you more information about the moisture differences between soil levels. You can stick the probe in the topsoil and then compare that reading to the number you get lower down in your pot.

Another way to gauge if your plant needs water is to lift it up. Get to know how heavy it is right after a good watering, and how light it feels when it's totally dry. Then, lift between waterings to get a sense of how it's doing.

Checking on your plants regularly will ensure that you're giving them water right when they need it. You can get into the habit of checking in on your plants when you wake up (the morning tends to be the best time to water them) or at night.

If you don't want to do a daily check, loosely grouping your plants by their watering needs—i.e., putting all your desert succulents in one place and moisture-loving ferns in another—can help you stay organized.

The key to a successful soak is making sure that the entire pot of soil is nice and wet after every watering. You'll know this has happened once the water starts to come out of your pot's drainage hole (every pot should have one of these!).

Potential signs that you've overwatered include yellowing leaves; soft, squishy leaves; brown edges; and pests, depending on the plant. Thompson says that overwatering is the No. 1 cause of plant death, so his rule of thumb is "I always say that if you want to show your plant love, give it good light. Don't give it water."

Outdoor plants typically require less water than indoor plants, since they get rainwater every so often. However, if you live in a hot, sunny, dry area, you may need to give your outdoor plants more attention than your indoor ones. Outdoor container plants tend to dry out quicker than those in the ground.