How to Keep Houseplants Alive When You're Traveling
While traveling can be fun and exciting, escaping for a getaway or going to visit relatives may pose a problem: the chance of houseplants looking less than lively when you return. After all of the tender love and care you give your houseplants when you’re home, you don’t want them to suffer while you’re gone. Luckily, there are easy and effective ways to care from your plants, even if you’ve jet away on vacation. Read all of the simple tips and tricks below to keep your lush indoor garden as beautiful as it was the day you left upon your return.
Choose Low-Maintenance Plants
Choosing vacation-proof houseplants will minimize worry when you're away. Learn about some of the most low-maintenance and beautiful of them all below.
Succulents
Succulents don’t need much water, so they’re a great candidate to leave home alone for extended periods of time. Try the Campfire Crassula, which grows into a vibrant orange hue and ripens to a bright red color. This particular plant can live up to two weeks without watering as long as it receives bright light. Another succulent that doesn’t demand much attention is an aloe plant. This is an additional variation that needs bright light and watering only every couple weeks. Aloe’s soil drains well, leaving it the ability to root correctly even with little maintenance.
Snake Plants
These are some of the most popular houseplants, and with good reason! They’re easy to care for as they are known to flourish with little light and only require watering once their soil is completely dry. As long as you water these plants right before you leave, they should be good for anywhere from a weekend to a whole week without attention.
Cacti
Cacti thrive without much watering. While having these in your home does require that you give them some attention, they’re certainly a great choice of plant when it comes to not worrying about leaving them. They can go without water for about a month, so feel free to travel without worry about this plant.
Tips and Tricks
To ensure that your plants make it through the entirety of your trip healthy, here’s a roundup of tips and tricks that will keep flowers and greenery thriving and that will put your mind at ease.
Trim Foliage
Trimming the foliage of mature plants is a good way to help them stay healthy while you’re away. Doing so will ensure that they require less watering during an extended absence.
Set the Temperature Correctly
Ensure that the temperature of your home is adequate for your plants to thrive while you’re gone. Set your thermostat to around 65 degrees. This is useful because warmer temperatures will aid in the creation of diseases within the soil of your plants, which can be harmful to their survival and growth. Warmer indoor temperatures will also cause the water that exists in your plants’ soil to evaporate more quickly, which is another reason to bump the heat down a few notches.
Ensure Adequate Air Circulation
Overly humid conditions within your home during your absence can be harmful to your plants, so to mitigate this risk, make sure the air is circulating in your home while you're gone. Leave on a ceiling fan or even use clip-on oscillating fans to keep your plants in tip-top condition. This also helps keep bugs away, which is an added bonus.
Create a Drip System
You don’t need to get high-tech to keep your plants watered while you’re away! Fill a plastic disposable water bottle to the brim with water. Flip the bottle upside down and push it into the dirt of your plant to create an instant drip system. Should you find that dirt is making its way into the bottle or causing a clog, simply tie a loose cheesecloth or alternate kind of mesh over the spout as a filter. This will allow your plants to receive water when they need it for the entirety of your trip!
Avoid the possibility of coming home to dry, wilted plants after your time away by following these tips and taking advantage of these low-maintenance plants. You’ll love the way they look in your home and how simple they are to care for.
