On 2008-10-12 23:14:39 +0100, JayDee said:

So it seems that some plants like to get completely dry, then flooded
and not watered again until dry - but is there an easy way to
determine which will work best for a particular plant or family? I've
been doing the dry/drench on my ficus benjamina and it has been
thriving! Sometimes I go 10 days before adding a drop of water.
However I tried the same with my bougainvillea and it wasn't so happy.
Creeping fig and grape vines also seem happiest with being damp all
the time...

Other than that, I'm adding a little bit of organic fish and seaweed
fertilizer to every other watering or so.

Another curiousity - I spray the leaves every morning on all the
plants - does that actually help them, or just make them look shiny?

"Little and often" is a bad watering regime since it encourages plants
roots to stay close to the surface of the soil. A thorough drenching
from time to time is the right way to go so that the water permeates
deep into the soil and takes the roots with it.

Water should always be applied to the roots, ie under the leaf canopy.
Spraying water onto leaves can be harmful: in hot sun the droplets can
focus the heat so as to scorch the leaves; and mildew or other fungal
attack is more likely if the leaves are constantly damp. Plants' leaves
are designed to absorb sunlight, to breathe and to shed water down to
the root area. The amount of water they can absorb is miniscule.