How to keep house plants while on vacation

How indoor flowers can survive your vacation, how to preserve them during departure

How to Preserve Flowers While on Vacation
You love indoor plants. But sometimes you have to go somewhere, for example, on vacation. How to preserve flowers during your absence? After all, you can’t leave them to the mercy of fate. Why not go anywhere because of flowers? This is what we will talk about.

Even if you are not going on vacation, you may always need to go, for example, to visit relatives or on a business trip. And what if everything “grown by back-breaking labor” goes to waste? Oh no! . If there are no relatives or neighbors to whom you can entrust watering the plants, describing how, when and how much to water, then it doesn’t matter. Vacation and flowers are compatible things. There are various options for preserving flowers during your absence.

The period of your departure is up to 7 days, unless the weather is very hot, the majority of indoor plants can survive without any special equipment, here we are not talking, of course, about very delicate and moisture-loving plants. And if these are cacti and aloe, then they will easily tolerate a two-week lack of watering.

If you are away for a week and the weather is hot, you can cover the pot along with the surface of the earth in a plastic bag or put wet moss, felt cloth, or even just a piece of oilcloth on the surface of the earth, after watering the plants well. During your absence, it is better to remove plants from the windows, especially if they are south-facing windows.

For large flowers, you can organize drip watering from a small hole in the cork of a plastic bottle made with a thick needle. The bottle is placed vertically, with the cork down on the surface of the earth, you can deepen it a little. You also need to make a hole in the top of the inverted bottle (what used to be its bottom). To maintain the position of the bottle and give it stability, it must be tied to some support. How quickly water will flow out of the bottom hole depends on the size of the hole. This is determined practically in advance.

If you will not be at home for 10-12 days, then the most common way to water the plants will be to water them from a container with water flowing through strings.

Container with water

We remove the plants from the window; you can arrange them on the floor in a circle. In the middle of the circle we place a container of water, which should be located slightly above the surface of the ground in flower pots.

Watering plants while on vacation

We take a rope or a narrow strip of fabric, one end of which we place in the water, the other on the surface of the plant’s soil. We carry out this procedure with all plants placed around a container of water. Watering of plants is carried out using a wet rope.

As long as there is water in the container, the soil in the pots will be moist, so the container with water should not be too small. The windows should not be left open. And it will be better if you limit the space in which you leave flowers by closing the doors to the room. Plants should not be placed in the bathroom; they still need light.

Plant under a jar

Small plants can be placed under a glass jar. And you don't have to worry about them. The same jar can be used to cover low plants up to the surface of the ground so that there are no gaps between the edge of the jar and the surface of the ground.

Store plants under a plastic jar

Wide plastic jars are available for sale; they can also be used to cover larger plants. Or you can use drinking water bottles. We cut off the top at the level of the tapering neck and cover the plants.

If you are leaving home for 2-3 weeks and there are a lot of plants, then you need to pack them more securely. It is worth stocking up on large-sized plastic film in advance. It is usually sold as a “stocking” 1.5 m wide. For one package you will need 1-1.5 linear meters, depending on the height of indoor flowers.

How to save plants

Small plants can be packed in separate bags. If you put the bag on top, then tie it tightly with a rope at the bottom; rubber bands or tape are also suitable. If you place a plant in a bag, then the top of the bag must be hermetically sealed. Here it’s easier to use paper clips, a stapler, rubber bands, or just tie it with a string.

If there are a lot of plants, then we arrange them close to each other, taking into account that each of them should receive a little light; we put the taller and less light-loving ones in the background. The two or three tallest plants can be placed on the sides, they will hold the top of the film, for me these are usually large ficuses.

When the main part of the plants is assembled, carefully put on the film stocking, straighten the film, lifting it up and secure it with clothespins around the large plants on top.

Flowers during vacation

We also connect the ends of the film at the top with clothespins or paper clips, forming a sealed space under the film where the flowers will live during your absence. It is better to place such a greenhouse away from the window, but it is also possible to place it on a window.

If you placed flowers on a window, then leave a small gap at the top of the film; when the sun is shining, the excess heat will rise up a little.

Flowers under film

Before wrapping indoor plants in plastic, they should be well watered. Under the film you need to place one or two containers with water the size of a glass, then even if it is very hot inside, the humidity will help the flowers survive.

If you grow flowers on special racks, then the principle is the same, you just need much more film. The entire rack is covered with film up to the floor and containers with water are placed inside.

