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What does it mean that houseplant should not be stood in water. If the plant is watered and the water comes out the bottom and gathers in the tray is that being stood in water? Should tray be emptied?

I have dracenia and they are very dry when i water them the water goes through the soil and out the othr end. One is going yellow/brown on leaves. i think maybe the gas heating is making atmosphere too dry.

I alsom have a ficus elastica with drooping leaved. I havvethat in a pot with stones underneath and then in a larger pot so the small container rests on stones and there is water under the stones. Is that right?

Someone told me the plants should be totally submerged to water them?

[Garlicbreath]

Hi Banner, your arrangement of pots on stones over water sounds absolutely right to create a humid atmosphere around the plants. This is really important in a heated house as it gets really dry as you said. When you hear that plants shouldn't be stood in water it refers to having them standing in it all the time. If you do this the soil get waterlogged and the roots rot.

However, it sounds like you plants have dried out completely so you need to soak them for a while to get water back into the soil. If pots get too dry water poured on will just run off - this is what you're seeing with your dracenia. You need to stand your pots in a basin of water (or in the bath) and leave them for a few hours until all the compost has absorbed water and it wet through again. Then take them out and let them drain for an hour or so before replacing them in their containers. It's a good idea to give them a shower too to clean the leaves and create a nice humid atmosphere around them. This treatment will give your plants a new lease of life and they'll perk up no end

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Thanks Garlicbreath

The leaves withered and fell off one of my dracenia . New leaves are coming but some are going brown just as they come out. Some say flouride in the water causes this?

[Garlicbreath]

I haven't heard that one before so really can't comment My feeling is that it's the central heating causing excessive dryness. You could try misting it regularly and see if that helps.

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Has anyone used http://www.amazon.com/Luster-Leaf-1617PDQ-Monitoring-Container/dp/B000AQH5RU

i got them locally and they do not change colour at all. i do not want to thouroghly wet my plants as theyhave been watered but even in a plastic cup of water there is no reaction