Rose of Jericho is famously easy to care for. After all, they don’t call it the resurrection plant for nothing! You can let this plant dry out completely and it will spring back to life after a few hours in water. It doesn’t get more resilient than that!
However, the biggest challenge in growing or reviving a Rose of Jericho is watering. While the plant can survive with almost no water if necessary, it can rot if overwatered.
So what’s the perfect amount of water for your Rose of Jericho? What’s the best way to water?
It’s easier than you think!
How to Water Your Rose of Jericho
A big part of watering your Rose of Jericho is your pot setup.
Step 1: To “plant” your Rose of Jericho, select a shallow dish with no drainage holes and fill with pebbles or gravel, leaving an inch or two of space at the top. (By the way, we’ve seen people revive these in a dish of water without the pebbles. We just find that the pebbles make a nice base and give the plant something to sit on.)
Step 2: Fill the dish with water until the pebbles are just submerged.
Note: Chlorine and other chemicals in tap water can damage your Rose of Jericho (and other houseplants too), so leave the water out overnight before adding to your dish, or leave in the dish overnight before adding the plant. This will allow the chlorine to dissipate and leave behind clean, pure water for your plant.
Step 3: Place your dried Rose of Jericho on top of the water so that the roots are submerged. The plant should start blooming within a few hours.
Now that you’re set up, how do you keep it happy?
It’s all in your schedule.
Change the water for your Rose of Jericho every day to keep it clean. (If you skip a day here and there, you’ll be okay.) Simply set out some fresh water every night, then in the morning, drain the dish and add the fresh water.
The trick to preventing overwatering and root rot in Rose of Jericho is to give it water-free rests. Pick one day a week to drain the dish completely and let your plant rest. You can leave it in the dry dish or take it out. Simple!
Every month, give your Rose of Jericho a week without water to dry out a little bit. Choose the same week every month to make this easy. Simply drain the dish and leave the plant on the pebbles, or remove the plant completely and put it in a darker place.
Your Rose of Jericho care schedule might look like this:
Daily schedule
AM: Change water that you set out the night before
PM: Set out fresh water
Weekly schedule
Saturdays: Drain the water and let the plant rest
Monthly schedule
Last week of the month: Drain water and let the plant rest
That’s it! It really doesn’t get any easier than that.
This is also the easiest plant to care for if you leave on vacation. Simply take the plant out of the water, put it in a dark, dry place, and it will dry up until you get home when you can revive it! If you can never seem to find plant sitters for your vacations, this is the plant for you!
To learn more about Rose of Jericho, check out our guide on the care and history of this incredible plant!