How to water indoor flowers on vacation? Preparation

To prevent the flowers from wilting during the holidays, you need to somehow arrange automatic watering for them. Now there are special automatic watering systems on sale, but I wanted to do everything simply and with my own hands. I want to offer you several methods that I learned about. I’ll say right away that they all give a positive result, but you just need to approach each flower individually, because some people like abundant watering, while others, on the contrary, are categorically against being watered.

Our flowers must first be prepared:

Remove wilted buds so that they do not take up excess moisture.
Remove flowers from windows and, regardless of their light preferences, place them in a shaded place.
All methods need to be tested in advance in order to adjust and understand which is better for watering.
On the day of departure, water the flowers well.

A very convenient way: put flowers in pots in a large basin and pour water. In this case, it is advisable to place a spongy napkin made of porous fabric under the bottom of the pot, which will absorb and retain moisture. And fill the space around the pots with crumpled newspapers, which will not only retain moisture, but also prevent the rapid evaporation of water.

With this method of watering, the plant will take in moisture little by little and without the danger of root rotting.

This method is suitable for those plants that like moderate watering, for example, violets.

To be honest, I found out about it long before the trip, and when it came down to it, I forgot about the sponge and newspapers. But I know that in general, flowers from time to time need to be placed in a basin of water for at least a day, so that both the walls of the pot and the roots of the plants are well soaked.

I haven’t carried out this procedure for a long time, so before leaving I immersed spathiphyllum, spurge and zephyranthes in water. I poured a lot of water and didn’t dare to put in the violets.

All the days of my absence, the flowers, apparently, felt great, the ground remained moderately moist. The spathiphyllum even bloomed while I was away.

It’s quite possible to leave flowers like this for 10 days, I really liked it.

Wick watering

I placed a bucket of water in the center of the table, and around it I placed violets, gloxinia and hippeastrum to accompany them.

I twisted flagella from the bandage, lowered one edge of them into water, and the other into a pot with a plant.

Thus, water gradually flows from the bandage through this wick into the ground and watering is carried out. To ensure this, the water level in the container must be higher than the ground level in the pots.

I covered the bucket with a lid so that the water did not evaporate in vain.

And be sure to check the operation of the method in advance, determine the acceptable width of the bundle. At first I tried to twist a bandage 14 cm wide. But after just a day, the soil in one experimental pot with gloxinia was too wet, and even the tray was filled with water.

Therefore, at the time of departure, I cut the bandage in half lengthwise, i.e. its width was 7 cm and my flowers did not wilt during the holidays.

It’s an excellent method, I liked it because you can adjust the speed of watering with the width of the rope and you can leave the flowers like that for 10-15 days. If the flower is large, then several flagella can be attached to it.

But I had a misunderstanding with the hippeastrum: the wick fell out of the pot and all the water poured onto the table. The plant was not upset because of this, it does not really like water, it seemed to me that it even became prettier and stronger.

But you need to take this point into account and dig the wicks a little into the ground for reliability, and the length of the bundle should be such that its other edge is well immersed in water.

Drip irrigation

Here you will need a five-liter bottle of water and a dropper - the same one that is sold in pharmacies for medical procedures.

All the needles are removed from it and a tube is left, which is placed in a bottle, the tip is suspended above the plant.

The clamp in the dropper allows you to control the amount of water.

Watering flowers with a dropper is suitable for plants that especially love moisture, such as cyperus, lemon, azalea, and begonia.

This way you can water the flowers when you are leaving for a long time, for 2 - 2.5 weeks.

Watering from a bottle

Large plants growing in large pots can be irrigated with drip watering from a bottle; it is not at all necessary to buy a special dripper.

To do this, pour water into a plastic bottle, screw on the cap, in which you need to make a small hole, and install this structure in the pot.

I was just about to water the palmetto and cyperus that are sitting in my buckets. But my mistake was that I made the holes with a hot nail; they turned out to be too big, and the liquid dripped at too high a speed.

When using this method of watering, you need to make tiny holes with a needle and check the work a few days before leaving.

We suggest you read How to keep chrysanthemums in a vase longer

I no longer experimented, but simply filled the plants well with water: I watered them as usual and poured out another liter and a half. This watering was enough for them.

Hydrogel

I only learned that you can use hydrogel while on vacation when I started writing this post.

Hydrogels are small balls that swell in water and release moisture as needed. You can buy hydrogel in flower shops.

Before leaving, the plant is watered and covered with hydrogel balls. And you can rest peacefully for 10 days, during which time the plants will feel comfortable.

There are probably other ways to water flowers on vacation. Share, who knows what, write in the comments. And I was completely surprised by the ones she told me about.

