Planning for Summer Vacation? Here’s how to manage your plants
Plants, unlike pets, are fairly easy to manage when you go out of town. No special sitters, no kennel. Unless you are gone for a month or longer, your plants can pretty much fend for themselves with just a little preparation. Read on to learn how to prepare plants for your absence.
How to Prepare Houseplants
If you are gone for a week or less, give your houseplants a deep soak right before you leave. Make sure the temperature in your home stays below 80 degrees in your absence.
For trips of two to three weeks, the goal is to create a humid, well-lit space like a bathroom, kitchen, laundry room or any other room with a large sink, bathtub, or shower stall that can hold a few inches of water.
These houseplants bask happily in a humid bathroom when my daughter is out-of-town.
Water each pot well and allow the excess water to drain away. Then for each pot, set a brick, upside down pot, block, or water-proof plant stand in the bottom of the your sink, tub, or shower stall. Set a potted plant on top of each prop, then fill the sink, tub, or shower stall with two or three inches of standing water. The idea is for the plant to sit above (not IN) the water. but close enough to benefit from the humidity it creates.
How to Prepare Container Plants
Move lightweight container plants to a well-lit but sheltered area so they aren’t blasted by the sun while you are gone. Water until water runs out the bottom of the pot, then repeat. For heavier pots, set up drip irrigation controlled by a “smart” irrigation clock (see below). Set the irrigation clock to run long enough for water to drip out the bottom of the pot. Set the irrigation clock to run often enough to keep the soil moist for non-succulent pots, or to dry out between waterings for potted cacti and other succulents.
Try Self-watering Pots
I’ve had great success with Crescent Garden self-watering pots, which are designed with internal water reservoirs. I’ve tested different sizes, including Crescent Garden’s largest container, which has a 20 gallons reservoir. I added some liquid fertilizer to the reservoir, and in 18 months, my 8-foot-tall fiddle leaf fig more than doubled in height and width. The reservoir requires filling just once every few months in winter or once a month in summer. I top it off before a long trip and never worry about the fig drying out.
Phil the fiddle leaf fig thrives in his self-watering pot. The image on the left is January 2024, the image on the right is May 2025!
How to Prepare In-ground Plants
For in-ground plants, an inline drip irrigation system (Netafim is my preferred brand) combined with a smart irrigation controller is your best option. Set the controller for your zip code and soil type, then adjust each zone according to the water needs of the plants it irrigates: vegetable garden, high water plants, drought-resilient plants, etc. Smart controllers turn the water on and off, adjusting the frequency through the seasons and the weather. Hunter Industries is the industry standard for home and commercial landscapes. Raccio is another popular brand, especially among the DIY crowd. Both are WIFI based so you can manage the controller from your smartphone both at home and wherever you travel.
