How to water flowers if you are away for a week. How to water flowers during a vacation or a long absence

There is such a thing as plant turgor. Turgor is the fullness of plant cells with water. If the plant does not have enough water, the leaves and branches droop, become lethargic, then they talk about the loss of turgor. If the plant was not dehydrated for a long time, then it is enough to thoroughly soak the soil with water so that the turgor is restored. But if the roots are very dry, watering will no longer help, the plants will die.

Probably everyone had to leave the house for a while, leaving flowers and even animals. During our absence, we worry about our pets - how are they without supervision. Everyone is looking for their own way out of the situation, depending on the timing of the business trip or vacation. Someone will leave the keys to the apartment to a neighbor or relatives with an order to water on time, but many do not have such an opportunity or simply do not trust an inexperienced person in such a delicate matter.

You need to prepare for your vacation in advance, while you are choosing a swimsuit for yourself or just looking at the colorful illustrations of travel agencies, you should not only take an interest in ways to automatically water plants, but also try them in practice, spending at least two days in advance.

After all, improperly organized automatic watering can lead to disastrous results when the plants turn out to be dried out or, on the contrary, flooded. If you leave the care of plants to a neighbor or friend, at least take care of the exact instructions in this regard. Any person may have concepts of measure different from yours, and if for you abundant watering means a glass of water per pot, then someone may mean 2-3 glasses of water by abundant watering.

The frequency of watering, as you know, depends on the type of plant, air temperature and season. Therefore, it is impossible to give an unambiguous answer as far as it is possible to leave a plant without water without referring to its physiological state. Since cacti and some succulents are in a state of growth in summer and will painlessly endure the lack of watering for about 2 weeks. In winter, during the dormant period, this period can be up to 1 month.

Plants with leathery leaves, such as ficus or scindapsus, will survive without water for about a week in summer, 10-14 days in winter. But plants with thin and velvety leaves, such as Calathea red-bearded Calathea rufibarba, survive without water in the summer for 4-5 days, depending on the temperature, and in winter for about 7-10 days. Bulbous and tuberous plants during the growth period will withstand without watering for about a week.

More and more ways of automatic watering are being invented, in a large flower shop you can even purchase special devices and entire systems for providing plants with water. Many indoor plant lovers who have to leave the house quite often for several days solve the problem radically - they switch to hydroponics, which greatly simplifies the task (but does not deprive them of care problems in general).

Automatic watering of indoor plants

If we talk about plants planted in the soil, there are several ways to provide plants with water:

Feodor: system - " smart pot", appeared recently, but I already have a lot of plants growing in them. Its great advantage is the ease of planting and care. I add water 1 time for 3-4 weeks and the plants feel great. Fertilizers are added along with irrigation water.

Method one - Plants are watered abundantly, so that the earthen lump is completely saturated with water. If the pots are clay, then it is advisable to wrap each pot with moss, which is also thoroughly moistened. You can also place a clay pot in a plastic one, bigger size, and fill the space between the walls of the pot with moistened expanded clay. In plastic pots, the soil is covered from above with wet moss or expanded clay. Watered plants are placed on pallets or in wide basins with water, without saucers, so that Bottom part the pot was in the water. Plants that categorically do not tolerate when "feet in the water" are left on saucers, and the water that has drained after watering is drained. This method is effective if the plants are left for 7-10 days and if there are many plants.

Method two - Useful if there are not many plants, and also if the plants are very sensitive to excessive moisture (both soil and air). The plant is watered so that the earth ball is saturated with water. A plastic bottle with water and a thin knitting needle (or vice versa with a thick needle, you can also use an awl) heated over a fire is taken, a hole is made in the cork, then the same hole must be made at the bottom of the bottle. The bottle is dug into the pot with the neck down to a depth of 2-3 cm. Water, flowing out drop by drop, moistens the soil. There is very important point- you need to practice on the bottles in advance in the size of the holes. After all, it may turn out that the water will flow out too slowly, or vice versa too quickly. It is best to try this method some time before departure on a pot without a plant filled with dry earth.

