# Watering Plants: Overflow and Re-Watering

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watering-plants-overflow-and-re-watering/229416>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 16, 2004, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watering-plants-overflow-and-re-watering/229416 "2004-02-16T01:05:04Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Chairman\_Pow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Chairman\_Pow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chairman_Pow)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2004, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watering-plants-overflow-and-re-watering/229416/1 "2004-02-16T01:05:04Z")

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So, I’ve got a couple of plants (one’s a big ass dracanea and the other’s a peace lily) that I’ve had for a couple of years. They’re in the same crappy plastic pot with drip holes in the bottom that I bought them in, but I found that when I fill them, they always take less water than I think they will and leak on the floor. To solve this problem, I put them in large buckets.

I still can’t for the life of me figure out how much water to put them in and occasionally water them twice a week, wherein the water drains out of the bottom and into the bucket. My question is: can I assume that when the plant needs more water, it will just soak it up from what’s in the bottom of the bucket, or do I actually need to water them again.

Also, should I be concerned that the roots are going to rot? No matter what at-least-once-a-week watering schedule I put them on, I always overfill them.

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**Author:** ![DeaganTheWolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DeaganTheWolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeaganTheWolf)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2004, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watering-plants-overflow-and-re-watering/229416/2 "2004-02-16T01:12:07Z")

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Your watering schedule is fine. The water WILL rise back up into the pot, so don’t worry about the overflow. Neither of your plants are particularily picky about their watering so have no fear! Now try growing a juniper bonsai in the Florida heat…(grumbles and buggers off to water the bonsai collection for the fifth time…)

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**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2004, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watering-plants-overflow-and-re-watering/229416/3 "2004-02-16T01:57:07Z")

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You shouldn’t have a problem with the Spathiphyllum, because it actually prefers moist soil. Dracaenas are hard to kill as long as you don’t freeze them, so it shouldn’t be a problem with that one either.

Basically, if the current system has been working well for a while, keep it. No reason to fix something that’s not broken.