When the leaves of a plant wilt it is a sign that the plant needs water, and therefore it is a good time to water–right? Maybe. The plant might need to be watered, but it is also possible that water will harm the plant.
Why do Leaves Wilt?
When we get thirsty, our bodies are letting us know that we need more water. It is a feeling we have. Other people looking at us can’t really tell we need more water. Part of the reason for this is that we have a skeleton structure that keeps us standing straight. Green leafy plants don’t have a similar structure; they use water pressure to keep them standing upright.
You can think of the plant leaf as being similar to a garden hose. With the water turned off, the hose is limp–its wilted. When we turn the water on, the water pressure inside the hose increases and the hose becomes stiff. The stiff hose no longer looks wilted. Plants work exactly the same way. In order for a plant to maintain its normal shape it needs a certain amount of water pressure inside the leaves.
Water pressure is maintained in the leaves by the roots which are absorbing water from the soil and pumping it up into the leaves. Leaves naturally loose water, especially during photosynthesis. Water is constantly flowing from the roots to the leaves.
If roots can’t get enough water, they can’t maintain the correct water pressure in the plant and the leaves droop or wilt.
Why Can’t Roots get Enough Water?
When the soil gets dry, the roots will be unable to get enough water. If this is the problem, watering the soil will certainly help and wilted plants will regain their turgor (ie stiffness).
There is another possible reason why plants can’t get enough water. The roots may be damaged. If the normal root size is reduced substantially, you have a situation where there are not enough roots to get enough water for the whole plant. In this case the soil might be quite wet but the plant will still wilt. Adding more water will not help.
Roots might be damaged during transplanting or they might have rotted.
Damaged Roots During Transplanting
When you move a plant, especially a larger established plant, you will damage a lot of roots. It is quite normal for such a plant to show wilting right after being moved.
It is quite common for people to water far too much after transplanting in order to try and fix the problem. Too much water does not help the problem. One solution is to move plants in spring and fall when the temperatures are lower and plants are not growing at full tilt. At these times of the year water evaporation from leaves is less and you get less wilting.
If you do move a plant in summer, it will wilt much less if it is covered for a week or two so that it receives less sun light.
Rotting Roots
Over-watering a plant can cause the roots to rot. Some diseases can also cause roots to rot. With less roots, the plant wilts. Some people will then water the plant even more, causing even more root rot.
Wilted plants should only be watered if the soil is dry. If the soil is not dry, it is not a water problem and watering can only make things worse.
Does Wilting Hurt a Plant?
The short answer is YES. Occasional short term wilting will not do too much harm, but it is still not good for the plant.
Some people think that wilting is a natural phenomena in plants and it shows that they are conserving water. That is simply not true. When plants do not have enough water they go into crisis mode. They stop growing, they close stomata to conserve water and they shut down other vital processes. Wilting is a sign that the plant is in crisis mode. If this is due to a lack of water, the plant should be watered right away to reduce long term damage to the plant.
Some plants, like ligularia, which have very large thin leaves, wilt more easily than most plants. By mid-day my ligularia are all wilting even when grown in shade and in wet soil. By 6:00 pm they are back to normal, showing fully stretched out leaves. Is this the best situation for these plants? NO. But some plants are better able to survive the crisis than others and a few hours of wilting does not seem to cause permanent damage to ligularia.
The best time to water is the day before the plant wilts. Wilting is never good for a plant.
References:
1) Photo Source: Mountain Empire Community College
Hi! I know a lot of these comments are about outdoor plants, but i woke up two days ago to find my rubber tree wilting. I watered it, as the soil felt dry, but two days later and it’s still wilted. Should I give it more water? How long does it usually take plants to unwilt after you’ve watered them? It’s a pretty new plant. I’ve only had it for a couple weeks, so wondering if there could be any other issue?
A plant that is wilted due to dryness will show improvements in an hour.
I just planted two 6 foot Kwansan cherry trees, they started to wilt shortly after I planted them (hours). I watered them the evening I planted and again two days later, it hasn’t rained. The leaves are not yellowing just drooping but still dark green. Roots were in good condition. They are on west side of house, full sun (and wind).
Should they be fertilized? I have three other Kwanzan cherrys 8ft tall been doing great for years.
Any advise?
Don’t fertilize new trees. They have just had a big shock and need some time to settle in. Just wait.
Just repotted my Croton Petra a week ago and my water meter says it has plenty of water but the leaves are still wilting why
If there was too much root damage, the plant has no way to absorb the water it needs.
