Posted on: Friday, June 15, 2007
Keep your plants alive while on vacation
By Beth Botts
Chicago Tribune
Sometime this summer, chances are you're going to go on vacation. But what about your plants? How will they live without you?
Their major enemies will be heat and moisture loss. But with some planning, you can be pretty confident that you will not come back to a garden or houseplant graveyard.
Choose survivor plants. If you know you are going to be away for a week or more this summer, don't plant thirsty things. The most durable and resilient houseplants for frequent travelers are cacti, succulents and plants with stiff, fleshy leaves such as sansevieria and rubber trees.
The larger the container, the better. A large soil volume, such as a half whiskey barrel, will hold moisture longer, while a one-gallon pot on a hot day will dry out by noon, says Mike McGrath, host of the NPR garden show "You Bet Your Garden." And put large pots on wheeled trays or trolleys so you can move them into the shade.
Avoid porous pots. Terra-cotta pots and hanging baskets with coir liners are handsome but they lose moisture quickly, McGrath says. If you like the look, do your actual planting in a plastic pot (with a drainage hole) and hide it inside.
Mulch. That doesn't mean 6 inches deep, but a 1-inch layer of relatively fine-textured organic mulch over all beds and the surface of all pots will do a lot to hold moisture.
Buy a timer. Soaker hoses or drip irrigation on a timer, set to come on once in the middle of the week, can make a big difference.
Group containers. Move them to the shade. Their mass will tend to hold moisture and humidity, Parry says. If you don't have a shady spot, move plants indoors.
Move houseplants. Place houseplants at least 4 feet in from a sunny window, Parry says. The heat from that window can fry them. And if you can't give them plenty of ventilation, don't turn the thermostat up too high.
Don't overfertilize. Plants that have been stimulated by fertilizer use more water.
Water, water, water. Soak every pot and every bed, long and slow, before you leave, says McGrath.
Empty saucers. More potted plants die from overwatering than from drought. McGrath says, "Ninety-five percent of your wilting-from-drought plants are going to come back. But your drowned plants are dead forever." So don't leave potted plants sitting in water.
