Not even 2 weeks have passed since I bought the plants. I came back after missing for 4 days and my plants look dead. All of them expect one. And the worst part is they don't even absorb the water. I have a strawberry, a lavender, a gardenia and a mint and like I said only the mint is doing fine but it's also not absorbing water well. I don't know what to do🥹
by Shoddy_Revolution554
7 Comments
When the soil gets too dry it can become hydrophobic, your going to need a full soil change
When did you water them? I’m sure they’ll recover eventually.
Give half wait 30 min then give second half, overly dried soil won’t absorb well so you have to slowly hydrate it and tbh it’s the proper way to water anyways 👍🏾
Absolutely looking a bit overwatered.
hun, you’re overwatering them. Do research on the species of plant and follow the watering schedule. They aren’t ’soaking up’ anymore water because they don’t *need* anymore water.
You have hydrophobic soil, slowly watering will fix this. Add just enough water to cover the top of the pot, then wait. It will take time to go in do that over and over. Alternatively, you can set the planter in a dish or tub filled with water and let the pot wick the water up using the properties of cohesion and adhesion. You could also fill a pump sprayer and use that to slowly top water.
Basically, when the soil loses its water content, the water molecules have a hard time staying attached to your potting mix. You need to give the water time to interact with the soil.
The plants are not “absorbing” water because their roots are rotted from overwatering. Stop watering them so often and only water when the soil is dry. Are they even in full sun outside or why are you watering them so much?