What Causes Water Droplets on Indoor Plant Leaves?
On those foggy early morning you may notice dew droplets outside on your grass. This condensation is familiar, but then you notice it on your indoor plants. Did they suddenly grow legs, go outside, and latch onto the humidity? Unfortunately, no, your plants aren’t the new cast for Toy Story 5. Why this phenomenon occurs is from a process called guttation.
What is Guttation?
The word itself sounds straight out of a horror movie, but I promise it’s nothing you should fear. The water droplets you see will be on the edge of your plant and they are not dew. Instead of being produced by the outside conditions, plants develop these droplets from the inside out through Guttation.
Plants, like any living thing, need nutrients to survive. The plant takes in nutrients through the roots and through the process of transpiration, the nutrients are spread throughout the plant. This process carries moisture from outside into all parts of the plant.
Guttation is when the moisture that builds up drips outside of the plant from the pores of your plant. Essentially, your plant is sweating.
Why do I Wake Up to This?
You’ll typically see these water droplets in the morning, similar to morning dew. However, again dew is not the same as guttation! This happens because the process of transpiration doesn’t happen at night. However, the plant continues to bring in nutrients.
Since the process of moving the nutrients in and out is stalled at night, the moisture has to go somewhere. This is when guttation happens. Similar to the name, the process removes the guts of minerals out of your plant so it can continue to take in healthy new nutrients.
Is This Bad?
This process isn’t at all harmful for your plant! It’s necessary to keep the systems flowing even when they shut down for the night. Many people’s first reaction when they see these droplets is to stop watering. They may feel like they are overwatering their plant, however, it’s actually a sign that your plant is healthy. Keep going on about your day and know that your plant is just doing its thing!
