How often should I be watering my houseplants? I've got a rubber tree plant, and lipstick plant...?

a wandering jew, a few ivy plants, a motherinlaw tongue and an umbrella plant. I water them all about once a week, but they are all just barely hangin on! None of them are thriving. I've killed plants before by watering them too often. My house is always dry in the winter, and I don't have too many windows where they can get good sunlight. I almost feel guilty just lettin these guys hang on like they do. They've been doin it for years, now!

How often should I be watering my houseplants? I've got a rubber tree plant, and lipstick plant...?
from my experience working in a greenhouse wandering jews need to be kept quite moist-meaning let the surface dry out a bit (less in hot weather, more in cool weather when the days are short) before watering again but never let the soil dry out completely. Mother-in-law tongue is a succulent plant so it is best to let it dry completely before watering it again-it can actually be kept dry for quite a while without being harmed (unless it is in the baking hot sun in the middle of parking lot in july:) although they are more tolerant of being over-watered once in a while than other succulents. Ivies also like to dry out almost completely before being watered again-if the soil stays too moist for a long period of time the roots start to rot. But if it dries out very fast you can water a bit more often. This goes as well for the umbrella plant although in summer i find an umbrella plant can benefit for more frequent watering especially if it is put outside in the shade of a tree it will really benefit from the weather!


This all depends also on their exposure and the seasons- in the short-day season plants tend to grow more slowly as there is less light for them to make food with so they will also drink less water and be more suceptible to rot so we generally water less. in summer wih long days and warm temperatures it is often safe to water a bit more often as the plants are growing much more rapidly and the dirt dries out much faster. Also the size of the pot will make a difference; with large 10" pots the water will take much longer to ry out then with a small 4" pot so you have to adapt the watering for that too. don't be afraid either to hold the pots to weight them or stick your finger in the dirt to get a feel for what it feels like when a particular plant has been well watered and when it's starting to feel to dry out alot-i still use my finger to prod the soil of my plants and pick up the pots to feel the weight.


also all of these plants will benefit from a few hours of direct sunlight-if no sunlight is available than it needs to be placed in front of a nedium-sized window without curtains blocking the light. Ligth is a huge factor as no plant can make any food without sufficient light-it can use the fertilizer you give it unless it can transform it into food with the use of light. Ivies and mother-in-law plant are the most tolerant of low light and can deal with being furter from a window provided you do not keep them too moist-if they are not receive any direct sun than it is best to leave them dry out completely before watering again-in the case of my mother-in-law tongue i water it every 2 months in winter! wandering jew and umbrella plant will need to, at the very least, no more than 2 feet away, without curtains blocking the light and directly in front, not on the side.


If there is insufficient light they will tend to loose their lower leaves faster than they produce more ont he top. good luck!
Reply:Well it's not the technique sweety, it's the choices of plants you chose to place together.


You rubber tree is getting excited by the lipstick plant and the mother in law tonuge is ranting about how that isn't proper. Meanwhile the ivy is trying to hide under the umberella to aviod a tounge lashing and the umberella is just scared.





But seriously? get a humidifier, leave it on all the time, add water when neccessary, and water them about once every two weeks and watch them thrive, (but I would definately seperate that mother in laws tongue from the rubber tree plant).





Ok, so you have them all in different pots.. well that blows my theory out of the water, how is their drainage?.. Do you have closed bottom containers, or are they able to outlet excess water?.. If they are closed bottom pots you really need to have about an inch to two inches of rock in the bottom so the roots aren't overly wet, which can cause diesease in the plants. Other than that, the soil needs to have the proper PH balance for that certain type of plant, you can pick up a soil tester at Lowes, or other areas that have plants, if the soil isn't balanced the plants might have plenty of water but not enough nutrients, add nutrients to the soils that need it.