Watering houseplants while on vacation?

[VictoriaL]

Any ideas of how to do this? I'm going away for 2 weeks and, although the MIL will come over to feed the fish and birds, I don't want her (at age 87) carrying watering cans all over the house. Also, there's the water-stain still on the wood plant stand from where she over-watered last year...

The large plants have deep saucers, but what do I do about the smaller potted plants? They are all accustomed to being watered only once a week, but 2 weeks will definitely press their limits.

TIA!

[jadenegro]

Are your plants in terra cotta or plastic? I think if they are in plastic you may be able to stretch it to two weeks. Make sure you water them really well before you leave, keep them in a dark/darker room. Also if you have a room with a cooler temp I would move them to it. I have a friend who thinks grouping them together helps. Not sure why on that one, but you could give it a try! Some potting soils like Miracle grow contain micro beads that will hold water and then release it as the soil dries. Not sure how you have them planted now and I probably wouldn't replant before vacation anyhow. Also it makes sense to me to mulch them with peat moss or the little chip things but I'm not sure how effective that is for house plants. HTH. I've let mine go two weeks while on vacation and they aren't happy but they survive.

[Robyn1007]

Could you put the ones that you're worried about in your kitchen so your MIL can just add a bit of water to them without having to carry all over the house. Also, that way if she over waters it's less likely to cause permanent damage?

[VictoriaL]

jadenegro, my plants are mostly in plastic pots but there are a few in tc. I have a huge bag of dried Spanish moss, I wonder if that will help to retain moisture if I wet it down really well the day before we left?

Robyn, the kitchen gets little sunlight where most of the potted plants are in rooms with full sun. But I guess I could take a few of the less light-requiring ones to the kitchen and place them on the counter. That was a great suggestion, too.

We do have a few huge, towering plants that couldn't be moved no matter what their light requirements, though. Should I (or better yet, DH!) lift them off of their saucers and place them in a large tray of water? Or would that keep the soil too wet?

[bobmark226]

When I've done plant sitting for friends, I've always had them leave me a note, indicating which plant, how much water (in cups), how often (specifically when). Post-Its right on or next to the plants work very well. It's simple enough to leave instructions so that she actually underwaters a bit. If you've got a lot of plants, yes, it's a tedious chore, but it also works.

HTH,
Bob

[jadenegro]

Here's a link to an HGTV article about houseplants. I had to check on my friend's theory about grouping plants together It's supposed to allow the plants to share humidity. (?)

HGTV link

ETA: I would really try to do something about your plants in terra cotta or a least carefully instruct your mother how to water those. Terra cotta really allows the plants to breathe and they will lose all their moisture quickly (unless they are cactii, then probably it's ok).

[cchhbb]

When I housesat for a friend, she put them all in the bathtub in case of a water mishap.

[HejazSunKat]

There are also these things:

http://www.kugelhouse.com/store/main...Watering+Balls

[Chefzhat]

Put them all in the tub or small kiddie pool? Then add water and the plants will soak water from the bottom of their pots.

[syzygy]

Here are a few ideas from Gardeners Supply:

Two-Week Plant Sitters


Plant Sitter


Plant Caretaker




HTH

BTW, love those watering balls you posted, Linda, very pretty! ...and very tempting

[ginny177]

I have had success with a combination of the methods already suggested by others:
Give plants less light than usual (won't hurt for 2 weeks - or even more).
Water well before you leave and then use a "wicking" method: The easiest method I found was to put them all together in a bathtub (or shower floor; or kiddie pool) on top of damp towels or layers of well dampened newspapers.
They should do fine without any further watering.

OR. . . you can choose to have your MIL do the watering of the whole lot which are in the tub. If you opt for that, do not place them on any sort of wicking material.

I have left plants, including orchids this way for as long as 3 weeks.

The main points are -1. less light and 2. constant moisture from below( not necessarily full watering).

Enjoy your vacation and don't worry. Most plants are pretty tough.