How to Water from Below

Co-authored by Jon Rowland and Hunter Rising

Last Updated: December 4, 2022 References

Watering your houseplants is crucial to help them grow strong, but how can you ensure they get enough water? While you're probably used to pouring water on the soil's surface, you may have heard that you can water your plants from below so they thrive. There are a lot of benefits to watering from below, so keep reading to learn more about how to do it for your thirsty plants!

Section 1 of 3:

What is watering from below?

Watering from below is submerging the bottom of the pot in water. Rather than watering from the top where you pour it on the topsoil, you can instead set the pots in a dish of water to bottom-water them. The water will seep into the pot through the drainage holes and spread evenly throughout the soil from the bottom up.^{[1]
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- If you have a pot with a solid bottom, repot the plant in a pot with drainage holes to water it from below.
- Watering from below works best for small- or medium-sized plants that you can easily pick up on your own.

Section 2 of 3:

Bottom-Watering Your Plants

1
Water your plants if the soil feels dry to the touch. Instead of watering on a set schedule, test the soil’s moisture levels at least once a week to determine when you need to water your plants. Push your finger about 2 in (5.1 cm) into the soil and check if it feels dry or moist. If the soil feels dry or crumbly, then it’s time to water your plant.^{[2]
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- If the soil feels a little wet, hold off on watering for now so you don’t damage or stress the roots.
2
Fill the bottom of a saucer or container with water. Many pots come with a saucer for liquid to drain into if you water from above, but you can use it for bottom-watering too. If your pot doesn’t have a saucer, use any bowl or container that’s a few inches deep. Put 1–2 inches (2.5–5.1 cm) of room temperature water into the container for watering.^{[3]
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- If you’re watering multiple plants, you can even fill the bottom of a bathtub with water.
- Avoid using softened water since it has more minerals that could change the soil makeup and make it tougher for your plant to grow.
3
Set the pot in the water for 10 minutes. Put your potted plant into the water so the bottom is completely submerged and leave it alone. The soil will pull the water up into the pot so it can reach the root ball of your plant.^{[4]
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4
Check if the topsoil feels moist to see if you’re finished watering. Put your finger 2 inches (5.1 cm) into the soil to see if it feels wet. If the soil absorbed enough water and it feels damp to the touch, then your plant has enough water.^{[5]
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- If the topsoil still feels dry, let the pot sit in the water for up to 20 minutes longer.
5
Lift the pot out of the water to let the excess drain out. Hold the pot over the container of water, and let any leftover water drip out from the pot’s drain holes. When no more liquid drips from the pot, move your plants back to where you want to keep them.^{[6]
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- If you keep your potted plant on its saucer, dump out any excess water that’s leftover so your plant doesn’t reabsorb it.^{[7]
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6
Water your plants from the top once a month to remove salt deposits. If you always water your plants from the bottom, it could leave salts in your soil that harm your plant’s roots. Every fourth time you water, which is around once a month, use a watering can to pour it directly on the topsoil. Pour enough water into the pot so it runs out of the drainage hole and flushes the salt out.^{[8]
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- Flush out salt deposits before you apply fertilizer to a potted plant, or else you may rinse away all the helpful nutrients.^{[9]
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Section 3 of 3:

Benefits of Watering from the Bottom

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Reviving dry, cracked soil When you have soil that’s extremely dried out, water poured on top will drain right through the cracks or along the sides of the pot. When you water from below, you ensure that the soil has a chance to absorb the water and get rehydrated.^{[10]
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- You may need to bottom-water dry soil for 1 or 2 hours to fully re-wet it.
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Developing stronger roots The roots on your plant will grow down and spread out to reach the water near the bottom of the pot. With a more developed root system, your plant can absorb even more nutrients that it needs to grow in healthily.^{[11]
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- Watering from below also helps seedlings establish their roots without washing away or disturbing the soil.^{[12]
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Reducing the risk of overwatering Your plants will only draw up as much water as they need when you water from below and the excess will stay in the container. As long as you take your plants out of the container with water when the soil feels moist, then you won’t have to worry about them getting waterlogged and developing rot.^{[13]
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Preventing compacted soil When you water from above, the water pulls the soil deeper into the pot so it becomes compacted. Plants have a tough time developing roots if the soil isn’t light and airy, but watering from below prevents that from happening.^{[14]
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Avoiding water spots on foliage Plants like succulents, snake plants, and African violets can all develop spots on their leaves or stems if the water dries on them. Since the water comes up through the soil when you bottom water, you won’t risk changing the appearance of your plants.^{[15]
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Keeping pests away Gnats and other garden pests are drawn to shady, moist environments, so wet leaves and topsoil create the perfect habitat for them. Watering from below keeps the topsoil dry so any bugs are less likely to make your potted plants their home.^{[16]
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