Keep Your Plants Going While You’re Gone

When you get back from a long trip, you may be rather unhappy to find your indoor plants have begun to wilt away, either due to the total lack of attention they’ve received during your time away or the unskilled but well-meaning hand of a house sitter. Your leafy friends don’t need to suffer through your travels, however. A few precautionary measures can ensure your plants survive for years to come.

If you know in advance you’ll be traveling quite a bit either for work or leisure, buy plants that won’t take an abundant amount of care, particularly if you’re not entirely sure how green your thumb actually is. Research plants that will fit easily into your schedule and living situation. Consider environmental variables such as light, temperature and air flow.

If you’ll be having someone check in on your apartment or home daily, find something that needs little in the way of directions. Spider plants can thrive just by placing their container near a window and watering them occasionally in the winter and daily in the summer. Likewise, peace lilies do great indoors in indirect sunlight with a daily watering. If all the house sitter needs to do is add a bit of room temperature water when the soil dries out, the chances of your plants surviving increases.

If you need plants that can do without water for a bit, though, consider cacti or an air plant. Both come in a wide variety of aesthetically pleasing options and need to be watered as little as once a week to once a month. You can get many different types of exotic cacti and air plants delivered from around the world straight to your door.

To save plants already at risk of dying, research their needs and try to plan accordingly. Maybe all you need to do is shift around your furniture so that any incoming sunlight falls in the right places, or maybe you need to invest in some fertilizer or plant food. You can also invest in a self-watering system that can be as simple as a DIY container that releases water into pre-saturated soil as it dries, which can keep your plants watered for a week or more.

Being proactive can help ensure you come home to plants that are just the way you left them.