The hardest part of indoor plant care in an Aussie summer isn’t the heat, the pests or even the light.

It’s water.

How often? How much? Why does that peace lily collapse like a Victorian poet every second Thursday? And why does your monstera throw out yellow leaves just when you swear you’re “being good” with the watering can?

This is where a proper watering blueprint helps. Not a list of random rules – a simple way to think about watering so you can adjust for your home, your plants and an Australian summer (40°C nor’wester, we see you).

We’ll walk through:

• How often to water (frequency)
• How much to give each time (volume)
• How to set up pots and potting mix so water actually helps rather than slowly drowning the roots (drainage)

And because aroids are the main characters in most indoor jungles, we’ll keep bringing it back to them – and how the right mix (chunky Aroid Mix vs softer Indoor Mix) makes watering in summer so much easier.

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Part 1: Frequency – How Often Should You Water in an Aussie Summer?

Let’s start with the big stress question: “How often should I water?”

Here’s the short, slightly annoying answer:

In summer, most indoor aroids need watering every 3–10 days, but the real rule is: water when the mix tells you, not the calendar.

Different homes, different pots, different mixes.

A monstera in a chunky Aroid Mix in bright light will dry out very differently to a peace lily in Indoor Mix tucked further back from the window. Same family (Araceae), very different watering pattern.

So instead of memorising “water every X days”, build a quick check-first habit.

The Finger Test (Still the Gold Standard… With Caveats)

Before you water, do this:

1. Stick your finger into the potting mix up to your second knuckle.
2. If the top 2–3 cm is dry but it still feels slightly cool or faintly damp below:
   → Wait a day or two (unless it’s a real drinker like a peace lily or thirsty philodendron in bright light).
3. If it feels dry most of the way down:
   → It’s time to water.
4. If it feels wet, cool and sticky:
   → Do not water yet. Your aroid would like some oxygen, not another drink.

That simple habit gets most people 80–90% of the way there.

Nerd caveat: in taller pots or very chunky Aroid Mix, the top few centimetres can feel dry while the lower third is still moist. If you’re unsure, use a bamboo skewer or chopstick as a little “moisture dipstick” – push it right down, leave it a minute, then pull it out and check for damp mix clinging to the end.

Typical Summer Rhythms for Aroids

These are starting points – your place and your mix will tweak the details:

• Chunky-rooted aroids in Aroid Mix
  Monsteras, climbing philodendrons, anthuriums, alocasias in bright, warm rooms:
  → Often need watering every 4–7 days in summer.
• Trailing/table-top aroids in Indoor Mix
  Pothos/devil’s ivy (Epipremnum aureum), peace lilies (Spathiphyllum), syngoniums, smaller philodendrons in medium light:
  → Roughly every 5–10 days, depending on pot size and airflow.

Most indoor aroids will fall somewhere in that 3–10 day window, but there are always outliers at both ends – which is why the check-first habit beats any fixed schedule.

How Aussie Summer Changes the Rules

Summer throws a few curveballs at your watering pattern:

• Heatwaves: Potting mix dries out faster, especially in terracotta pots and near hot windows. Your monstera might go from every 7 days to every 3–4 days for a week.
• Aircon: Great for you, drying for plants. Strong vents can pull moisture from leaves and soil. Aroids directly under vents often need water more often – or a new position.
• Longer days & more light: More light = higher “engine speed”. Your aroids grow faster, use more water and more nutrients.

So your blueprint for frequency in an Aussie summer is:

Check more frequently, water only when the mix has actually dried to the right depth for that plant.

You’re upping your checking, not mindlessly cranking up the watering.

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Part 2: Volume – How Much Water Should You Actually Use?

Okay, so you’ve checked the mix and it’s time to water. How much?

A lot of problems come from “just a little sip” on top. It feels gentle and caring. It mostly just wets the top centimetre and leaves the deeper roots thirsty.

Roots live deeper. That’s where the action is.

The Deep Watering Rule (and What About Bottom-Watering?)

As a baseline for classic pot + drainage holes set-ups:

When you water from the top, water until you see a little excess coming out of the drainage holes.

That does a few important things:

• Gives even moisture through the whole root zone
• Provides a mini flush that helps move old fertiliser salts down and out
• Encourages roots to grow deeper and stronger, instead of hanging around shallow and sulky near the surface

For a typical 14–20 cm indoor pot:

• Think in cups or a small watering can, not dribbles
• Water in stages:
  • A small amount first to “prime” the mix
  • Wait 20–30 seconds
  • Then more, slowly, until you see water drain from the base

In a decent Aroid Mix or Indoor Mix, you should see the water go in, move through, and drain – not sit on top like a puddle wondering where its life went wrong.

What if you bottom-water or use self-watering pots?
Same principle, different direction: you still want to wet the whole root zone evenly without leaving it waterlogged. Let the pot wick water up, then pour off any excess rather than letting it sit in a reservoir that never empties.