Watching for several days how the soil is filled with moisture, you will determine for yourself whether such a hole in the bottle is suitable or you will have to change it. When you are able to optimally "tune the bottle" - then the problem of watering during your absence will be solved once and for all. The duration of such watering depends on the size of the bottle.

Third method - A wick is twisted from a bandage or strip of fabric, one end of which is placed on the surface of the earth in a pot, and the other is lowered into a container in water, which should be located above the pot. Here you should provide for the number of wicks for a certain size of the pot. So for a pot with a diameter of 10 cm, one wick is enough, and for a pot with a diameter of 25-30 cm, 3-4 wicks are needed for an adequate supply of water. This method is effective if the plants are left for 7-10 days.

Method four- If your plants are grown in pots with good drainage holes in the bottoms, then this method will work for you. An oilcloth is spread on the table (so as not to spoil the furniture), on it - a wide strip of any dense wool fabric(cloth, felt, an old baby blanket, batting folded in several layers, etc.), previously soaked in water. Pots with already watered plants are placed on the fabric (of course, without saucers). The end of the cloth should hang down from the table and fall into a large container of water placed slightly below the level of the table with the plants. The fabric is kept moist all the time and the plants receive water through the drainage holes in the pot. This method is effective if the plants are left for 10-20 days.

Method five - If you are leaving not for 7-10 days, but for 3-4 weeks, and more than once a year, then it would be advisable to purchase an automatic watering system. Now they are sold in any major city and represent a container with water, a set of thin tubes and program control, providing the inclusion of water supply at certain intervals, for example 2 times a day.

Of course, if you have cacti growing on your windowsills, then this article is unlikely to be necessary for you. But if you are the owner of more delicate plants, then it makes sense to think about extending their life during your vacation.

The first thing that may come to mind is the help of relatives, friends or neighbors who will drop by your house to water the flower pots in your absence.

But what if all the relatives also dispersed across the seas in, and you don’t trust your neighbors too much? What precautions can you take to save your pets from drought?
Photo: pixabay.com

You will either have to purchase an automatic watering system in a flower shop ... Or build it from improvised means.

Collect all the basins and shallow containers available in the house. Divide your plants into groups according to their moisture needs. Cacti and succulents can be left untouched, just water them and leave them in the same place, they will easily endure your weekly absence. Place the rest of the plants in basins, at the bottom of which a little water is poured. This is the easiest technique, but plants can become waterlogged and rot.

Consider another way: pots with plants are buried in wet peat. For this, a container will do. big size(including the bathtub). A waterproof foil is laid at the bottom of it, the container is filled with peat, so that it closes the pots with houseplants placed in it. Plentifully water the peat with water. This method is similar to when plants are buried in a garden.

The use of wick irrigation will be much more effective.. To do this, you will need a bucket of water and a thin wick (synthetic or cotton) or a thick natural woolen thread. Pass one end of the cord (thread) into each pot, water will flow through it. Place the other end in a bucket of water. For greater reliability, place the bucket above the level of the pot.

The wick is also sold in flower shops. One end of this thin cord is passed through the lower hole of the pot to the roots of the plants, in the process of transplanting the plant, and the other end into a large container of water (bucket or bath). When holding the wick, try not to disturb the fragile roots of the plants.

It is necessary to pay attention to next feature : if you are going to carry out wick watering of indoor plants on an ongoing basis, then you need to purchase special synthetic wicks from the flower shop (cotton wicks will quickly rot).

The wick should be well wetted, that is, have capillary properties. For wick, very moisture- and breathable substrates are used, for example, a peat-perlite substrate or mixtures based on sphagnum moss. If you use a dense substrate containing organic matter, it will retain water, which will negatively affect your plants.

Be sure to test the watering attachment before you go on vacation to troubleshoot and verify performance.

