Preparing Your Plants For a Prolonged Vacation
If you've ever forgotten to water your plants before vacation, you'll know all about the disappointment of coming home to drooping, wilted leaves and crispy foliage that brushes off with the slightest touch.
There’s a simple solution on paper – water your plants before heading out on vacation – but this won’t work if your vacation is more than a week.
Extending watering times beyond a week will stress most leafy houseplants and, if the soil runs dry, can lead to extensive damage.
The good news is you can have beautiful leafy plants and go on vacation for weeks without worrying about watering with easyplant.
easyplant is a self-watering system that simplifies plant care through a hidden reservoir. You only refill it when empty - typically once per month.
A wick then transports water from the reservoir directly to the root zone in the bottom soil layer to keep your indoor plant watered on a prolonged vacation.
Join us below to learn more about easyplant and how to prepare your plants for a prolonged vacation.
Tips For Plant Prep Before a Vacation
Water Quality
There’s a strong chance your plant won’t see any fresh water for a few weeks after you go on vacation, so it's crucial to give it high-quality water.
Rainwater is the best choice, although filtered tap water is also good. In both cases, it’s best to use room-temperature water.
When to Water
Your plants need fresh water before you go on vacation.
The best time to water your plant is on the day you leave for your vacation, but you shouldn’t oversaturate the soil to compensate for extended watering times, as this can lead to root rot and fungal growth that damages your plant.
Feeding Your Plant
Your houseplant was probably potted with potting compost or with a slow-release fertilizer. These methods eliminate the need to feed your plant for around one year, and any additional feed could harm it.
For instance, all easyplants have slow-release fertilizer mixed into the soil to feed your plant for at least 12 months from delivery.
Moving Your Plant
Unless your plant demands direct sunlight, you can move it somewhere cooler out of the sun's path to prevent excessive water evaporation.
For example, if your plant is in front of a south or west-facing window, you could move it to a north-facing window while on vacation.
Picking an easyplant
An easyplant is the ideal solution for worry-free plant care while on vacation. Each easyplant comes with a built-in water reservoir system that only needs refilling approximately once per month.
Prolonged vacations are no longer a problem, and you’ll come home to a happy, thriving houseplant that isn’t gasping for water.
The Dangers of Inadequate Watering
Without adequate watering, your plant’s roots will dry out and become brittle, making recovery difficult or impossible even when you water them.
This can lead to periods of dormancy, where your plant doesn’t grow and looks like a goner, and even death if the roots dry up completely.
Mild cases of dehydration result in yellowing, wilting, and browning of the foliage, which, although temporary, is ugly and can recover very slowly.
Some Plants Are More Sensitive Than Others
The plants most sensitive to inadequate watering are leafy species like Aglaonema, Calathea, Dracaena, and Anthuriums.
Leafy plants are most sensitive because their broad leaves have more surface area for evaporation, leading to more water loss through the leaves.
These plants also have native habitats with consistent moisture and humidity, such as jungles and humid subtropical areas. Inadequate watering doesn’t provide the moisture they need to thrive, and their shallow root systems quickly dry out.
Snake plants, ZZ plants, Cast Iron Plants, and Chinese Evergreens are the most resilient indoor plants to water neglect because they have thick leaves and roots that store water.
For instance, a Snake plant will survive fine without water for three weeks, but a Calathea will wilt and look unwell after just over a week.
Best Drought-Tolerant Plants
The easyplant self-watering pot waters your plant for a month, giving you more plant options if you go on long vacations. You don’t need to worry about your plants drying out and dying while you’re away.
Another clever way to ensure your greenery continues looking its best is to pick drought-tolerant plants that'll survive for a few weeks without fresh water.
All the drought-tolerant plants below are available from easyplant, giving them double the advantage while you’re on vacation.
Editor’s note: Even drought-tolerant plants need watering once the soil dries out. Resilient plants, like Snake Plants and ZZ Plants, cannot survive indefinitely without water.
Snake Plant
The Snake Plant is available as the Golden or Green Snake Plant. It has sword-shaped leaves that grow upwards, reaching for the sun. Adequate water keeps those leaves erect and promotes shoot growth within the plant’s center.
Black ZZ Plant
The Black ZZ Plant prefers dry soil, providing its roots have access to water at the bottom soil layer. The easyplant self-watering pot provides that environment for optimal growth – perfect for when you go on vacation.
Cast Iron Plant
The Cast Iron Plant requires water every eight or nine days, but the easyplant pot extends that to once monthly. Its name comes from its ability to thrive with neglect, low light, poor air quality, and other things most plants would die from.
Going Away? easyplant Has You Covered
Your plants shouldn’t be a burden when you go away, which extends to the poor neighbors and friends you might ask to come around and water your plants.
The best solution for hassle-free plant maintenance is easyplant’s self-watering pot, which provides optimal watering over a whole month. Your plants will thrive with no upkeep other than refilling the reservoir when necessary.
Popular collections include The Emerald Trinity for three non-fussy plants and The Enlightened Oasis for five plants in multiple sizes, including a large ZZ plant and a medium Golden snake plant for your bright spots.
Browse all easyplant collections here.
You can also find more easyplant care tips here.