I have satin pothos when I got it, it was doing great! But it had a little root rot I cut what I could off and spray peroxide to the roots to kill any fungus. Only one vine remains wilted it hasn’t been 24 hrs yet but will it perk up? Or is it dying the rest of the plant looks okay. I have it in my chameleon cage so there’s lots of humidity and indirect light. It has been growing like crazy I just don’t want it to die it’s big and beautiful.
Not nearly enough information to give an answer. Consider posting in our Facebook group and include pictures.
https://www.gardenfundamentals.com/facebook-group/
Hi there
I’m in Australia, so we’re at the end of summer now. I re-potted a peace lily around a week ago as the roots were starting to come through the bottom of the pot.
The leaves are heavily wilting, and aren’t bouncing back. I’ve had the plant for about 8 months, it’s always been very healthy and has grown quite fast. It’s never looked so sad, this is the first time it’s been re-potted.
The soil is still moist, so I don’t want to water it in case it’s too much.
How long do peace Lily’s normally take to recover from re-potting?
Thanks 🙂
Depends on many things. Just give it time. It should look better in a couple of weeks.
Hi,
I bought a small ornamental pepper plant from the grocery store a few months back and it was doing great for a while. Eventually, all the peppers shriveled up and fell off but the leaves were growing. Yesterday, it was doing great, but this morning, I woke up to all wilted leaves and watered it right away. How long will it take for them to perk up again?
You are probably overwatering.
I started growing an apple tree from seed. It’s about twenty inches tall in a large window facing east. Lots of leaves but no branches. It’s growing a couple inches a week! I noticed the top wilting and I add water and it perks up. My problem it the soil feels damp but the next day it’s wilting again and I’m worried I’m watering it too much but when I add water it perks up. Should I keep adding water or let the should dry up a little even if it’s wilting
Water only when the soil starts to dry out.
Nice article, can you advise me! I have a persimmon tree in container that is healthy and has 4 persimmons on it. I got it from nursery few months ago, and planning to plant it in ground in winter. Few days ago the leaves started to wilt. I wasn’t sure if that is due need of water or root rot, because I watered it the day before the wilt. I noticed that the plant standing in a tray with water in it, so I guess it’s root rot. I decided to repot the plant in new fresh soil. I was thinking why repotting, if I am already want to plant it in ground, then let’s be done. While I was removing the plant, the roots in the bottom were rotted, but not the entire roots. After planting and watering. The wilt kind of gone but not completely. Definitely better. The next day the plant wilted again. After thinking of giving some water or no. I added water, and it’s better. The soil is moist, but with giving more water the wilt is less. I am afraid if I give more water everyday will make it worse. What do you advise me?
Water only when the soil dries out. If the roots rot, you are overwatering.
Thank you so much for this wonderful article! I bought a potted exotic hibiscus plant from a gardener in Miami, Florida to keep on my balcony. She recommended transfering it to a larger pot asap. The soil had lots of creepy crawlers that I didn’t want to get my other plants. So I broke off all the old soil when transplanting, and was probably way too rough! The next day Miami summer rains came down hard and all the leaves wilted! I moved her to a back corner of my balcony for less light, have been spraying the leaves daily, and the soil rarely dries out. It’s been 2 weeks now. The leaves are all dead except a few tiny new leaves and a few branch edges are green… It has that dying flower smell though 🙁 Should I remove all the dry leaves or add fertilizer? Is there any hope? Thanks for any advice!!
Where is the “dying flower smell ” coming from? If the soil is so wet the roots are rotting, you might consider removing some so it dries out.
Planted a varied color Butterfly Plant in April. Hasn’t bloomed as yet and wilts. Keep it covered most of the time to protect from hot sun and uncover in a.m. so it can get sun. This was a 5 gallon plant and established, what should I do to get it blooming and to adapt to the sun? It is hot here in AZ so do you think it will climate?
No idea – do people in your region grow this plant?
In zone 5, I would not cover plants from the sun for more than a couple of weeks.
I am in zone 8 and nursery where I bought it said it can grow in this zone. I wonder if I dig it up and replant in an area where it doesn’t get so much sun, will help it to grow and bloom. It is really my only option, I believe.
Do people grow the plant in part shade in your climate? If they do, move it. If not, leave it where it is and give it some time to grow.
I don’t know anyone who has grown it since I don’t know many people having moved here about one and a half years ago. We planted it from a 5 gallon container into the ground back in May, so I believe it should have had time to take off. It is hot here right now and perhaps it doesn’t like the heat. I believe we will dig it up and put it in a gigantic pot.