Greenie Get the app Wilting or drooping
Overwatered or underwatered? How to tell the difference
Both too much and too little water make a plant wilt, so check the soil before you reach for the watering can. Wilting in wet soil, with leaves yellowing old and new at once and dark, soft roots, means overwatering: let it dry out and fix the drainage. Wilting in dry, light soil, with crisp brown edges and the oldest leaves dropping first, means it is thirsty: give it a thorough soak.
Check these first
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Push a finger a few centimetres into the soil. Damp soil under a wilting plant points to overwatering; dry soil points to thirst.
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Lift the pot. A pot that feels heavy days after watering is still wet; one that feels light is dry.
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Look at the leaves. Soft, limp leaves yellowing all over the plant suggest too much water; crisp brown tips and edges, and old leaves yellowing first, suggest too little.
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Check the saucer and pot. Standing water, no drainage hole or a pot far bigger than the roots all keep the soil wet too long.
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Ease the plant out of its pot. Pale, firm roots are healthy; dark brown, mushy roots that may smell sour mean too much water; dry, brittle or light brown roots mean too little.
Causes and fixes
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Overwatering
How to tellThe plant droops even though the soil is damp. Old and new leaves turn yellow together, leaves feel soft, patches may brown in the middle of the leaf, mouldy patches can appear on leaves and flowers, and the stem base may soften. Roots are dark and mushy.
What to doStop watering and empty any water in the saucer or cover pot. Let the soil dry to the depth the plant's care sheet gives before watering again. If roots are rotten, cut them back to firm tissue and repot in fresh, free-draining mix in a pot with a drainage hole, sized to the root ball.
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Underwatering
How to tellThe soil is dry, light and may have pulled away from the pot edge. Leaves wilt and can look dull or grey-green, tips and edges go brown and crisp, and the lowest, oldest leaves yellow and fall first. Succulents show wrinkled, deflated leaves.
What to doWater slowly until it drains from the bottom. If the dry mix repels water, stand the pot in a bowl of water until the surface is moist, then let it drain fully. A thirsty plant usually perks up soon after watering; check the soil more often from now on.
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Dry roots in wet soil (root rot)
How to tellThis is the confusing case: the plant looks thirsty and wilts, but the soil is wet. Damaged roots can no longer take up water, so watering more makes it worse.
What to doDo not water. Unpot it, remove dark, soft roots and repot in fresh mix. If most roots are gone, take healthy cuttings and start again.
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Pot, mix or season out of step
How to tellWatering habits have not changed, but the plant swings between soggy and dry: a pot too large or without holes stays wet, a root-bound plant dries out much faster than before, and in winter the soil stays wet for much longer.
What to doUse a pot only slightly larger than the root ball, with a drainage hole. Repot a crowded plant in spring. Water less often in autumn and winter, when growth slows.
Stop it coming back
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Water when the soil tells you to, not on a fixed day; how fast it dries changes with the season, pot and room.
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Water thoroughly until it drains, then empty the saucer; never leave the pot standing in water.
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Use pots with drainage holes and a mix that suits the plant, gritty for succulents and cacti.
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Learn your plant's needs: some like the top to dry slightly, others like to dry right through.
When to worry
When to worry
A plant that wilts in dry soil and stands back up soon after watering is fine. Watch more closely if it wilts while the soil is wet, if the stem is soft or black at the soil line, or if the soil smells sour: that is root rot, and it spreads. Unpot it straight away, cut away rotten roots and repot what is healthy, or save it from cuttings if the base has gone.
