My prize begonia almost died from a simple watering mistake last Saturday

I was at my kitchen table in the middle of watering my indoor plants, and I noticed my favorite angel wing begonia looking droopy and sad. The leaves had these weird yellow edges I hadn't seen before. I almost just gave it a bigger drink, but something made me stop and actually check the soil with my finger. Turns out it was soaking wet about two inches down, not dry at all. I had been watering it every three days like clockwork, but the pot was holding too much moisture in our damp basement apartment. I ended up repotting it into a terracotta pot with more perlite mixed into the soil, and now I only water when the top inch feels bone dry. Has anyone else dealt with root rot sneaking up on a plant that seemed fine on top?

3 comments

3 Comments

jenkins.reese13d ago

It's wild how our brain just defaults to "more" when something's struggling, right? I've caught myself doing that with so many things, not just plants. Like when my kids are acting up and my first instinct is to pile on more rules or activities, when really they just need less stimulation and more quiet time. Or how I used to throw more clothes in the wash when a stain didn't come out, instead of just pre-treating it first. That 'fix it by adding something' reflex is so strong, but half the time the answer is actually to subtract something, like too much water or too much attention lmao.

victorhill13d ago

Yeah @jenkins.reese, I do the same thing but with my car - adding more gas when it's actually the air filter clogged lol

the_eric13d ago

Can't believe you just threw more clothes in the wash like that, seems obvious now but I'm guilty of it too.