If you are going on vacation for a couple of weeks, it is important to provide the necessary conditions for your indoor plants. Then the flowers will greet you green and viable upon your return. Watering flowers can be entrusted to relatives or neighbors, but this does not always work out. How to leave the plants in this case? In this article we will tell you how to leave flowers during the holidays.

There are many ways to leave flowers during the holidays without watering.

Houseplants need watering all year round, but watering houseplants during the holidays often causes difficulties or concerns for many of us.

The closer we leave, the more often the question arises of how to water indoor plants so that they survive until we return. Therefore, every gardener tries to ensure sufficient watering of indoor flowers during the holidays in different ways and methods.

We will tell you about different watering methods and give useful recommendations.

An important point in providing indoor plants and flowers with moisture is to prepare them for the lack of usual watering. Carrying out preparatory work significantly increases the plant’s resistance to future “drought”.

Depending on the types of plants and indoor flowers, they can do without standard watering from 7 to 15-20 days.

If there is no watering for more than 20 days, it is best to use an automatic watering system. We will talk about it later in the article.

Carry out the last feeding of indoor plants and flowers no later than 14-16 days before departure. After feeding, plants need more water to absorb minerals.
2-3 days before departure, cut off all buds and flowers from house plants, as well as as many leaves as possible (several large ones or more small ones, but in moderation, without much loss for decorativeness). The more green mass, the faster the plant evaporates moisture. During pruning, check all plants and flowers again for diseases and pests (first inspection 7-8 days before).
Move plants and flowers deeper into the room to reduce the air temperature and light level around them, and as a result reduce the rate of water evaporation. Place pots of plants as close to each other as possible. This will create a zone of high humidity in the room.
Before leaving, water your houseplants a little more than usual to ensure the soil mixture is well saturated with water. Some types of them are best watered using the immersion method. After watering, it would be good to surround the pots with damp moss.

How to preserve flowers during the holidays without watering

When planning to leave home for a while, many are tormented by the question of how to preserve flowers during their vacation without watering. If you do not have the opportunity to leave house plants to relatives or friends, or entrust someone with the keys to your apartment while you are away, the tips collected in the article will help solve the problem.

You can preserve homemade flowers in pots during the holidays using two approaches to solving the problem, says hozpedia.ru. If you are leaving for several days (up to two weeks), then you should try to preserve as much as possible the moisture received during the last watering, so to speak, water the flowers “with a reserve.”

Flowers in pots made of natural materials (clay, ceramics) better tolerate the lack of periodic moisture.

If you are away for a longer period of time, you will hardly be able to do without a remote watering system. However, you should not be afraid of the second method. In addition to expensive automatic devices, there are many options for solving the problem using simple improvised means.

No matter how long your vacation or business trip lasts, indoor plants need to be prepared for the lack of usual care. Follow these simple steps:

if flower pots are on window sills, remove them and place them on the floor;
create moderate lighting for them (in no case should you completely cover the windows with thick curtains, otherwise the plants may die);
choose a draft-free room for flowers;
do not fertilize for at least a week before departure; inspect the stems and leaves for diseases, pests, remove all damaged, infected or simply dried parts;
cut off overly large leaves, as well as flowers and buds.

Most of the preparatory actions are aimed at “preserving” plants. If the life processes in them are not as active as in normal times, then they will consume less moisture and, accordingly, will more easily tolerate its lack.

Preparation

You can preserve homemade flowers in pots during the holidays using two approaches to solving the problem. If you are leaving for several days (up to two weeks), then you should try to preserve as much as possible the moisture received during the last watering, so to speak, water the flowers “with a reserve.”

Flowers in pots made of natural materials (clay, ceramics) better tolerate the lack of periodic moisture.

No matter how long your vacation or business trip lasts, indoor plants need to be prepared for the lack of usual care. Follow these simple steps:

if flower pots are on window sills, remove them and place them on the floor;
create moderate lighting for them ( in no case should you completely cover the windows with thick curtains, otherwise the plants may die );
choose a draft-free room for flowers;
do not fertilize for at least a week before departure;
inspect the stems and leaves for diseases, pests, remove all damaged, infected or simply dried parts;
cut off overly large leaves, as well as flowers and buds.

Using hydrogel

If you are interested in information on how to ensure watering of indoor plants in the absence of owners for a long time without the use of any structures, then a hydrogel will help here. 1 g of such a polymer material can absorb about 250 ml of water, and then gradually release it into the soil.

The hydrogel can be placed in a pot when planting instead of a drainage layer, or buried at a depth of 2 cm from the surface. You can also soak it for 8 hours - it will absorb water and swell. After this, it is laid out in pots and covered with damp moss on top. This is necessary so that the hydrogel does not turn into dust, since it is believed that in this form it is toxic to the body.

