Finally found a way to stop overwatering my snake plant after killing 3 of them

I kept killing snake plants because I watered them every week like my other plants. A guy at the nursery in Portland told me to just ignore them until the soil is totally dry, like bone dry. I bought a cheap moisture meter for $8 and now I only water when it reads 0 for 3 days straight. My current snake plant has been alive for 6 months now and even put out a new leaf last week. Has anyone else found that ignoring plants works better than any fancy schedule?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_mary27d ago

Picked up that moisture meter tip myself after drowning a pothos and two succulents. It's wild how much we overthink plant care when they just want to be left alone. Now I wait until my peace lily droops just a little before watering, and it's put out more leaves in a year than it did in three years of my scheduled watering. What made you finally trust the ignore method enough to stick with it, or did you still sneak peeks at the soil every other day like I did?

keithbutler27d ago

That moisture meter is a lifesaver honestly. I had three snake plants that I was overwatering on a schedule and they were all turning yellow at the tips. Soon as I bought a cheap meter at the hardware store, I realized I was drowning them every single week. Now I only water when the meter reads dry all the way down, maybe once every three or four weeks. But yeah, I definitely kept checking the soil with my finger for a solid month before I finally trusted the tool. It feels weird at first, not watering on a schedule, but your plants will definitely let you know when they're thirsty.

taraanderson26d ago

Stick your finger two knuckles deep, that's the real test.