Plants in the house are good from all sides. They enrich the air with moisture and oxygen, some of the green pets are able to bind harmful compounds that enter the atmosphere. After all, they are simply beautiful. But without timely watering, our pets can die or get sick. Therefore, to ensure the watering of flowers during the holidays is the normal desire of every grower.

It is good if you have parents living nearby, grandmothers or just good friends who are responsible enough to be trusted with the care of the vegetation during the departure. In this case, you only need to explain to them how to water your pets, hand over the keys to the apartment and calmly go on vacation.

And if such good people not found, you have to organize the process yourself. Which, in principle, is not so difficult. Our savvy and generous people have come up with a lot of ways. Some are as simple as genius, others are more complex, but most will do what you want quite reliably.

Homemade systems

The simplest device is irrigation with wicks. The wicks must be made of a fabric that absorbs water well. One end of the wick is buried in the soil, the other is placed in a container of water, standing slightly above ground level in a pot. As the clod of earth dries, water will flow through the wick into the pot. If you travel a lot, place the end of the wick in the bottom of the pot when transplanting, threading it through the holes in the bottom.

• fill the bottle with water to the top;
• pierce a small hole in the lid and close the bottle;
• place the bottle neck down in the pot with the plant, slightly deepening it into the soil.

As it dries, the water will gradually flow out of the bottle, moistening the ground. You can make another very tiny hole in the bottom of the bottle if you need to increase the irrigation rate.

3 easy ways on video

Can be used to moisten the earth in pots ordinary medical droppers. One end is placed in a bottle of water, the other is stuck into the soil at the edge of the pot. If you will be absent for a short time, you can use the clamp that comes with the dripper to regulate the intensity of moisturizing. But with your long absence, the tube can be deformed up to the complete cessation of moisture entering the pot. In this case, it is better to adjust in another way, for example, use a smaller diameter needle. Another option is to put the end of the straw on a porous atomizer designed for aerating aquariums.

Swamp plants can be provided with comfortable conditions simply by placing a pot in a basin of water. This method is great, for example, for cyperus - the plant will also thank you. But if you leave less moisture-loving flowers like this, then they root system may suffer, starting to rot.

Tricky devices for automatic watering flowers from the store

In flower shops you can buy reliable and convenient systems allowing you to organize comfortable conditions for your flowers at the time of your departure. It should be noted that all of them are quite expensive, but they have high reliability at work.

This system consists of a narrow ceramic cone and a silicone tube. The cone is stuck into the soil, filled with water, closed, and the end of the tube is lowered into a vessel with water. Through the porous walls of the cone, moisture is gradually absorbed into the soil. As the water in the cone decreases, a new portion comes from the water container through the tube. Everything is simple and reliable. Cones come in two sizes, for small and medium pots - 11 cm in length, for large ones - 20 cm. Sold individually or in sets. The cost is about 300 rubles / piece.

This system allows you to make dosed watering for plants that need different amounts of water. Dosers are used for this. different color. The procedure takes place once a day, the system is powered by electricity. One device allows you to irrigate several pots. Depending on the configuration, it costs from 6.5 thousand rubles and more. Manufacturers give a guarantee reliable operation devices for 2 years.

The system is completely autonomous. The container holds 25 liters of water. You can serve several pots - up to 20, within 10-40 days. Battery operated, does not need to be connected to a water or electricity source. It costs about 6 thousand rubles.

Rain Smart

System Russian production, designed for dosed automatic watering of several flower pots. The volume of water is dosed within a wide range - from 50 ml to 3.5 liters at a time. You can adjust the frequency. The system is designed for 1-8 or 1-16 pots. Powered by electricity. On sale there are different delivery sets, differing in the volume of the vessel for water, the number of plants. It costs from 1.5 to 3 thousand rubles.

Pots with an interesting function

There are special pots, but flowers must be placed in them when transplanting, and several months before your departure. Such pots consist of several parts:

• the upper part is intended for the soil in which the plant is planted;
• middle part - separating, mesh;
• the bottom is a water tank.