For very large containers, the idea is the same, but you might not need quite as much runoff – focus on an even soak rather than a 10-minute waterfall.

When to Dial Back the Volume

You still don’t need to go full tsunami every time. Use a slightly lighter hand if:

• The aroid is in low light and grows slowly (e.g. pothos in a darker hallway)
• The pot is much larger than the root system (e.g. freshly repotted monsteras in a big upgrade pot)
• The plant has just been through stress – major root work, root rot recovery, or a big chop

In those cases you’re still aiming for even moisture, you just won’t need quite as much water to get there because the plant isn’t using water as quickly.

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Part 3: Drainage – The Secret Hero of Watering

You cannot talk about good watering without talking about what’s underneath it: your potting mix and drainage set-up.

If the mix is wrong for the plant, watering becomes guesswork and drama. If the mix is right, watering becomes… kind of boring (in the best way).

Why Potting Mix Matters So Much for Aroids

Aroids love that combo of moisture + oxygen around their roots. A good mix will:

• Hold enough moisture so roots don’t dry to a crisp
• Drain freely enough that roots aren’t sitting in a swamp
• Have structure (chunks, fibres, particles) that keeps air pockets in the pot

That’s where the difference between something like an Indoor Potting Mix and a chunky Aroid Mix really shows up.

Not all aroids drink the same way – some are chunky epiphytes that love airy mixes (monsteras, many philos), others have finer, more moisture-loving roots (peace lilies, syngoniums). That’s why we treat some as “Aroid Mix plants” and others as happier in Indoor Mix or a blend.

Indoor Mix: For Moisture-Loving Aroids and Foliage

A good Indoor Mix is designed to:

• Hold steady, even moisture
• Drain well enough that roots don’t sit in a bog
• Suit a wide range of aroids and foliage plants:
  • Peace lilies (Spathiphyllum)
  • Pothos/devil’s ivy (Epipremnum aureum)
  • Syngoniums
  • Smaller philodendrons
  • Plus other non-aroid foliage like rubber trees (Ficus elastica) and peperomias

In summer, this kind of mix makes watering more forgiving. If you miss a day, it hasn’t turned to dust. If you water properly, it doesn’t turn into soup.

Aroid Mix: For Chunky Roots and Big Leaves

A proper Aroid Mix is chunkier and airier – think bark, perlite, charcoal, big structural bits.

It suits aroids that like lots of oxygen around the roots, like:

• Monsteras (Monstera deliciosa, adansonii)
• Climbing philodendrons
• Many anthuriums
• Alocasias (the drama queens of the group)

In a chunky Aroid Mix, you can water deeply and more often in summer because:

• Extra water drains through quickly
• There’s still plenty of air left in the pot
• The roots aren’t sitting in a heavy, soggy mass

In a hot Aussie summer, this can be the difference between “lush indoor jungle” and “mysterious yellow leaves and root rot roulette”.

Matching Mix to Watering Style

If you’re:

• An over-waterer by nature (you like to “do something” for your plants):
  → Lean towards chunkier mixes for your aroids. An Aroid Mix gives you that safety buffer: lots of air, quick drainage, still enough moisture for growth.
• A forgetful waterer (life, work, kids, everything):
  → Indoor Mix for peace lilies, syngoniums, pothos and mixed foliage gives you more moisture-holding capacity, so you’ve got a little buffer if you miss a day or two.

You can also blend:

Monsteras or fiddle leaf figs in bright, indirect light?
→ Try a 50:50 blend of Indoor Mix and Aroid Mix for a root zone that holds moisture but stays airy enough for those bigger, fussier root systems.

Once the mix matches both the plant and your personality, watering stops feeling like a test you’re failing.

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Pots, Saucers, and Classic Drainage Traps

Even the best mix can be undone by a bad pot set-up.

Drainage Holes Are Non-Negotiable

Indoor aroids belong in pots with drainage holes. Full stop.

No holes = water trapped = oxygen disappears = roots slowly suffocate.

You can still use:

• Pretty ceramic covers
• Baskets
• Decorative sleeves

Just keep the plant in a plastic inner pot or nursery pot inside that decorative piece, so the extra water has somewhere to go.

Saucers: Friend and Occasional Villain

Saucers are great for saving floors and furniture. The trick is:

Don’t let your plant sit in a saucer of water for more than 10–15 minutes.

In summer, it’s tempting to leave “just a little water in there so it can drink later”. For aroids, that usually means the bottom of the pot becomes waterlogged and the finer roots start to rot.

Water thoroughly, let it drain, then tip the saucer out. Two-minute job that saves a lot of drama.

The Myth of “Drainage Layers”

The old “pebbles at the bottom of the pot for drainage” tip refuses to die.

