What to do with indoor plants when on vacation? In your absence, the main thing plants need is water. Globally, there are two ways out.
Save as much water as possible that the plant received at the last watering. This is a good option for those who are absent for two weeks. It can even work up to three weeks by appointment. It has only one advantage: it requires almost no financial investment.
Figure out how to provide water for your plants without help. There are many different watering systems for indoor plants, including automatic watering systems. They are indispensable if the plants are to exist independently for more than three weeks.
Consider first how to get out of the situation with the least amount of effort. So, indoor flowers can survive without water for fourteen days, or even a little more, if they are properly prepared. Of course, this method is a last resort, and it has its own drawbacks.
First of all, the plant should be watered sufficiently, preferably by soaking the root ball.
Take the plant off the windowsill: Reducing light will reduce the amount of water that evaporates from the plant, thus reducing its consumption. (Minus: the growth of all plants will slow down and some plants will be stunted.)
Cut off all flowers and buds. If possible, “thin out” the leaf mass. This, too, is necessary to reduce water consumption. (Minus: loss of decorative qualities, some plants may take quite a long time to regenerate).
Place the plants more narrowly: this allows for slightly higher humidity around the plants. It is better to place the plants in a large tray (a large pot, a children’s tub…).
A thick layer of moist expanded soil (at least five centimeters) should be poured on the bottom of the tray, watered with a few centimeters of water. On top put pots to fill the gaps between them, also pyrochlore or lay wet moss-garnet. (Minus: if one of your plants is infested and you haven’t noticed it yet, this makes it easier for pests to spread).
The perfect finishing touch to this design is the “hood” made of clear foil. Of course, you don’t have to do this.
But in this case, it makes sense to put at least the most “delicate” plants into a separate greenhouse or clear bag. (Minus: Plants with fleshy or pubescent foliage – cacti, anemones, kalanchoes, etc. – will rot or mold in a simple greenhouse that is not regularly ventilated.
Another possible difficulty is that not all specimens have a good time in a greenhouse and can be returned to their normal environment as soon as the bags are removed. Some plants may have to be gradually reintroduced into the lower humidity “open-air”).
Reminder: This method of plant preservation is, after all, quite stressful. So if you’re going to be away for more than a week, it makes sense to have cuttings of your favorite species ready to go. They will take root in a jar of water while you are away.
Now a word about how to keep the water supply going. The above design will last longer if an additional water source is added. This may well be a “homemade” option. For example, punch holes in the lid of a plastic bottle, pour water into it, and then place the bottle upside down between the pots. The water should drip by drip, moistening the swollen soil. The size of the hole is determined by the experiment.
The bottles prepared in this way can also be placed directly in the pots. The size of the required bottle depends on the size of the root ball. Large cauliflowers, for example, may require several bottles at a time. But with plants in small pots, such a method is unlikely to work.
At the same time, this is an effective method: there are such industrial production units. They consist of a glass bottle attached to a ceramic cone, which is immersed in the ground to moisten the soil more evenly.
Thanks to the capillary structure of its walls, the water flows drop by drop into the jug. For larger plants, more than one of these devices should be used at the same time. They do not have a screw-in water tank on top. They are connected to the water source protection zone with a thin hose.
Another well-known and most common method of passively watering houseplants is to “connect” the plant to the water in the container with a simple wick. This can be string, rope, wool of different diameters, wrapped bandages, etc.
One end of the wick should be placed in a container with water (e.g. a pot) and the other end should be placed in a basin (for safety you need to secure it, e.g. with a nail). The water will flow to the flower due to the difference in capillary pressure.
In any case, both industrial and homemade humidification systems should be tested beforehand. For example, track the rate of water conduction of a particular wick. Otherwise, the pot may be empty after an hour or two and the plant will be stuck in a puddle of water. Also, find the right size for the plants and whether to place the pots at the same height, higher or lower level.
A good solution for passive watering is capillary mats – mats made of moisture-absorbing materials. They are available in many garden centers and are reasonably priced. (Capillary geotextiles made from recycled materials should not be purchased for home use).
The capillary mat can be laid on any flat surface, such as on a table, by placing one edge of it in a container of water. Be sure to put a film under the mat to protect the surface from moisture.
If one end of the mat is difficult to lower into a bucket of water, cut strips from its edges, moisten them with water, then place one end in a bowl and place the second end under the mat. By the way, the same strips can also be used as wicks.
There are ready-made drip trays for watering plants with capillary mats. They consist of a deep outer tray, an inner tray, and a capillary pad.
You need to pour water into the outer tray, insert the inner tray, lay the mat inside the inner tray, and place the plant on it. The mat will suck water from the tray and water the plant. The manufacturer promises that in this way, the plant can survive for two weeks without you. And the plants are guaranteed not to have rotten roots.
Do not put the pots directly into a bucket of water. Even if you don’t want to buy commercial quantities of the capillary mat or expanded clay. Such a method is best for cypress trees, for example, but for most other species common to indoor crops, prolonged immersion in water is likely to rot the roots.
Most likely, after considering all of these “easy” watering methods, you will decide to purchase a similar automatic watering system, but one that works more efficiently and reliably.
