There is a simple version of plants grow in water and a complete version. Both are here, in that order.
The obvious approach works; the rest of this page is about making it work the first time. A method that works for everyone is usually slower than one tuned to your situation, and worth it anyway. The useful answer is usually one sentence long, and everything else is the reasoning behind it.
Answer first, reasons after
Get the basic version working, confirm it, and only then optimise — reversing that order is where most of the time goes.
Doing it faster once you know the method
The margin for error is wider than it appears, so a slightly imperfect attempt still counts. Keep the first attempt simple and add refinements only after it works. Where a guide and the game disagree about plants grow in water, the game is right and the guide is old. Anything presented as a hidden trick for plants grow in water is normally a step a popular guide left out.
Where two methods both work, prefer the one with fewer places to go wrong. If the explanation feels overcomplicated, it probably is — the working version is usually short.
Edge cases worth knowing
The step people skip is almost always the one that makes the rest reliable. Rushing the setup is the single most reliable way to spend longer overall. Doing this properly once is faster than doing it approximately three times.
How to check it worked
Screenshots age faster than instructions, so trust the described behaviour over the picture. Most pages on plants grow in water either assume too much or explain too little. The step people skip in plants grow in water is the one that makes everything after it reliable.
Where a guide and the game disagree, the game is right and the guide is old. Understanding the reason behind a step lets you adapt it when your situation differs.
- Back up your save if the game gives you the option.
- Try it once without shortcuts to see the full behaviour.
- Have a fallback plan for the step most likely to fail.
- Confirm the result immediately rather than later.
- Write down what worked, in case you need it again later.
- Check the known-issues list first.
What most guides get wrong here
Written notes beat memory when you come back to this in a month. The second time takes a fraction as long, which makes the first attempt worth doing carefully. Doing this in the wrong order still works, it just costs more time than it needs to. Following the steps for plants grow in water without understanding them works until something changes, and something will.
Most of the frustration here is avoidable, and almost none of it is about reflexes. Checking the outcome takes seconds and prevents the most common category of wasted effort. Details that seem cosmetic occasionally are not, which is why the order is specified.
If your situation is slightly different
A result that works but that you cannot explain will not survive the next change. There is a fast way and a safe way, and they are not the same thing. The useful part of plants grow in water is one sentence long; the rest is the reasoning behind it.
Where the time normally disappears
- Following two guides simultaneously and ending up with neither method intact.
- Reading only the summary and missing the condition it depended on.
- Assuming a step took effect without checking.
- Following the detailed method when the simple one would have done.
Quick answers
Do I need any add-ons or third-party tools?
No. Everything described here works with the game as installed, which also means nothing breaks when the next patch lands.
Where should I look if this does not cover my case?
The official notes for your version first, then a community thread from the same version. Both together beat either alone.
Is the longer method worth it?
Only if the short one has already failed for you. Starting with the complicated version is how simple problems become long evenings.
Try it, note where it diverged, and the second run will take a fraction of the time.