Watering in winter and in summer

A plant drinks according to how much sun, heat and wind it gets, and how fast it is growing. All four change through the year. A palm that needs water every day in May may need it once a week in January, and the house help who watered it daily all summer will drown it by Diwali. The skill is not remembering a schedule. It is noticing when the season has turned and cutting back, or stepping up, before the plant tells you.

Check before you water, in every season

The test is the same all year: push a finger two inches into the mix. Dry at the fingertip means water; cool and damp means wait. Lifting the pot works too. A freshly watered pot is heavy, and a dry one is noticeably light. What changes with the season is how quickly a pot gets from one to the other, so check more often in summer and less often in winter, but always check.

Summer: more often, and deeply

From April to early June, pots on open balconies can dry out within a day, especially small ones, terracotta, and anything facing west. Water early in the morning, when less is lost to evaporation and the plant has water in hand before the heat. On west-facing balconies, a second check in the evening is often needed. Water until it runs from the drainage holes, then empty the saucer; a deep soak reaches the whole root ball, while a small daily splash only wets the top.

In Delhi NCR, the dry loo winds of May and June pull water out of leaves and pots faster than anywhere else we work, and daily watering is normal for most plants. Mumbai's pre-monsoon heat is humid, so pots dry more slowly. In Bengaluru, summer is gentler, but pots on high, windy floors still dry quickly. In all three cities, grouping pots together, adding a layer of mulch on the mix and moving small pots out of afternoon sun all cut how often you need to water.

Winter: much less often

As the days shorten from November, growth slows and pots stay wet for longer. In Delhi NCR, with cold nights and fog that blocks the sun for days, many plants need water only once every seven to ten days, and succulents, jade and snake plant may go three weeks or more. Water around midday, when the pot has had some warmth, rather than in the cold early morning, and use water that is at room temperature rather than straight from a cold tap.

In Bengaluru, winters are cool and dry, so plants still need regular water, just less than in summer; every three to four days suits most pots. Mumbai barely has a winter, but the shorter days still slow growth, so ease back a little from November to February. Wherever you are, wet roots in cold mix are the biggest winter risk. Yellowing lower leaves and a pot that feels heavy days after watering are a sign to leave it alone for longer.

The most common winter mistake we see is a summer routine carried into December. Cut back as soon as the nights cool, not when the leaves start yellowing.