The flowers are planted in the top pot, and at first you just water them as usual. After a few months, its roots sprout down through the mesh bottom. Now you can simply pour water into the lower tank, and the flower will absorb it with long roots.

Russian home craftsmen do something similar themselves, using pots of different diameters.

Cute devices for irrigating the land during the absence of the owners can be bought at flower shops. They look like multi-colored round cones. The reservoir is filled with water, a long spout is stuck into the ground. Water comes in as the soil dries up. Flaw - small capacity, so these balloons are only good if you're away for just a few days.

It is best if you transfer the flowers to automatic watering a week before departure, without leaving everything for the last few hours. During this time, you can adjust the intensity, calculate the amount of water that will be required in your absence.

It is better to remove all pots from the windowsills to a less lit place. Remove flowers and buds, excess leaves and shoots.

This will help reduce moisture evaporation. Water your plants well before leaving. Cacti and other succulents can do without moisture for quite a long time.

It is very important to ensure regular watering of indoor plants during your absence. It can be done different ways using professional tools and systems own production from improvised materials.

How to save flowers when you go on vacation

Before you leave home for a long time and ensure that the flowers are regularly watered with special devices, plants must be prepared in advance. To do this, it is recommended to carry out the following procedures:

1. Stop feeding 14 days before the holiday. After fertilization, plants need water to ensure better absorption of minerals.
2. Carry out partial pruning of leaves, buds, without damaging the flowers. So the evaporation of moisture will occur more slowly.
3. Carry out pest control, treat the flower, if necessary.
4. Put the pots in a darkened part of the room, away from the windows or draw the curtains. Reducing light, lowering temperature will reduce evaporation.
5. Move the pots closer together, gathering them into a compact group. So you create a microclimate where there will be high humidity.
6. Flowers that love high humidity, can be covered with polyethylene, securing it around the container with an elastic band. Suitable for small seedlings glass container.
7. Eliminate drafts by closing all doors and windows.
8. Water the plants before going on vacation, using more water than usual. It is important not to flood the flowers! For some indoor flowers, use the immersion method.
9. Clay pots can be overlaid with wet moss or wrapped with a damp cloth, and on top with polyethylene, after moistening the soil.
10. Create high humidity by laying a layer of gravel, expanded clay on the bottom of a large pot. Place a pot with a plant on top and pour water so that it does not touch the bottom of the container with a flower.

Ways to water plants

After preparing indoor plants, you can begin to organize automatic watering. The simplest and effective ways:

Wick method

To organize the watering of indoor flowers by the wick method, before leaving on vacation, you need to make a wick from fabric, bandage, gauze or woolen thread. One end must be placed at the bottom of the pot, brought out through the drainage hole in the container, and then the plant is transplanted. Place a container of water under the pot and lower the second end of the wick there.

If the transplant was not planned, you can organize wick watering of indoor plants in the absence of the owners in a different way. One end of the fabric (rope) must be placed on the surface of the pot, the substrate is poured on top, and the other end is lowered into a vessel with liquid located on a hill. The wick method is suitable for small flowers (violets, saintpaulias) and can always be used.

Watering through the drainage holes in the pot

Automatic watering of plants during a 20-day vacation can be arranged using a long piece of fabric (towels, thick batting, an unnecessary blanket). The stand for flowerpots is covered with a film, and a damp cloth is placed on top, one edge of which is lowered into a basin of water. Pots with well-watered plants are placed on top of the fabric on a stand. It is important that there are drainage holes at the bottom through which the flowers will absorb moisture.

Drip irrigation from a plastic bottle

The self-watering system from plastic bottles will provide plants with moisture for 15-20 days. To do this, you need to prepare containers with a volume of 1.5 and 2 liters and test the device before leaving on vacation to determine how much water each flower will need. To make a sprinkler, you need to do in the lid and bottom plastic bottle holes with a hot nail, thick needle or awl. Then pour the liquid, tighten the cork and immerse the bottle neck down into the flowerpot. Such a system is suitable for a constant supply of moisture to large plants.

