Swore by bottom-watering my succulents for 2 years until a rot I never noticed wiped out 4 plants in one weekend

I used to think bottom-watering was the only way to go. Every single care guide I read said it prevents overwatering and keeps leaves dry. Then I pulled a dead echeveria out of its pot last Saturday and found the bottom inch of soil was still sopping wet from a tray soak I did 8 days prior. The roots had been sitting in moisture the whole time while the top looked bone dry. I was basically drowning them slowly. Has anyone else tried switching back to top-watering with better drainage results?

2 comments

2 Comments

loganm523d ago

Wait, did you check if your pots have drainage holes? Everyone talks about watering method but nobody mentions that bottom watering can hide bad drainage in the pot itself. I had a glazed ceramic with a tiny hole that barely let water out. The tray soak just filled up the pot and the water had nowhere to go after. Top watering is better for testing actual drainage speed. If your pot takes more than a few seconds to drain, it's a pot problem, not a watering method problem.

iris_dixon913d agoTop Commenter

Yeah but nobody talks about the soil type either, some mixes just hold too much water no matter how you water.