🪴HOW TO & TIPS
How To Leave Your Plants And Actually Come Back To Them Thriving
A lot of you have been asking, so here we go…
Here's my full pre-holiday routine. You don't need to do all of it, but the more you stack together, the better the odds your green friends sail through.
1. Give them a proper drink (the day before, not the day of)
I do this every single time, and it's saved my bacon plenty. The key word is before. Don't leave it to departure day, because there's always too much going on and even with the best intentions you might not get round to it. Do it the day before, give everything a thorough soak, and you've set the foundation for everything else here.
2. Move them somewhere cooler
Every house has hotter rooms than others, and you want to be mindful of that before you go. Conservatories are basically ovens in a heatwave, so anything living in one needs relocating into the cooler body of the house. If your home runs warm generally, cluster your plants together to create a little group humidity effect.
I bunch mine up with the big plants overhanging the smaller ones (my large grass plant goes on the kitchen counter with little ones tucked under its canopy). It won't work miracles, but during an intense heatwave every bit helps.
3. Pull them back from the windows
I always say keep plants in the brightest spot possible, even the low-light lovers like the ZZ plant, because bright light means more growth. But that same bright light also means faster evaporation and a higher transpiration rate, so your plants drink quicker.
Before a trip, pull them back from the brightest windows. Even with blinds or curtains closed, the area right by the glass stays the warmest part of the room. I move most of mine into my east-facing dining room and sit them on the kitchen island a couple of metres back from the windows. They still get the light they need, just without roasting.
4. Give them a haircut
If your plants are looking a bit overgrown and unkempt, this is the perfect excuse for a trim. The more foliage a plant carries, the more water it transpires through those leaves. Keeping things compact by removing yellowing or dying growth means less water lost in the heat. I'd do this at least a week before you leave, so you're not frantically pruning while trying to pack.
5. Set up a simple self-watering system
You don't need anything fancy here. My favourite (and simplest) hack is to fill the bathtub with a few inches of cold water, lay down two or three towels, and stand the plants on top. It creates a wet bank for them to slowly draw moisture from, and it keeps them lovely and cool as a bonus. For the plants that like permanently moist soil, like Calatheas and ferns, this is brilliant.
Other options worth knowing:
- Watering globes: glass or plastic bulbs you fill and push into the soil. As the soil dries, the water releases gradually. Slow, steady, and very low-effort.
- A DIY wick system: pop one end of a wick into a jug of water and bury the other in the soil. The wick draws water to the roots as needed.
6. Whatever you do, don't get a plant sitter
I know this sounds odd, but hear me out. Roping in a plant sitter usually ends in disaster, and it can sour a good relationship if things go wrong. It piles pressure on someone who probably doesn't know tropical plants the way you do. They might overwater, or (worse) forget to show up entirely while a heatwave cooks your collection. The real danger is that you rely on them, so you skip all the precautions above. If a friend genuinely only has a couple of plants dotted around, fine, but for a proper collection? Trust the system, not the sitter.
A couple of extra tricks if a heatwave's really coming:
- Propagation boxes: those big clear tote boxes everyone's using for cuttings work a treat here too. Smaller plants dry out fastest, so pop them in the box, give them a spritz, add a couple of ventilation holes, and the high humidity keeps them going. No box? A clear plastic bag over each plant does a similar job.
- Mulch the topsoil: this is a year-round favourite of mine, not just for holidays. A layer of bark, wood chips, or decorative gravel on top of the soil dramatically slows evaporation (and smartens the plant up too). I top my succulents with decorative stones and can go ages between waterings.
- Crank the AC down (if you have it): lowering the temperature slows growth and cuts water demand. Not the most sustainable or cheapest option, but if extreme weather's on the way, it can rescue a collection.
🎁 Bonus tip: light with the curtains closed
When you're away for a week or two, you're probably closing the curtains and blinds for security. So how do your plants get their light?
If you've got a grow light or two, here's the trick: get a plug-in timer for the wall socket and plug your grow light into that. Set it to come on around 8am and off around 8pm, so your plants get their 10 to 12 hours without the light blazing the whole time (which would be both expensive and a fire risk).
Group your plants around the light so they all get a share. It won't replace the sun, but it's more than enough to keep them from getting miserable while you're gone.