Tried bottom watering my monsteras last spring and it fixed my fungus gnat problem

I used to just pour water on top of my pots whenever the soil felt dry. But then I had a fungus gnat invasion around March that got so bad I saw them in my bathroom too. A friend at the plant shop told me to try bottom watering instead, so I fill a tray with about an inch of water and let the pots sit for 20 minutes. It took maybe 3 weeks, but the gnats disappeared because the top soil stays dry. My monsteras put out way bigger leaves too, which I didn't expect. Has anyone else switched methods and noticed a big difference like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

taylor30512d ago

Oh man, bottom watering was a total game changer for me but I'll admit I messed it up at first! I left my pothos in the tray for like an hour and a half because I got distracted watching TV, and the soil ended up sopping wet like a swamp. Learned that lesson the hard way when I had to repot the whole thing. But yeah, once I got the timing down, the fungus gnats vanished and my plants actually looked happier. I still kill a succulent every now and then though, so I'm not exactly a pro haha.

gray_schmidt812d ago

Bottom watering just drowns them slower, that's all.