Very effective automatic watering flowers in pots using a dropper tube. You need to remove the tip from it, place one end on the surface of the soil, and attach a weight to the second and lower it into a container of water placed on a hill. At in large numbers plants will need several of these tubes, which must be tied together at the point of attachment of the sinker. If you correctly adjust the flow rate of the liquid, indoor flowers will be provided with moisture for a long period. This watering pad is suitable for any plants.

Professional flower care products for the holidays

Video

Hooray! Finally the long awaited vacation. All thoughts are occupied with the upcoming trip. Just don't forget to take anything with you. And at some point it dawns on you “How to leave indoor flowers without watering for two weeks?”.

How many indoor flowers can be without watering.

There are no options with relatives and friends who find time to come and water home plants. It is not always possible to use the help of loved ones. Therefore, we are looking for other solutions on how to save indoor flowers when going on vacation.
Some types of indoor plants need daily soil moisture, and some flowers are able to endure a two-week drought.

• plants such as cyperus, calamus, azalea require a large amount of water.
• the soil should be constantly moist (but without stagnant water in the soil) for begonias, alocasia, calathea, lemon, oleander, ivy.
• ornamental houseplants should be watered when upper layer the soil in the pot will dry out a couple of centimeters. Dracaena, clivia, monstera, palm trees, syngonium, columna, aspidistra, aglaonema, it is important that the soil dries out between waterings.
• but before the next watering, the soil should dry completely at hippeastrum, gloxinia, zygocactus, crinium, caladium, philodendron. Cacti do not need moisture at all during the winter season.

Knowing how much moisture and how often your plants need it will give you an idea of ​​how long you can leave potted plants without watering. And if the question is in your absence for up to five days, then after watering the houseplants, you can safely leave and not worry about how to leave indoor flowers without watering.

Read Wikipedia about indoor flowers and their care.

How to save indoor flowers without watering.

If you leave home for two weeks, then we do not recommend leaving indoor flowers without moisture. Otherwise, upon arrival, you will have to re-buy your favorite plants.
There are two ways to protect indoor flowers during the holidays. One of them involves spending family budget and the other with minimal cost.
To risk leaving indoor flowers for a long time without watering, without any financial investment, you can do this:

• indoor plants need to be prepared for your absence. Leaving home is a joy for you, but stress for flowers.
• we carry out pruning of buds and blooming flowers. So we will help the plant not to waste its strength for flowering during the "separation" from you. Now they will direct all their forces to maintain their vital functions. Plus, you still won’t see the flowering itself.
• for this period, we reduce the moisture consumption of the plant by thinning the leaf mass. You will have to make a sacrifice, because indoor plants will lose their decorative effect. Some of them will take a long time to recover, but it's worth it.

indoor flowers in ceramic pots need more water than in plastic pots.

• we rearrange the pots with houseplants from the window sills to the floor. Preferably in the far corner of the room. This is necessary so that the plant receives less light and heat. Reducing the amount of light and heat leads to a decrease in the amount of moisture evaporated by flowers. And, as a result, the plant consumes it minimally. Upon your return, be mentally prepared for the fact that you will not recognize your home oasis. Without proper heat and lighting, indoor flowers will slow down their growth.
• We put pots with indoor plants close to each other. Thus, a mini-greenhouse is created, which will keep the humidity around and in the middle of it a little higher. The only thing I want to warn you about is that if you place indoor flowers in this way, you increase the risk of disease of all plants in the presence of an already sick one. After all, it is not always possible to immediately determine the presence of diseases or pests on any one flower. And then the affected flower will “reward” all other houseplants with the disease.

