Fill a plastic container part way and set your plant pots in it to bottom water. 10-15 minutes should do it, more or less (depending on the size of the pot), through the magic of osmosis.
Don't water till fairly dry again.

-Ming

-Ming

Are we talking about containers or in the ground?

That little container should be a surfacant. A little goes a long way. It breaks the surface tension so the water can be absorbed by the soil.

Do you have the soil that the plants came in from the nursery in? Often time that is really high in peat and once that dries it is Hydrophobic or won't accept water easily. It beads up and runs down the sides of the pot , and the roots never see it. many of us remove this dirt and make a mixture of soil to address our wishes. There are lots of discussions about soil on the forum. It sounds like you need one.