Hydrophobic media repels water so the water just runs around the soil and out the drainage holes without ever wetting the root ball. This happens a lot with plants from grocery or hardware stores because peat is cheap to use and employees typically don’t water enough. I like to just put plants in my own soil mix, but this can cause shock, so you can try rehydrating it. Regular watering won’t rehydrate the soil, so here are some ways to: • You can submerge the whole pot into a bucket of lukewarm water. The root ball may try to float so hold it down until the air bubbles stop. • You can let it bottom water for a while to rehydrate. Check it after an hour or so to see if it feels heavy and the surface feels wet. • If the plant is really big and can’t be moved, water the plant really s