Plant Watering Globes Guide

Plant watering globes or aqua globes provide constant sips of water to your potted, hanging or container plants. This is especially welcome for plants that are very thirsty, hard to reach, or need constant moisture.

Glass Plant watering globes are beautiful and reflective. They add ornamentation and decor while providing water for your indoor and patio plants.

Water globes direct water into the root zone of your potted plant. Right where the plant roots want it.

Bottom watering like this helps deter fungus gnats that live in the wet surface soil around the base of top watered plants. The top soil stays dry when you use watering bulbs.

Watering globes last up to two weeks before needing filling in some soils. Other soils are porous. The globe will quickly empty since the soil dries very quickly.

watering bulbs — Watering globe in my marble queen pothos in a six inch porcelain pot.

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When to Use Watering Globes:

Plant watering globes work well for outdoor hanging plants and large containers. I use watering globes for supplemental watering between soakings in my thirsty overfilled hanging baskets.
Watering globes are a form of self watering. As the soil dries the watering globe will release tiny sips of water to the plant root zone. This keeps the soil moist but not saturated.So they work well for plants that like constant moisture (but not saturation).
Since the root zone is watered but the top of the soil stays dry, watering globes are a way to bottom water your plants.
Watering globes provide watering for Short vacations. Most plants are fine for a week without watering if you water before you go. However, watering globes can add some peace of mind for large thirsty plants.

I purchased these glass plant watering globes from Amazon

Working With Watering Globes:

Glass watering globes have long narrow straws to go deeply into potted plants. Here are a few tips for success when working with Aqua globes.

Use a proper sized pot-These globes are top heavy when filled. Use a pot that has enough weight and size to balance the top heavy water globe. Small light planters will not hold the globe. Either the globe or the pot will fall if the balance is incorrect.
To prevent clogging the tip of the watering globe-use a pencil to make the hole. Then remove the pencil and set the globe tip down into that channel.
Insert the globe into WET soil-The soil must be thoroughly wet when you insert the globe. This will provide a seal at the opening of the globe. If no seal develops the globe will quickly run dry and overwater your plant.
The ANGLE of the globe makes a difference too. Invert the bulb straight up for the best seal and slowest release. If you bering the bulb in on a more horizontal angle more water can escape.
Check the seal. Look at the bulb top. A constant stream of bubbles running to the top of the glass bulb indicates a bad seal. Your losing water into the soil very quickly. Small bubbles coming out every once in a while will give you a long slow feed to the plant.
Cleaning: Watering globes occasionally grow algae and accumulate dirt and other nasties inside the globe. To clean them out use a sturdy pipe cleaner to get through the narrow straw and into the globe. You can also use a very thin flexible bottle brush to reach down into the globe and curl around to release the tough dirt from the globe sides.

plant watering bulb in peace lily domino — Self Watering globe nestled into my Domino Peace Lily. Can you see it?

Read Our whole Series On Watering Plants here!

How to use Glass Plant Watering Globes:

Fill the globe with water to the TOP of the straw. I set mine in the sink trap and allow a small stream of room temperature water to flow into the globe until it is completely full. You want a slight angle on the tip so an airlock doesn’t happen.
OR, I use a watering can with a narrow tip to add in distilled or rain water to the globe for my more sensitive plants.
NEXT. Invert the globe into WET soil. you need a seal between the globe tip and the soil. Water from the globe and soil provide that.
As the plant soil dries around the globe tip water will naturally be drawn out of the watering globe in small sips.
When the plant Watering bulb is empty, refill it and set it back into the planter.

filling a plant watering globe — Filling a watering globe with tap water

filling watering globe from watering can — Filling a watering globe from a narrow tipped watering can

DIY Watering Globe Options and Self Watering Planters:

For the garden there are better options for watering globes. Glass globes are too fragile for the garden.

Sturdy DIY Beer (or wine) bottle watering globes are cheap and much stronger than glass globes. Here’s a tutorial on making a beer bottle into a watering globe by red handed scissors.

For the garden or patio, a DIY planter tower with a pipe running down the middle and holes in the sides work well for strawberries, herbs or other small plants. Learn how to make one in our DIY Strawberry tower Post over on Homemade Food Junkie.

Etsy has a lot of fun ideas for different looks, materials and sizes of plant watering globes. Choose a well reviewed, made in America shop.

Creative Products for Watering Globes on Etsy

In Summary:

Lovely glass watering globes are great for adding water to thirsty outdoor (or indoor), hard to reach hanging planters. They provide constant slow drips of water to your plants soil.

These globes work well for large containers with bushes that need slow watering. Add as many globes as you need to provide deep watering to the root zone where your plant needs it.

Some soils will dry so fast the globes will need frequent refilling. Other soils will stay wet much longer and give you a week or two of worry free self watering.

If you have a few very thirsty plants with soil that works well with the globes, this can be a good solution to frequent watering.

You will need to experiment with your globes to see how they are most useful to you.