We all know that underwatering dehydrates plants but did you know that overwatering dehydrates them too? Soggy roots can’t take up water no matter how much you apply and this condition is called plant hypoxia. The symptoms of underwatering and overwatering are similar: yellowing or browning, wilt, and leaf drop.
Go with the flow of drought-tolerant plants. Desert plants were born to be hardy so help them be their best selves by fluctuating between heavy root zone waterings, simulating rain with overhead spraying, and long dry spells.
- Don’t let puddles of water form around the trunk of a tree or the base of a plant. Plants can’t use water at the collar but they can rot there. Water wells should be graded away from center and large enough for water to collect at the edge of foliage.
- Water-logged soil creates anaerobic (oxygen-less) conditions. Roots and the soil microbes that support plants both need oxygen. A lack of oxygen encourages growth of toxic fungi and other pathogens that can spread through your garden. Algae, mold, and unpleasant smells are signs of anaerobic conditions. Common culprits creating overwatering are a ‘better-safe-than-sorry’ approach to hand watering and irrigation leaks.
- Over-irrigated plants hold lots of water. This attracts thirsty critters even when the plant isn’t normally a food source. Ever had the branches of a plant bitten off without being eaten, or wonder why a nursery grown creosote gets munched? Water content.
- Don’t react to heat waves by bombing plants with water. The natural defense mechanism of a plant experiencing temperature stress is to go semi-dormant and partially shut down. The plant knows that maintaining normal levels of activity will be too resource costly. It wilts and drops leaves on purpose as ways to conserve energy.
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How Too Much Water Affects Drought Adapted Plants
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Read about declines in our tough Screwbean Mesquites. Desert forests are dying when extreme rainfall follows drought.
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