Automatic watering of indoor plants while on vacation

In summer, flowers grow vigorously, and for this they need abundant watering. In the bright sun, the soil dries out instantly. Plants have to be sprayed and watered once or even twice a day. How can we leave them in such a situation?

It is best to find a “nurse” for the flowers. If neighbors or relatives can drop in at your house at least once every two days and water the flowers, this is ideal. Relatives who are not allowed to travel can bring especially delicate creatures to their homes with their own hands.

If you cannot get gratuitous help in this matter, we advise you to do the following before going on vacation:

1. Trim buds and flowers from flowering plants. This will immediately reduce the plant’s water requirement.
2. Remove pots from bright sun. It is best to remove the flowers from the windowsill and place them on the table or on the floor in the back of the room. This will help reduce the evaporation of moisture from the leaves and from the soil surface.
3. Bury the pots in damp peat, all the way up to the edges. The best for such a “treasure” is a bathtub, just before that, cover it with polyethylene.
4. Use special auto-irrigation devices.

Special devices for irrigation

Despite the fact that all auto-irrigation devices have different power and are designed for a different volume of water, we recommend leaving the plants with them “alone” for a maximum of a week. After 7 days, the water supply will most likely need to be replenished.

Funnels for gradual irrigation

These cones are pushed into the soil and water flows into the pot through them. They are made of various materials – plastic usually have holes in the walls, clay holes do not have – water simply seeps through the walls due to the fact that the bottom of the funnel is not burnt.

Watering funnels are usually quite decorative (some resemble a frog with an open mouth, others – a pretty jug), so they will not only save your flowers from thirst, but also decorate any pot. You can find them in regular flower shops.

Pots with additional water tank

In the double bottom of such a pot there is a reservoir, from which a wick rises into the pot (braid about 2,5 cm wide). Through this braid, water flows to the roots of the plant. It is convenient to pour water through special holes in the walls of the pot. By the way, fertilizer can be added to the water, so that the flowers will receive additional feeding at the same time. Such pots can become a bright accent of the interior, especially if such designers as Karim Rashid take on the job (see photo).

Auto watering

Special devices that can completely replace you with indoor flowers for the duration of your vacation (“Dewdrop”, “Drop”, Uniflex, Gardena, etc.). They have a pump and special hoses through which water is supplied to the plants. These devices are designed for a different number of pots with different watering needs. Watering can for one pot it will cost about 150 rubles, for 36 pots – about 3 rubles. Ask them in large construction and garden centers such as OBI, Leroy Merlin and others.

Plant watering alarm

This is a device in the form of a long-stemmed sensor. On top of it is a decorative figurine (ducks, turtles, etc.), which will decorate any flower pot. The signaling device is stuck into the soil until it stops, and every time the ground dries up, it will remind you that it is time to water the plant with pleasant music.

Home Ways

If you don’t want to spend money, there are time-tested folk methods that will help your plants survive without watering. But also, no more than a week.

1. Water the plant abundantly, place the pot in a plastic bag and tape it to create a mini greenhouse.
2. Build your own autowatering system. Place the pot on top of a container of water. Use tape, braid, or old nylon tights to make a wick. Dip one end into the water, and stick the other into the drainage hole of the pot. This will provide water access to the roots of the flower.
3. Use a regular plastic bottle. Punch a hole in the cover. Pour water into the bottle, screw on the cap and stick the bottle into the soil with the cap down (you can connect the bottle and the pot using the same wick (see point 2).
4. Instead of a wick that will bring water into the pot, you can use a medical drip.

A more reliable option is flower hotels.

Hotels for flowers

It will be interesting for those leaving for a long time to know that we are beginning to have companies offering services for caring for indoor plants at home and even overexposing your plants in a greenhouse.

For example, the company’s specialists Fantastic garden ready to look after your “botanical garden” weekly for 5 rubles. per month (this includes watering, washing plants, feeding).

The cost of resuscitation of diseased flowers starts from 700 rubles. per pot and depends on the size of the plant and the degree of its neglect. Transplantation, root processing, new soil, fertilizers and “medicines” are paid separately.

It will be much cheaper to overexpose indoor flowers in a greenhouse – staying one plant in a “hotel” of the company MK-Flora, for example, it will cost 200 rubles, but this is not counting transportation costs. So if you plant violets and you have your own car, such a service can be an excellent solution to your problem. Owners of palms in tubs, for the transportation of which will have to pay not only for the gazelle, but also for the work of loaders, it is better to take a closer look at the automatic watering equipment – it will be cheaper.

Where can I buy

OBI, store addresses can be viewed here

Belaya Dacha Flowers, addresses of garden centers here

Leroy Merlin, address here

Your house, addresses of shopping centers here