Found out why my ficus kept dropping leaves at the garden center

I was at Lowe's last Saturday picking up mulch and saw their ficus trees all looking perfect under those big fluorescent lights. Asked the guy working there what their secret was and he just said consistent watering on a schedule, not when I remember. Turns out I was drowning mine every 3 days then neglecting it for a week. Got a cheap moisture meter for 8 bucks and now I only water when it hits dry on the gauge. Anyone else kill a plant by being too helpful with water?

2 comments

2 Comments

richard_ramirez24d agoMost Upvoted

I read this article once from a dude at Cornell who studied houseplants for like 20 years. He said most people kill their plants by overwatering not underwatering, which is exactly what you ran into with that ficus. Plants want their roots to breathe between drinks and if you're drowning them in love (get it?) they just drop leaves to survive. That moisture meter trick is solid, I use one myself and it totally changed my peace lily situation. The cheap ones work fine too, no need for the fancy digital stuff that costs 30 bucks. Your ficus will bounce back quick now you got a system.

stellam8924d ago

Oh man, the overwatering thing gets me every time. I had this cactus once, thought I was being a good plant parent by giving it a little sip every few days. Turns out cacti hate that. Mine got all mushy and gross before I figured it out. Now I just ignore my plants for like two weeks straight and they're somehow thriving. That peace lily thing you mentioned is real too, I had one that looked half dead until I started checking the soil with my finger instead of guessing. The cheap moisture meters work just fine, I bought mine for five bucks at a hardware store and it's still going strong after three years. Your ficus is probably already putting out new leaves while you're not looking.