Summer Plant Survival 101
The kids are out of school for summer, the heat has hit—hard in the south!—and it is time to escape to somewhere cooler—or at least to some place with a beach! As you pack up for vacation and check things off your before-we-leave-town list, there is one task that might be easy to overlook: keeping your plants watered! Don’t hit the road until you plan for your plants’ survival while you’re away. There’s nothing worse than returning from a relaxing trip to see your flowers and foliage have bit the dust! I take several steps to keep my plants alive and healthy while I’m gone, and today I want to share these ideas with you!
For outdoor plants, I recommend:
• If you are able, hire a friend, neighbor, or a student you trust to water your outdoor plants. This way, your plants won’t miss a day of watering.
• If you have an irrigation system, gather all your potted plants in one place so that your sprinklers can hit them all every time.
• If you don’t have an irrigation system, invest in a drip tube system from your local hardware store. These systems typically cost between just $20 and $60 and run on a battery-powered timer that is connected to your water hose.
• Give your plants a lot of water before you leave, especially around the root ball. I don’t recommend doing this regularly, because too much water can be bad for your plants. But saturating your soil before you leave gives them water to drink while you are gone. (Give all your foliage a drink, as well!)
For indoor plants:
• It is best to invest in indoor plants that don’t need a whole lot of water. Plants like pothos, bird’s-nest ferns, and succulents only need watering once a month, which makes them perfect choices if you travel often.
• Before you leave, give your plants a lot of water to drink while you are away.
• One of my most used tricks is to put a couple of inches of water in your shower, tub, or kitchen sink. Then place your plants (still in their pots) in the water. Make sure your plants have drainage in the bottom to soak up the water! This gives them enough water to survive while you are gone. I have done this many times, and rarely have I come home to a dead plant.
• If you use pots without drainage, giving your plant 1 to 2 inches of water before you leave can give them enough to last until you water them next.
•Self-watering bulbs are a great investment and work wonders on household plants.
Put your plants in the sink with some water to keep them alive!
I hope these recommendations will allow you to enjoy your summer travels and come home to happy and healthy plants!