How to take care of your plants while on vacation

Everyone needs and deserves a holiday from time to time and taking vacations has a proven positive effect on physical and mental health and well-being. However, while your health thrives on holiday, you cannot let the health and well-being of your greens deteriorate while you are away. Otherwise, when you return you will come face to face with dull listless plants, or even worse, they may well be beyond help and repair. And while you could always purchase indoor plants online quite easily, let’s also help you maintain them when you’re tripping around the globe or out of station.

Water before you leave

Everyone agrees that watering your indoor and outdoor plants very deeply right before leaving is essential. We also recommend using soaker hoses and drip irrigation to deeply soak your plants as close to your departure as possible. To conserve moisture, add a few inches of mulch to the top of the soil as well. For indoor plants, we also suggest watering everything really well before you leave and placing your pots on a humidity tray. Make sure the pots are above the waterline; you’re not watering them this way but allowing the water to slowly evaporate and keep the air humidity at a level most indoor plants prefer. If watered deeply, most indoor plants do well for up to a week all by themselves.

Make the most of Shade

While your potted plants and hanging baskets may love to soak up the sun in general, they will appreciate a bit of shade when you aren’t able to water them for a few days. Shady conditions will help the soil stay moist longer, which is very helpful for potted plants since pots dry out much more quickly than the ground. Moving containers and hanging baskets onto a covered porch in the shade, where they are protected from the hot sun and wind but still have good air circulation is a smart idea. If only gone for a few days, the plants are generally fine unattended.

Prep beforehand

If you have the time before your vacation, a little planning and preparation can make a big difference. We recommend looking at the 10-day weather forecast to be aware of any predicted hot spells or storms. We also advise doing a bit of trimming, deadheading, and slug baiting if you can, so your garden is in top shape before you leave.

Forgo the fertilizer

If you occasionally use fertilizer, make sure to hold off on fertilizing your houseplants until you return from your trip. Do not fertilize your plants in the weeks prior to your departure. You’ll want your plants to grow as slowly as possible while you’re away, which will help your plants conserve energy and water.

Do some light pruning

In addition to pruning off any dead, dying, or unhealthy-looking foliage, you can prune off any buds and flowers, which usually require more frequent waterings to stay healthy. If you need an expert to come to give you a hand with this, Ultima Gardening is the best plant nursery in Mumbai which offers easy and affordable maintenance packages for even when you’re away.

Buy your Greens Online
Thanks to online nurseries like Ultima Gardening, it is now easier than ever to order plants online. Just head over to the website and shop away for your favourite greens, accessories, pots and planters, soil, and other things needed to have a successful and blooming balcony garden which can be completely procured online. They even deliver right to your doorstep healthy and happy plants within a matter of a few days from ordering and checking out online.