A good rule of thumb for watering most indoor plants is less is more. Water your plants when the top 2-3" of soil are dry.  Indoor houseplants, by their very nature, are tropical--that is, originally from tropical parts of the world.  In their natural habitat, a plant would get watered only when a big rainstorm came through--the rest of the time, it would be warm, with some humidity, but otherwise dry.  Plants developed root systems, leaves, and growth habits to survive in an environment where the soil was dry for periods of time.  Your houseplants are small versions of their tropical relatives, so you want to mimic their environments.  This means watering once a week for smaller containers, and maybe every 14 days for larger containers.  

A great way to water houseplants: take them out of the decorative pot (they should still be in their plastic grow pot) and hold them under a lightly running sink faucet (if you've got a big plant, you may need to use the tub/shower). Make sure all the soil gets wet, let them drain in the sink, then place them back in their decorative pot.  This way there is no risk of sitting in water, overfilling your container, or making a mess!

For larger containers that may be hard to lift/move, make sure you have a saucer under your grow pot, and slowly water the soil surface of your plant. Pause to see if the water has gone all the way through to the saucer--if not, add a little more, circling the trunk to moisten all the soil.  If you have water sitting in the saucer after you water, wait one day--if it’s still there, use a siphon (a turkey baster works great!), to remove excess water--most tropical plants do not like to sit in water.

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If you have a specific question about your plant, email us at: greeninteriors@oaklandnursery.com for Help.