Following is some houseplant watering advice published by the U.K. Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) in partnership with the Royal Horticultural Society (founded 1804). It is from a brochure titled "The Easy Guide to Growing Houseplants."
It may not seem so, but what it describes is a somewhat primitive method of sub-irrigation (erroneously known widely as "self-watering").This method does not require a special planter, but it does require a basic understanding of how capillary action works.
In any case it's a better method than the "poke, pour and pray" top watering that is unfortunately embedded in our largely matriarchal houseplant society.
Incidentally, the best way to learn houseplant growing and maintenance is to install them in soda (pop) bottle SIPs (sub-irrigated planters). They are the best teaching aid that I know of in my long career.
View the brochure either as a PDF or Word doc.
The Easy Guide to Growing Houseplants (PDF)
The Easy Guide to Growing Houseplants (Word doc)
WATERING
Once your new houseplant is safely home, you need to care for it correctly to ensure that it remains in pristine condition – and this largely depends on how well it is watered. Too little or too much watering can cause problems.
OVERWATERING: Giving too much water can be as dangerous as underwatering. The roots not only require moisture but also air, so overwatering leads to the forcible removal of air from the potting compost so the houseplant’s roots are killed by suffocation.
BEST PRACTICE: Watering little and often is the best advice, taking into account the growing environment and the seasons.
Watering from below is the best approach as some plants can suffer from rotting or sun scorch if water is directed onto their stems, root systems or foliage.
DRAINAGE: The best method is to stand the pot (which must have drainage holes in the bottom) on a suitable sized saucer into which a small amount of gravel has been placed.Fill the saucer to about 1⁄3 of its depth with water and leave the plant standing for 30 minutes.
If all the water has been taken up you can repeat the operation until uptake stops, then any surplus water should be tipped away but of course retaining the gravel.
Source: www.the-hta.org.uk
More Easy Guide leaflets
Enhance your customer service with the HTA/RHS Easy Guides, a series of informative leaflets designed to provide practical information on a range of popular gardening topics for your customers.
Packed with colourful images, handy hints and tips, step by step projects and a list of what they’ll need, these attractive guides are aimed at the amateur gardener to help them learn more about gardening and how to make the most of their outdoor space.
Available in three different categories, plant guides, gardening know-how and grow your own, these guides aim to cover popular topics within the gardening world. Plus, we have recently launched six new titles:
See all of them here: www.the-hta.org.uk