Whether it's a ficus, succulent, pothos, dracaena, you won't have to guess whether or not it's time for your houseplants—you can use it for outdoor potted plants as well—to get a drink with this accurate soil moisture meter from XLUX. Simply push the 7-inch probe a few inches down into your plant's soil, avoiding roots and stems, and within seconds, the needle will stabilize on a moisture reading. The face of the meter is large and it's very easy to read the moisture scale, which ranges from a dry 1 to an overly wet 10. Within that range, the dry zone of 1 through 3 is colored red, the optimal moisture zone of 4 through 7 is green, and the wet zone of 8 through 10 is blue, so you can tell at a glance whether your plant needs water. Alex Tinsman says, “Moisture meters are equipped with calibrated sensors that provide precise readings of the moisture content in the soil. This allows you to obtain accurate measurements and determine the exact moisture level, ensuring that you can provide your plants with the appropriate amount of water.”

Be careful that you do not see wilting and drooping leaves and automatically believe that your houseplant needs water, as this is sometimes a sign of another, unrelated problem. Self-watering planters are often heavy-grade plastic, which is a good material because it can hold up to the elements, and you don’t have to worry about soil or water damaging it. Resin, cedar, and treated metal are other options. These can be more expensive and heavier to move than their plastic counterparts, but they often resist rusting, warping, and fading. Our best overall option, the Plow & Hearth Sussex Self-Watering Resin Pot Planter is made of durable resin but is stylish enough to display on a front porch. If you have large plants in deep containers, or you want to measure soil moisture in the ground, then it's helpful to have a moisture meter with a probe longer than the typical 7 inches or so. And this extra-long probe from XLUX is 12.2 inches long, so you can get accurate soil moisture measurements right down at the roots of even your outdoor shrubs, large container gardens, or raised garden beds. Simply slide the probe down several inches below the surface of the soil, and within a few seconds, you'll know whether it's time to water or not. Numerical relationships between species, population and whole communities often provide more reliable indicators than single speciesDue to the connection to environmental influences, you can use other species as more than a water indicator for plants. Some plants can be used to detect early evidence of insects or disease. For instance, petunias and fava beans are used in greenhouses to detect the presence of thrips.

Ulex aquifolium grows in Italy on soils rich in aluminium. Besides above, the mineral content in a plant tissue can be employed in biogeochemical prospecting. Lyon and Brooks (1969) have found Olearia rani to be valuable for the molybdenum. Similarly, silver has been discovered in certain localities in leaves of plants. Sulphate content of leaf can directly be related to SO 2 concentration in air. Farrar (1977) has suggested that high sulphur content in pine needles indicates high concentration of SO 2 in atmosphere.These planters are simple, made of plastic, and medium-sized. There is no water level indicator, and the self-watering feature collects extra water, storing enough for just a few days of watering for most plants. We like this for indoor plants to take center stage. The planter does have UV protection, so you shouldn't need to worry about the color fading in bright sunlight.