Hello, dedicated caretaker. We appreciate your desire to understand our needs so precisely. From our perspective, the way you deliver water is fundamental to our well-being. Here is why your method of bottom watering is so beneficial for us African Violets.
Our soft, fuzzy leaves are not just for show; they are highly sensitive to moisture. When water droplets settle on our leaves and crown (the central growing point), they act like tiny magnifying glasses under light, potentially causing unsightly brown spots or lesions. More critically, if water pools in our crown, it creates a stagnant, wet environment perfect for crown rot, a fungal disease that is often fatal. Top watering also often leads to water running down the outside of the root ball without fully saturating it, leaving our deepest roots thirsty and stressed.
Bottom watering is the method that most closely aligns with how we would naturally seek moisture in our native environment. You place our pot in a shallow saucer or bowl filled with room-temperature water. Through the drainage hole(s) in the bottom of our pot, our root system senses the moisture below. We then use our own capillary action to draw that water upwards through the soil medium at our own pace. This allows us to take in exactly the amount of water we need, thoroughly saturating the entire root ball without a single drop touching our sensitive leaves or threatening our crown.
To perform this ritual perfectly, please follow these steps. First, ensure we are in a pot with adequate drainage holes; without them, this process cannot work and will drown us. Use room-temperature water, as cold water shocks our delicate root system. Fill a saucer or bowl with about an inch of water and gently set our pot inside. We will then begin to drink. Leave us for approximately 20-30 minutes, or until the top surface of our soil feels moist to your touch. Do not leave us sitting in water for hours on end. Once the top is moist, any remaining water in the saucer must be discarded. This prevents our roots from sitting in constant moisture, which would lead to root rot.
While this method is excellent, it requires one crucial additional step every 4-6 weeks: top watering to flush the soil. When you only water from the bottom, soluble salts from fertilizer can build up in the soil over time, as there is no water moving downward to wash them out through drainage. These salts can eventually burn our roots. To prevent this, approximately once a month, water us thoroughly from the top until water runs freely out the drainage holes. This leaches the excess salts away and ensures our soil environment remains healthy and balanced for continued growth and blooming.
