How to save plants after over-watering

Video: How To Save An Overwatered Plant & Prevent Future Overwatering 🚑🌿

Content

Steps
Part 1 of 3: Assess if the plant is suffering from over-watering
Part 2 of 3: Helping Plants Affected by Overwatering
Part 3 of 3: Recovering Plants After Overwatering
Tips
What do you need

You will be surprised, but plants are much more likely to suffer from over-watering than from insufficient watering. Novice gardeners often make this mistake and, fearing for their plants, water them too often. Excessive watering has a negative effect on plants, since it disrupts normal gas exchange, including interfering with oxygen exchange, and does not allow plants to assimilate the necessary nutrients. The good news is that you can easily deal with this problem. Assess how damaged your plants are and apply our little tricks to bring them back to life.

Steps

Part 1 of 3: Assess if the plant is suffering from over-watering

1 Move the plant out of direct sunlight to a shaded area. Even those plants that are exposed to the sun can suffer from over-watering.
2 Assess the color of the plant. If the leaves are light green or yellowish, this may indicate excessive moisture. If new shoots are brown rather than green, this indicates the same.
3 Examine the bottom of the pot in which your plant is growing. If there are no drainage holes at the bottom, it is highly likely that the plant suffers from excess moisture, since the water remains in the pot and the roots literally drown in it. In order to save the plant, you need to transplant it into a new pot with good holes to drain off excess water.
4 Pay attention to the color of the soil. If the soil is greenish, this indicates that the soil is waterlogged and algae are developing in it. You will need to replace the soil with a new one.
5 It is worth being alert if the plant stops growing and begins to wither. This could be a sign that the plant has begun to die due to over-watering.

Part 2 of 3: Helping Plants Affected by Overwatering

1 Keep the plant in the shade. Waterlogged plants cannot provide water to their upper part. Although the plant will dry out more slowly in the shade, it will protect it from unnecessary stress.
2 Tap the edges of the pot gently to loosen the roots that are on the side. Gently hold the top of the soil or plant and pull it up.
3 Leave the plant out of the pot for a few hours or half a day before replanting it into a new pot. Place it on top of an oven wire rack. See if the roots are brown. The roots of a healthy plant should be white. For a while, the air will dry out the roots of the plant.
4 Get a new pot with good drainage holes. Place gravel or a mesh on the bottom of the pot to help drain the soil.
5 Remove the soil where the algae started to grow. Be careful not to damage the roots. Throw away the soil in the trash, it can no longer be used to grow plants.
6 Check to see if the root rot process has started. If you notice an unpleasant root odor or signs of decay and composting of the roots, you will need to prune the damaged roots before replanting the plant. Remove only those roots where signs of disease or decay are clearly visible.
7 Place the plant in a new pot and fill the space around the roots with fresh soil.
8 Spray water on the leaves if it is very hot outside. This will help them get more moisture, and at the same time, you will avoid over-wetting the soil.
9 Wait for the soil surface to dry before watering. Place a tray under the pot. to collect excess water there.

Part 3 of 3: Recovering Plants After Overwatering

1 Water only when the soil surface is dry. Do not wait too long for the soil to dry completely, otherwise the plants may be shocked by the sudden change of scenery. Check the moisture content of the soil surface before each watering.
2 Do not feed until the plant resumes growth. The root system of the plant must be healthy in order to be able to absorb nutrients. In addition, fertilizer can burn damaged roots.
3 Feed twice during watering when the plant resumes its growth. This will help the plant get more nutrients as it begins to regenerate.
4 Feed once every 7-10 waterings when the plants are fully restored.

Tips

If you regularly experience over-watering your plants, buy a moisture meter from your online or home improvement store. Place the sensors of the device in the soil, and the moisture meter will show how wet it is. Only water the plants when measurements indicate that the soil needs watering.