Chopstick method is similar to you poking your finger in. Take a wooden chopstick, stick it halfway in the pot in the rootball (at the edge does not good). To see if plant needs water, pull out chop stick and feel/see how much of it is wet, that'll tell you how far down the soil has dried out. Less invasive than a finger
My fukien was a couple of sticks, only give up when the bark is no longer scratching green.
I learned a lesson from mine: don't put plants that need a lot of water behind plants that don't........
