My Greenhouse

Why this reminds you to check, not to water

Most plant apps hand you a watering schedule: this plant every seven days, that one every ten. It sounds helpful and it is how a lot of houseplants die.

Soil does not dry on a calendar. The same pothos might need water every four days in a bright July window and every twelve in a dim January room. Pot size, light, humidity, and season all change the answer. Water it on day seven regardless and half the year you are pouring water into soil that is already wet, which is exactly how root rot starts. Overwatering is the single most common way houseplants die, and it is much harder to reverse than letting a plant get too dry.

So My Greenhouse tracks how long it has been since you last checked a plant, and reminds you to go look. Each plant keeps its own species watering rule, so you know what you are looking for when you get there.

How to actually check

• Go two inches down. The surface dries within hours and tells you almost nothing. Push a finger in up to the second knuckle.
• Or lift the pot. Once you learn what a plant weighs watered, a dry pot is obviously lighter. This is the fastest method for plants in small pots.
• Do not trust drooping. Overwatered and underwatered plants both droop. The leaves tell you which: soft and mushy means too much water, papery and crisp means too little.
• Adjust with the seasons. Most houseplants need noticeably less water in winter when growth slows. Stretch your check interval rather than watering out of habit.

Setting your check interval

When you add a plant, we set a starting interval from its species and watering needs: around four days for moisture lovers like ferns and calatheas, about a week for most tropical foliage, and two weeks for succulents, cacti, snake plants, and ZZ plants. You can change it on any plant at any time.

Treat the number as a prompt rather than a rule. If you keep finding the soil still damp, stretch the interval. If a plant is bone dry every time you look, shorten it. After a few cycles you will land on what your home actually does.

Adding plants

The quickest way is to identify a plant from a photo and tap "Add to My Greenhouse" on the result. That carries the species name and its watering rule across automatically. You can also add plants by name here if you already know what you have.

Not sure what something is? The free identifier covers houseplants, garden plants, trees, weeds, and succulents, and every result includes pet toxicity, which is worth checking before a new plant comes home.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How often should I water my houseplants?
A: There is no single correct number of days, and that is the most important thing to understand about watering. How fast soil dries depends on pot size, light, humidity, and the season, so the same plant can need water every four days in July and every twelve in January. Check the soil instead of watering on a fixed date: push a finger two inches down, and water only if it is dry at that depth for most common houseplants.

Q: Is there a free plant watering reminder app?
A: My Greenhouse is free and runs in your browser with no account and no app to install. Add your plants, and it tracks how long since you last checked each one. Add your email and you get one reminder on Sundays listing the plants that are due.

Q: Why does a watering schedule kill plants?
A: Because a fixed schedule keeps watering whether the soil needs it or not. Overwatering is the most common cause of houseplant death: constantly wet soil starves roots of oxygen and leads to root rot, which is much harder to reverse than underwatering. A reminder to check the soil avoids this, while a reminder to water does not.

Q: How do I know if my plant needs water?
A: Feel the soil about two inches down rather than looking at the surface, which dries fast and tells you very little. Lifting the pot also works well once you learn the plant's weight: a dry pot is noticeably lighter. Drooping alone is not proof, because both overwatered and underwatered plants droop.

Q: Do I need an account to use My Greenhouse?
A: No. Your plant list is stored in your own browser, so there is nothing to sign up for. An email address is only needed if you want the optional weekly reminder, and you can unsubscribe at any time.