You can ensure the actual watering of indoor flowers on vacation as follows:

• put all home plants in a large bowl (basin, baby bath, pallet). Cover the bottom of such an impromptu pallet with a thick layer (at least five centimeters) of expanded clay. Fill the expanded clay up to half with water. And put flower pots on a wet layer. Fill the gaps between pots with expanded clay or cover with wet sphagnum moss.

sphagnum moss is a good accumulator of moisture. As needed, the plant takes moisture from the moss.

• to perfect the source of moisture for your indoor plants, we create a greenhouse. We cover all the flowers standing in the pallet with transparent plastic wrap. If there is no large piece of film, then you can create individual moisture keepers by putting on plastic bags for each plant. Make an exception only for plants with fleshy or pubescent leaves. Such as Saintpaulia, Pelargonium, Kalanchoe. Otherwise, they will rot or become moldy without regular ventilation.

if you are worried about the effectiveness of any method of watering indoor flowers during the holidays, then prepare cuttings of your favorite plants. Until you return, they will sprout roots in a jar of water.

We immediately warn you that after you return from vacation, you will need to remove the packages from the flowers gradually. Accustoming a houseplant to low air humidity and constant ventilation in open form, should be done within a week, then removing, then putting back the mini "cap".

if you can't find a potted plant tray, place plant pots in the tub.

• You can ensure a constant supply of moisture with the help of plastic bottles. To do this, we make small holes in the lids. Then we pour water into the bottles and place them upside down either on a pallet between pots of indoor plants, or directly into the pot itself. Leaking drop by drop, the water will moisten expanded clay, moss, or soil.

moisture through the holes in the cap of a plastic bottle immediately into the ground is good for large indoor flowers in tubs. For small plants, the bottle watering method is not suitable.

• many of you have heard about the following method. It consists in passive watering with improvised wicks. We twist the bundles of ropes, laces, woolen threads, bandages or cotton fabric. We lower one end of such a wick into a container of water, and stick the other into the ground. At the same time, the water container should be above the level of the flower pot. Due to the difference in capillary pressure, water will begin to flow to the plants.

for orchids during your vacation, an acceptable method of moistening is that the plant feeds on moisture from the bottom. A pot with an orchid is placed in a container, on the bottom of which you pour a little water and pour drainage.

Irrigation systems for indoor plants.

Watering indoor flowers while away can be entrusted to devices industrial production. Such systems will cost money. But the acquisition of such technologies will pay off at least by the fact that upon returning from vacation, you do not have to re-buy new indoor plants.

• autonomous watering systems for indoor flowers are called Aqua Globes. The simplest ones are a glass flask that is connected to a ceramic cone. The cone sinks into the soil to ensure uniform wetting of the earthen coma. The capillary-porous structure of the walls of the cone allows water to seep into the ground drop by drop.

before installing for indoor flowers, both homemade and industrial systems humidification, test the speed and volume of water supply. And then adjust the necessary "pressure". This is necessary in order not to flood the plants and prevent the soil from drying out.

• The Austrian Blumat system is distinguished by the fact that the lower part of the conical cone is made of special clay, which is able to react to soil moisture and independently maintain the necessary moisture in the ground. A thin hose is also connected to the cone, the other end descending into a container of water. As soon as the soil in a pot with a houseplant dries out, the system will begin to supply water drop by drop. The amount of water is regulated by the level at which the water container is located.
• for passive irrigation there are capillary mats on sale. Such hygroscopic mats are sold in garden centers and large supermarkets in the departments of houseplant care. The operation is very simple. Laying a pallet or even kitchen table with plastic wrap, place a capillary mat on top and place pots of indoor flowers on it. Dip one of the edges of the absorbent mat into a container of water. Water will saturate the mat, and houseplants can easily absorb moisture into the soil through the bottom of the pot.

by cutting the capillary mat into strips, you can use it as harnesses for passive irrigation.

Having picked up any of these ways of watering indoor flowers during your vacation, you will not leave your home oasis without life-giving moisture. And upon your return, the flowers will thank you with lush growth and flowering. Because they will miss you just as much as you do.

Video about do-it-yourself automatic watering methods