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TIL that a single saguaro cactus can soak up 200 gallons of water in one storm, and now I look at my houseplants totally differently
I was reading an old desert ecology book my uncle gave me from his trip to Tucson 5 or 6 years back, and there was this line about saguaros that just stopped me cold. The book said a full grown one can pull in something like 200 gallons during a single big rain, and their roots are super shallow, like only a few inches deep, just spread way out to grab water before it soaks away. I always figured desert plants were tough because they held onto water, but it turns out the trick is grabbing it fast when it shows up. Last Saturday I went out and looked at my poor little pothos that I water with a tiny cup every few days and felt kind of silly. Here I am giving it a splash whenever I remember, while a cactus in Arizona is out there inhaling an entire bathtub in one afternoon. Now I want to try giving my plants a big soak every couple weeks instead of little sips, but I'm scared of drowning them. Has anyone switched from small frequent watering to deep soaks, and did your plants actually do better or did you just get root rot?
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mason_flores2122d ago
It's funny how this same thing shows up everywhere, right, like how we all save a few bucks here and there but the people who actually get ahead are the ones who grab a big chunk when it shows up. Deep soaks work better because the water goes down deep and the roots chase it, while tiny sips only wet the top inch and the roots never bother growing down. Just make sure your pot has drainage holes and let the soil dry out between soakings, otherwise you're not watering, you're just drowning it slowly.
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