By Andrea Sachs
The Washington Post
One of Ashley Wearing’s most memorable clients was the woman who told her she had not traveled in seven years. Before hiring Wearing, owner of Houseplantsitter, the Austin resident had left her husband in charge of their home, and half her plants died.
“She was paranoid that she would come back and they would all be dead,” Wearing said of the customer and her 300 plants. “She called me and said, ‘Oh my God, I’m so happy I can finally go on vacation.’”
As any phytophile knows, you can’t jet off for weeks and leave your houseplants to their own devices.
Fortunately, many common potted plants are low-maintenance. For short getaways of up to a week, plant-care specialists say you can stick with your standard routine.
“If you water them the night before your trip, you don’t need to do anything extra,” said Chelsea McKinley, plant health specialist at the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C.
Longer vacations, however, will require a level of attention that falls somewhere between automobile and cat care.
Conduct a health check
Before you head out of town, your plants should be in tip-top shape. To ensure your greens are healthy, consult with a nursery or plant-care app such as PictureThis, Planta or Plant Parent, which are free for a trial or basic services.
In general, the soil should be loose, not a tightly packed brick, so water can reach the root system. To avoid root rot or soil gnats, the planters should have drainage holes. The trays or saucers should be large enough to collect runoff and emptied of extra water, to protect the root zone.
“Water is so erosive, it can carve through rock,” Wearing said, “so it can definitely damage your furniture.”
At least one week before your trip, inspect the leaves and branches for pests and eradicate any buggers. The treatment will vary depending on the invader, such as applying insecticidal soap to remove aphids or dabbing mealybugs with rubbing alcohol. Otherwise, you could end up with sick plants or a full-blown infestation in your apartment or house.
“Make sure there are no spider mites, mealybugs or other small insects,” said Karen Mitchell, a consumer horticulture extension specialist at Purdue University. “If you have a few of them when you leave, you could have thousands when you get home.”
Don’t dry out your plants
Most standard houseplants are not fond of extreme temperatures. Set your thermostat to the mid-60s to 70s for day and about 10 degrees cooler at night. Also, distance them from blasting air-conditioning units or heater vents.
“Hot, dry air will dry plants out faster,” said Marlene Simon, curator of the Botanical Conservatory at the University of California at Davis.
For a similar reason, Simon recommends partially drawing the shades. Direct sun can parch and even burn plants sitting on a window sill. The diminished light will also help them stretch their water supply, she said.
Plants that thrive in humidity, such as ferns, African violets and bamboo, can benefit from a humidifier. Some models even come with travel-friendly timers. You can also try humidity trays (the plant sits on pebbles atop water), a bubbly fountain or an open-air aquarium. Or group them together to create a tropical microclimate similar to Key West in July.
Don’t close your shades all the way
your third-grade science class on photosynthesis? Plants need sunlight to create life-sustaining food.
Many travelers close their drapes or shutters for safety reasons. Consider keeping them open a crack so some sunlight can seep in. Wearing said the sun should touch the leaves, the sweet spot for photosynthesis. Homeowners with smart technology can control the shades from anywhere in the world and maintain the plants’ light/dark schedule.
If you plan to be away during the short, dark days of winter, Wearing suggests installing grow lights for plants that demand a lot of sunlight, such as jade plants, crotons and peace lilies.
Water with a light touch
If plants could talk, they’d tell you to ease off on the heavy pour. It’s destroying them.
“Most people overwater their plants,” Simon said. “That’s the number one killer of houseplants, for sure.
Watering once a week or as needed is standard, though some drought-tolerant varieties, such as the snake plant, ZZ plant and cactus, can go several weeks without a drink. The night or morning before your trip, check the moisture level of the soil. If the top inch is dried out, water the plant. If it’s still damp, leave it alone.
“It’s very hard for a plant to recover once the roots start to get mushy,” Wearing said. “It’s much easier for an under-watered plant to recover.”
For easy drainage, McKinley suggests watering your plants in a sink or bathtub. If you water them in situ, dump excess liquid pooling in the saucer about 30 minutes later. Sitting in still water can deplete the plant of oxygen and lead to suffocation.
Set up a self-watering system
For diva plants or extended trips, you should call in reinforcements — a friend with a spare key or special gardening accessories or equipment.
Laura Cammarisano, assistant professor in UC Davis’s Protected Horticulture Lab, said plant owners can choose from a number of inexpensive and uncomplicated self-watering accessories, such as capillary mats or watering spikes or globes. (She recommends the terra-cotta variety, which slowly releases liquid.) DIYers can punch holes in a plastic bottle or create a wicking system with a container of water and strips of absorbent material such as yarn or cloth.
“These options range from free to around $50, require no power, are very easy to install and require no maintenance except refill,” Cammarisano said in an email.
The U.S. Botanic Garden, meanwhile, uses self-watering pots for some of its indoor potted plants. “They use a special fabric to wick up the water from the reservoir inside the pots,” McKinley explained, “so the plants soak up the water from the bottom.”
Automated irrigation systems are a bit more elaborate, but even amateur gardeners can build or operate them. Cammarisano said the main components are drippers, tubing, a controller – such as a timer -— and a power source — such as electricity, battery or the sun.
Before you leave your plants alone, Cammarisano recommends testing your setup for kinks, such as leaks, clogs or overwatering.
Call a sitter for extended trips
When should you call in the plant pros? If your trip exceeds two watering cycles.
“After two weeks, you may not come back to dead plants,” Wearing said, “but your plants will be screaming at you to do something quickly.”
Most plant sitters will arrange a consultation and provide updates while you are traveling. As you would for your child’s or pet’s caretaker, leave detailed instructions and any special supplies, such as bottles of distilled water or fertilizer spray.
Tiffany Ogu, founder and owner of Pets N Plants, arranges a free 30-minute meet-and-greet with new clients in the Washington, D.C., area and sends progress reports with photos and video. If a plant’s health starts to fail, she will the family, even if they are halfway around the world.
“I never assume or just push forward,” said Ogu, who charges $55 for an hour-long visit, “because it could be a mistake that could harm the plant.”
Wait before composting
Even if you did everything right, you still might come home to wilted leaves and brittle stems. For a proper diagnosis, email photos of the ailing plant to a professional, such as the U.S. Botanic Garden. Or try an app such as Agrio.
If the soil is desert-dry, McKinley said to place the infirm plant in a bowl or saucer and let it soak for 20 minutes or until the soil absorbs the water. Allow the plant to freely drain, she said, and don’t water it until it dries out.
“People want to keep on watering the plant, but that’s the worst thing you can do,” McKinley said. “Give it a chance to breathe after you’ve rehydrated it.”
If you don’t see new growth within two weeks, scratch the stem. If it is green, your plant is still alive. If it’s brown, then say a few words and drop it in the compost bin.
“Don’t be too hard on yourself,” McKinley said. “Every good grower kills plants. Just buy another one.”
