Plants are a vital necessity. They supply us with much needed oxygen while absorbing the carbon dioxide in the air. However, plants are also a popular hobby. People cultivate gardens to create a little spot of colour in the home or to live more organically, growing your own fruits and vegetables. But what happens if you’re going away on holidays or a long business trip? Here are some options for storing and caring for plants while you’re away.
Plant Relocation
There are services that will store your plants for you while you’re moving houses or need someone to care for them while you’re on holidays. Pot plants are watered and fertilised regularly and are also neatly numbered, labelled and recorded to make sure you get all your plants back safe and healthy.
Keeping Them at Home; Indoor Plants
If you would like to keep your plants at home, ask your friends or neighbours to pop in from time to time to water or fertilise your plants. Make sure it is someone your trust. Just remember to move indoor plants out of the path of direct sunlight. Placing your plants behind sheer curtains is ideal, as your plants will still receive some of the light they need.
Keeping Them at Home; Outdoor plants
Some of your outdoor plants might be extra sensitive and without your care, they might wither away. One trick to reduce this risk is to keep them in a white plastic bag. Use stakes as makeshift tent poles in order to keep the plastic off of the plants, and cut small holes out of the bag so that your plants can breathe.
Another trick is to bury your pot plants to the rims while you’re away and place mulch around them to help get more nutrients from the ground. You can also cluster them together so that they’re protected from the wind. This will also help to conserve water as they will be watered together and not individually, whether it be through outdoor water storage tanks or a friend or neighbour.
Taking the Bulbs Out
Sometimes flower bulbs can’t stand the winter chill, so you might have to store them for the duration of the season. To do this, simply dig the bulbs from the ground and remove any dead or decomposed material around the bulbs. Leaving this on increases the chances of decay and rot while in storage. Then bury it in a container of sand, foam pellets or shavings. These materials will allow for the bulbs to breathe while also keeping them dry and free from rot. Try not to let them touch as this will increase the chances of rot occurring. Store the containers in a cool and dry location before replanting them after the chilly season ends.
Watering your Plants While Away
When you’re travelling for a shorter period of time, you can use gadgets like watering bulbs. These are buried with your plants and release water when needed. However these can be quite expensive so you might want to save them for plants that are more sensitive and need more care than others. Another cheaper solution is to layer a ceramic tub with bricks, pour in water till the bricks are barely submerged and lay your plants on top of these bricks. You don’t want your plants to be fully submerged either, as this could lead to root rot. However, lying them on top of the bricks will allow them to drink when needed without being drowned.
Plants, whether they are inside or outside, are a great hobby to have. But they shouldn’t stop you from travelling. With these tips, your plants will continue to grow while you adventure out and see all the flowers the world has to offer!
