Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Monday - August 22, 2011
From: Three Rivers, MI
Region: Midwest
Topic: Diseases and Disorders, Watering
Title: Watering Houseplants with Soapy Water
Answered by: Brigid & Larry Larson
QUESTION:
I accidentally watered my house plants with a container that had a some dishsoap in it. Will they be okay? One of the plants is a 20yr old cactus, with small roots.ANSWER:
Mr Smarty Plants thinks your plants will likely be OK - - but you didn't tell us how much soap was used.
So, we'll give you some examples of how soap is used on plants and maybe that will help you decide about your situation.
We're having a serious drought here in Texas right now and many of us are using grey-water to water our plants as a water conservation effort. The plants are fine with this and some of them thrive on this regimen. Here's a conversation from Wiki-Answers where this is discussed.
At about the same concentration of soap, soapy water is often recommended as a natural approach for bug control. Here are webpages from manipedia and evergrow where this is discussed. Mr Smarty Plants recently recommended soapy water for contolling Cochineal insects on Cholla Cactus and for Powdery Mildew control.
Larger concentrations of soap are used for opening conpacted soil and aiding water penetration. Mr Smarty Plants has recommended soap for opening hydrophobic soil.
So - Your chances of the plants being OK are pretty good; perhaps you can remember these applications for soapy water for later use.
From the Image Gallery
More Watering Questions
Replacing Drought-Stricken Cedars
January 16, 2012 - Hello, I live in Williamson County on a couple acres. We have several dead cedars as a result of drought; we're reluctant to cut them down because many of them provide a friendly barrier between us...
view the full question and answer
Problems with Habiturf in Austin
May 10, 2014 - I have been trying to establish a Habiturf lawn in my back yard. It is approximately a 1,000 square foot area and this last seeding was the third over about one and a half years. I just recently over ...
view the full question and answer
Recycling bath water from Austin
July 03, 2012 - Is using bath water going to hurt my plants or grass? If I use water from the bath on vegetables and fruits will the soap be absorbed by the fruit and/or vegetables thereby transferring to us when we ...
view the full question and answer
Red sister Cordyline problems in Brownsville TX
July 27, 2010 - I bought a Red Sister Cordyline plant but once the leaves grow they dry from the ends.
view the full question and answer
Proper watering of cedar elm trees in Sachse, TX
August 15, 2008 - I've just planted two Cedar elm trees in clay soil, each about four inches in diameter, and I want to water them correctly. I'm aware that too much water can be bad as well as too little water. I ...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |