A greenhouse grower in Tucson made me doubt my whole watering habit

I talked to a guy who runs a cactus nursery near Tucson, he said I was overwatering by 3 times what my soil needs. He showed me a bone-dry barrel cactus that only gets misted once a month, and it was thriving. Anyone else have a local expert flip their entire routine upside down?

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young.ryan1mo ago

I read a piece last year about how most houseplants die from love, not neglect, and it stuck with me. The author talked about how roots need to breathe almost as much as they need water, and that soggy soil basically suffocates them. Your Tucson guy sounds like he knows his stuff though, a barrel cactus in the desert is a whole different animal than like a fern in a living room. I started checking soil moisture with a wooden skewer instead of my finger and it changed everything. Stick it in, pull it out, if it comes up damp, I wait another week. Sounds dumb but it's saved a few of my plants from my over-eager watering can.