Unfortunately, pebbles don’t create drainage; they raise the water table. Water sits just above the layer rather than magically disappearing. If your mix is too heavy, it stays heavy.

Instead of pebbles:

• Use a properly structured mix (Indoor Mix, Aroid Mix or a blend)
• Make sure the drainage holes are clear
• Elevate pots slightly so water can escape freely into the saucer or outer pot

Good mix + free drainage > fancy pebble layer every time.

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Building Your Own Indoor Watering Blueprint

Let’s turn this into something you can actually use at home.

Step 1: Group Your Aroids by Mix and Thirst

Do a quick walk-around and mentally sort your plants:

1. Chunky-rooted aroids in Aroid Mix
   Monsteras, climbing philodendrons, many anthuriums, alocasias in brighter spots.
2. Trailing/table-top aroids & general foliage in Indoor Mix
   Pothos, peace lilies, syngoniums, smaller philodendrons, plus foliage like rubber plants and peperomias.
3. Dry-lovers in gritty mixes
   Snake plants, ZZs, cactus and succulents (these aren’t aroids, but they live in the same rooms, so they need their own rules).

Each group will have a different summer drying pattern.

Step 2: Set a “Check Rhythm”, Not a “Water Day”

Instead of “watering Wednesdays”, try this:

• Every 2–3 days in summer, do a quick circuit with the finger test (or skewer test in tall/very chunky pots).
• Only water pots that actually need it.

You’ll start to notice:

• Plants in bright, warm spots (big north-facing windows, warm rooms) dry out faster.
• Plants in cooler, low-light corners go much longer between drinks.

That pattern is your watering blueprint.

Step 3: Adjust Volume to the Mix

• In Aroid Mix:
  → You can usually water more generously and more often, because the mix drains fast and keeps air in the root zone. Deep watering until light runoff is ideal.
• In Indoor Mix:
  → Water thoroughly until you see runoff, then let it dry to the right depth before the next watering. In heatwaves, check more often – it’ll dry faster than in winter, but it shouldn’t stay soggy.

If you feel like you’re constantly fighting the pot (always soggy, or dry within a day), that’s a sign to change the mix or the pot size, not just fiddle with the watering can.

Step 4: Watch the Plant’s Feedback

Your aroids will absolutely tell you what they think:

• Droopy leaves that perk up a few hours after watering:
  → You were a bit late, but still within safe range.
• Yellowing lower leaves + consistently wet mix:
  → Often points to overwatering or a mix that’s staying wet too long. If the mix is behaving and you’re feeding regularly, the odd older yellow leaf can just be normal turnover rather than a crisis.
• Crispy tips + mix always bone dry:
  → Not enough water per session, too long between waterings, or a mix that’s drying too quickly (especially in terracotta).

Change one thing at a time:

1. Adjust frequency (check more, water a bit sooner or later).
2. Adjust volume (more thorough soak or slightly less).
3. If it’s still a circus, change the mix – that’s often the real problem.

If you’re in a hard-water area and start to see a white crust on the soil surface or pot, those deeper waterings until light runoff also double as a little “flush” to help push some of the excess salts through.

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Summer-Specific Quick Wins

A few little habits that make summer watering way easier:

• Water in the morning
  Gives plants all day to use that moisture, and any splashes on foliage have time to dry. It’s a nice rhythm, especially if you’re prone to overdoing it at night and leaving plants sitting cold and wet.
• Move the drama queens
  Alocasias and peace lilies shrivelling near hot west-facing windows? Drag them back a metre or two during heatwaves. Less stress means more predictable watering.
• Pair spot + mix
  Aroids in high, bright light love the extra oxygen of an Aroid Mix. The same plant in lower light may do better in a blend with more Indoor Mix so it doesn’t dry out too fast.
• Double-check after heatwaves
  Terracotta pots and smaller pots can go from “fine” to “desert” very quickly in 38°C and dry winds. Those weeks are where your check rhythm really matters.

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The Takeaway: Make Watering Boring (In a Nice Way)

The goal isn’t to turn you into a full-time water butler.

The goal is to set things up so watering feels:

• Predictable
• Calm
• Almost… boring

When you’ve:

• Matched your aroids to the right mix (chunky Aroid Mix for the big jungle types, Indoor Mix for the softer, moisture-lovers and general foliage)
• Given them pots with proper drainage
• Built a habit of checking the mix, not the calendar

…watering in an Aussie summer becomes a simple loop:

Check → decide → soak → drain → repeat when the mix says “I’m dry”.

No more guessing, no more constant “Is this too much? Too little?”
Just healthy roots, steady growth, and an indoor jungle that can handle another scorcher.

If you want an easy starting point, look under your plants. Often the biggest watering win isn’t a fancy schedule – it’s finally giving those aroid roots the kind of mix and drainage they’ve been waiting for.