Guttation: Why Is My Plant Crying?
Does it look like your leaves are dripping water or “crying”? This process, called guttation, is completely normal — your plant isn’t upset! We see many plant hobbyists ask why their plant is dripping water and if it’s okay, or a signal that something isn’t right. Let’s take a look at some facts about guttation!
Some may see their plant’s leaves dripping and think that it is dew, which is liquid from the air accumulating on the leaves, but this is generally not the case for indoor plants and in some circumstances outdoor plants. The liquid that you see during guttation is actually coming from inside of the plant and is secreted through the plant’s pores. It may sound a little bit… weird, but it can be beautiful to snap pics of perfect water droplets on your plants! Let’s go a bit deeper into this explanation and have some fun with science.
We all know that plants absorb water and have a certain balance of nutrients and water that they need to maintain in order to survive. Certain types of plants and fungi use the process of guttation to help them maintain this delicate balance. Vascular plants, which can grow taller and have special cells that transport water through differing degrees of pressure, are the only plants that experience this process.
It happens at night, when the air is humid, the soil is damp, and the roots absorb too much water. As this extra water goes through the process of guttation, it picks of various things like enzymes, minerals, and a handful of other chemicals, which is then called xylem sap. This is the actual name of the water droplets you see forming on those leaves.
You may remember the term transpiration and feel like this sounds an awful lot like that. In a way it is because both involve water, but there are some key differences. Transpiration is the evaporation of water into the air through the pores of the plant during the day. Think of it like breathing and it is the plant exhaling. Guttation is a plant’s means of getting rid of the excess moisture that it has absorbed, almost like the plant is sweating it out rather than exhaling.
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