Ideal temperature for watering?!?

[lampost]

What would be the ideal temp for watering? I've heard about 68-70.

My water out of the tap this time of year feels like it's probably not much above freezing....probably 40-50 degrees. I let it sit out, but it sits in my cold basement and probably doesn't even get up to 60 degrees. What is the lowest you can go before it will start to harm/stunt your plants? I noticed after watering today that the two plants were drooping hard... and they really needed water! The only thing I can think of that would cause this is cold water.

Looks like I gotta go buy more shit!!!! I wish the one fish I had left would bite the dust so I could just use that instead of shelling out more cash

lampost Reviewed by lampost on 02-17-2010. Ideal temperature for watering?!? What would be the ideal temp for watering? I've heard about 68-70. My water out of the tap this time of year feels like it's probably not much above freezing....probably 40-50 degrees. I let it sit out, but it sits in my cold basement and probably doesn't even get up to 60 degrees. What is the lowest you can go before it will start to harm/stunt your plants? I noticed after watering today that the two plants were drooping hard... and they really needed water! The only thing I can think Rating: 5

[moody420]

The ideal temp. of the water should be around room temperature. You don't want it too cold or hot to keep from shocking the plants roots.

If they were drooping badly after watering, then you probably over watered...they should stand tall when getting the right amount of water and light! The leaves should almost look like they are reaching for the light!

good luck man! :jointsmile:

[lampost]

I'm 99% sure it's not overwatering. This plant was bone-dry and needed water. I watered a bit faster than usual and put about 3/4 gal through the 5 gal pot... just enough to start to get runoff.

I've got my watering technique down. I use the "lift-the-pot" method to determine when to water. And I confirm with a moisture meter (at least until I get the feeling for the specific soil/pot I'm using). This plant is one of the largest and I even let it sit pretty dry for a day or so before watering (however never long enough to show signs of underwatering).

Anyway, do you guys think colder water could cause this (temporary) drooping? I'm guessing the water was between 55-65 degrees. I'm sure the plants will look better in the morning. But I should probably invest in an aquarium heater and thermometer to make myself feel better.

[WashougalWonder]

If the water were colder, yes. I would say anything above 50 degrees is okay. I read somewhere low temps can cause root burn, how I have no idea. I just keep a bucket of water in the plant room and replenish as necessary and the water therefore is the same temp as the roots.

[stra8outtaWeed]

The ideal temp. of the water should be around room temperature. You don't want it too cold or hot to keep from shocking the plants roots.

If they were drooping badly after watering, then you probably over watered...they should stand tall when getting the right amount of water and light! The leaves should almost look like they are reaching for the light!

good luck man! :jointsmile:

good advice from all above....i always try to let my water sit for 24 hours and to get to room temps....i have heard this from some good sources(not scientific)but watering with colder water stunts the roots for upto 72 hours...this means your plant is idle for 3days...so especially in winter it is good to let your water warm up and if it has chlorine it can gas off also...another good reason for letting your water sit:thumbsup:

[Rusty Trichome]

You don't have a water heater? (add warm/hot water to the cold)
The warmer the water, the better the absorption into the media. Excessively cold water stunts and kills.

[moody420]

you watered one plant in a 5 gallon pot with 3/4 of a gallon of water??? that is an extreme amount of water for one plant! The point of watering is to keep them moist not to flood them out. MJ is a very sensitive plant when it comes to overwatering. You could flood out the roots and kill the plant!

I have 8 plants all in 5 gallon pots. I give each plant about 1/8th of a gallon of water every 2-3 days.

I think that if the water was just too cold and stunted the plant it wouldn't be so droopy. but they way you describe it makes me think you way over watered! Do you have any pics?

[lampost]

I didn't over-water! I'm positive.
This plant is huge and the container is completely dry in 2 days.

I disagree that 3/4 gallon is too much for a 5-gal. Maybe you've got a quicker draining medium than me. I've done extensive experimentation on this and I don't get any runoff until I hit 3/4 gal. The amount of runoff I get from that amount is negligible... Maybe 2 shot glasses full. So, I don't think this is too much water, especially when the plant can suck it bone dry in 1-2 days.

My understanding is that overwatering has more to do with the frequency of watering rather than the actual volume of water used when watering.

So please no more overwatering talk!

Rusty, good point! For some reason I don't like to use the hot water that's been through the water heater. Now that I think about it, there's probably nothing wrong with it. So, I'm just going to start using the hot water. OR I'll fill a milk jug with extremely hot water and submerge it in my 5-gal water holding bucket.

Thanks guys!

[lampost]

Oh forgot to mention. I did water super fast! Nonetheless the plant perked up and grew through the night, so no worries.

[busybee]

hi lamppost,your water temp should stay between 15-24c/60-75f.the bottom end of the range holds more oxygen than the top end.hope this helps!!