The Household Staple That Can Revive Dying Plants in Pots This Heatwave Summer

We’ve all experienced the disappointment of a dying plant in a dried-out patio planter. But before you consign that wilted plant to the compost heap, there’s an easy trick that will bring even severely dehydrated plants in pots back to life. And the magic ingredient you need is already in your kitchen.

The problem with half-dead dehydrated plants in pots – even those that have dried out past the point of return without this handy trick – is that the potting soil has lost its ability to absorb water. In fact, fully dehydrated soil becomes water repellent. So, no matter how much you water your ailing plant, that water passes straight through the soil and roots don’t get a chance to suck up any moisture. The result? Your plant dies.

If you add just one or two drops of this household staple to the water, however, everything changes. That tiny amount helps the water grip the soil particles so the moisture penetrates the compost and your plant can rehydrate. And that vital ingredient? Dish soap. As quick and clever fixes for container planting go, this trick is a handy one to know, especially if you've just got back from a vacation this heatwave summer!

Why Does Dish Soap Help Save Plants?

Fully dehydrated soil becomes hydrophobic, which literally means ‘water-fearing’. The soil repels water droplets are repelled, which run straight past the particles rather than being absorbed. This doesn’t just happen because you've forgotten to water your plant, though that's often the cause: long spells of hot, dry weather can kill good bacteria and fungi that live in soil, and they leave behind an oily, waxy residue that coats the soil particles.

Dishwashing liquid contains surfactants – short for 'surface-active agent' – and these chemical compounds have one end that loves water, and one end that loves oil or grease. That’s why they work to clean your dishes, grabbing hold of the dirt and pulling it into the water. And you can put this ability to good use in your garden to force the hydrophobic soil and water together, saturating the soil and allowing the plant’s roots to finally suck up that moisture it’s so desperate for.

How to Use Dishwashing Liquid to Save Plants in Pots

1. Find a Watertight Tub

The size of the tub you need will depend on your pot: ideally, you want to stand your dried-out planter in the tub. A large rubber bucket such as this Kings County 8-Gallon Bucket from Lowe’s is perfect for the job, but use whatever you can find.

If your planter is too big to fit in a tub, don’t worry, you can still use this method.

2. Make a Mild Dish Soap Solution

It’s vital to use an extremely mild solution of detergent to revive potted plants: one or two drops of liquid dish soap in a standard 3-gallon builders’ bucket of water is plenty. Use a higher concentration and the washing up liquid can damage roots and leave harmful residues in the soil.

If you have a plant-based dish soap such as Attitude Dish Soap, available from Amazon, great. If not, any dish soap is fine but a cheaper, basic dishwashing liquid is likely to contain fewer chemical additives than a premium heavily-formulated dish soap. So, choose the bottom-of-the-line dish soap such as this Dawn Dishwashing Liquid from Amazon over a higher-end product in the same range.

Using tepid water rather than cold will help the dish soap disperse.

3. Soak the Dried-Out Pot in the Solution

If the dehydrated pot is small enough to fit in your bucket, fill your tub with enough water to submerge around two-thirds of the pot height in the dish soap solution. Let the pot sit for around half an hour, or until the top layer of soil feels damp to the touch.

If your planter is too big or heavy to fit in a tub, carefully poke a few holes into the soil surface with a chopstick or similar, doing the best you can to avoid the central ball of roots. Use a watering can without a rose fitted to very slowly pour the dish soap solution over the soil, targeting those holes. Give the soil a second application after 15-30 minutes.

Either way, don’t let the dish soap solution touch the plant stems or foliage as it can strip their protecting coating, leading to further dehydration, fungal disease and scorching. Rinse off any splashes immediately.

4. Drain and Irrigate With Plain Water

If your pot has been standing in a tub of dish-soap solution, lift it out and leave it to drain fully. Then fill a watering can with plain water and irrigate as usual until you see water draining from the base.

If you’ve applied the dish-soap solution from above, you need to do the same with plain water, but irrigate very slowly to begin with, and repeat the procedure a few times. While the dish-soap surfactants have treated the soil, you're now rehydrating it with the plain water.

How to Help Your Plant During Recovery

It’s wise to move your plant into a spot that’s shaded from the harsh midday sun while it recovers. Even plants that prefer full sun will be fine if they only have 4-6 hours of gentle morning and evening sun for a few weeks while they recover. Grouping pots together will lower the cumulative temperature of the soil, too.

It’s vital that your plant has consistent moisture during recovery. An easy way to achieve this – as well as keeping plants well irrigated going forwards to avoid getting to this stage – is to use a simple drip irrigation system. These don’t need to be complicated or expensive.

Basic drip irrigation systems for potted plants simply transfer water from a container to potted plants so take minutes to set up and don’t need to be connected to a faucet, and all you need do is keep the main water bucket topped up. This $27 Bamworld Automatic Waterer from Walmart has an easy-to-operate digital control unit, while this Drip Irrigation Kit for Patio Pots, also from Walmart, is even simpler with a solar-powered pump.

Another option to make keeping patio pots evenly watered without spending a fortune is to use upturned recycled bottles in spikes. This $13 six-pack of plastic spikes with adjustable drip spouts from Walmart fits plastic soda bottles, while this set of 10 terracotta watering spikes from Amazon relies on the porous clay to slowly deliver moisture from long-necked glass wine or beer bottles.

Don’t fertilize your plant for at least a month, as it needs to fully recover before new growth is encouraged.

Plants should perk up within 24 hours as stems and leaves rehydrate. Wait a week before pruning any leaves or stems, as you may be surprised what comes back to life. Any that are still completely brown after a week won’t recover, though, so snip these off. Within 2-4 weeks, you should see fresh buds and leaves starting to sprout.

If any plants don't recover, then do replace them with low-maintenance perennials that bring maximum flowers for minimum effort in patio containers.

More Easy Ways to Keep Plants in Pots Hydrated

Can I Use the Dish Soap Method For Houseplants Too?

This recovery process works just as well for houseplants as well as potted outdoor plants. However, do make sure the pot has a drainage hole. If it doesn’t, you won’t be able to wash out the dish soap residue, which can harm roots long-term. If the pot doesn’t have a drainage hole, carefully tip the plant out and either repot it into a container with drainage holes or wrap the rootball and compost in newspaper or paper towels before soaking, flushing and returning to its planter. And don't feel bad, we all need a little help to keep houseplants perfectly watered!

More Handy Tricks To Use Pantry Staples in Your Garden

• Baking soda, vegetable oil and dish soap makes an effective spray to prevent fungal disease on tomato plants.
• Baking soda and dish soap can be used to treat powdery mildew.
• Use baking soda and white vinegar to make a natural mosquito trap.
• Baking soda, icing sugar and water makes an effective ant trap.
• Sprinkling cinnamon on houseplant soil can help to control fungus gnats.
• Smouldering coffee granules are a natural wasp repellent.
• Cayenne pepper can be an effective pest control if used in the correct way.