There are several ways to provide indoor plants with moisture, so you shouldn’t burden your friends with your problems, or refuse to go on vacation or leave the flowers to die. You just need to choose a convenient system for watering your home flowers during your vacation and go on your long-awaited trip with a pure heart.

Ways to preserve moisture

How to preserve indoor flowers without watering for 2 weeks or a little less? In such cases, they need to be watered abundantly and try to limit the evaporation of moisture .

Gather all the plants in one place, place them fairly close to each other and water well (the soil should be completely moist). The pots can be placed in a container with water and expanded clay or wrapped in damp newspapers and polyethylene on top. This will create an area of high humidity for the flowers. You should not place containers with flowers in water: with constant contact with moisture, the roots quickly rot .

Preserving plants using drip irrigation

If you need to leave your homemade greens for a long time, it makes sense to take care of a special drip system that will provide high-quality watering. You can also use available tools:

Plastic bottle . The container is filled with water and closed with a lid, in which a hole is made using an awl or a thick needle. The bottle is buried 2-3 cm into the ground with the neck down. This method is suitable for tubs and massive specimens, but is not suitable for small bushes - excessive moisture can lead to rotting of the roots;

Automatic watering of flowers using a plastic bottle

Wick . An acrylic or other synthetic cord with a long end is pulled into the pot, the lower part of which is lowered into a container of water. The flowerpot should not be immersed in water - hydration will occur due to the pressure difference, and the plant itself will control the amount of liquid consumed;

Automatic watering of flowers using the “wick” method

Textile . Cover the table with film, place a damp cloth on top - you can use batting, felt, cloth or other material that “collects” moisture well (can be replaced with capillary mats, which are sold in flower shops). Place the pots after removing them from the trays and be sure to check if there are drainage holes in the bottom. Place one end of the fabric in a large container of water - the moisture will rise to the pots, wetting the substrate.

Automatic watering of flowers using a towel

Watering will also be replaced by special hydrogel balls for plants made from a polymer that absorbs moisture well (200-150 ml per 2 g). As the substrate dries, the water is released, ensuring uniform wetting of the entire pot.

Before use, the hydrogel must be soaked in water for 7-8 hours, and then poured over the substrate in a dense layer, additionally covered with damp sphagnum moss. For plants with a vertical root system, it is allowed to bury the balls into the substrate by 2-3 cm.

When you need to leave for a long time

Automatic watering systems from Gardena, Uniflex and Hozelock are equipped with a special timer that allows you to set the supply of water to flower pots at certain time intervals. Automatic watering comes in handy if you need to leave for a month - by choosing a tank of suitable volume, you can leave the plants and not worry about them in your absence.

Designs differ in the type of nutrition, methods of collecting and supplying water, as well as the number of plants to be watered, so you can always choose the best option, taking into account the conditions in which the pots remain during the holidays.

It’s easy to make an automatic watering system with your own hands - a medical dropper is suitable for this:

The water reservoir is placed above the pots in level, the lower ends of the tubes are installed in the pots;
The required dripping frequency is adjusted, the performance of the structure is checked over several days;
If the plants are moistened sufficiently and evenly, they can be left for a long time (from 2 weeks to a month).

When you go on vacation, preserving your house plants will not be difficult, although you will have to spend time preparing the pots and choosing the appropriate watering method. However, after 2 weeks the flowers will be grateful to you and will not suffer without the usual care.

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Remote watering methods

You can save indoor flowers when going on vacation for a month using a regular plastic bottle . Fill the container with water, close it with a lid, and then make a small hole in it. When turning the bottle upside down, the cap should be moistened. The bottle should be dug in this position into the ground to a depth of approximately 2 cm.

Another method known to many is the use of so-called wick watering . To carry it out, strips of fabric that absorb water well are selected. One end of the “wick” is buried in soil, and the other is lowered into a vessel with water. An important condition is that the container with the liquid must be higher than the pot, then the fabric will supply moisture to the roots without any problems.

Ready-made “wicks” can be found in specialized stores.

For larger plants, one strip of fabric may not be enough. When organizing watering, expect that for a pot 20-30 cm wide you will need 2-3 “wicks”.

A variation of this method is watering through a drainage hole. A string is inserted into the flower pot through the holes, the ends of which are then lowered into a container of water, as shown in the photo below.

Video

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In the past, she was a successful lawyer who radically changed her lifestyle. In the new role of wife and mother, the ability to highlight the main thing and “put everything in order” has remained unchanged. I am always ready to share my discoveries and accumulated experience.

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