You’ve been busy planting and weeding and watering and generally making your garden a gorgeous and inviting space you enjoy. Everything is looking healthy and lush due to your diligent care but now you have a vacation on the horizon and, while you’re excited to get away, you’re also stressed about how it will affect your beautiful plants. Maybe you’ve even had nightmares of returning to withered plant corpses, collapsing in their prime as they tried to drag themselves to the nearest water source because of your neglect.
Take a deep breath. We’ve all felt this way. It’s the conundrum of the PNW gardener. Just when your flowers and tomatoes and squash are bursting with life, just when the weather has turned hot and dry and they need your attention the most, that’s when you can finally take a vacation.
You’re a good plant parent and you want to make sure your plants are well taken care of but you don’t need to stay home all summer. I talked to the people who have years and years of knowledge gleaned from experience: the Swansons’ team. They offered their best tips for keeping your outdoor and indoor plants happy and healthy while you’re away.
TLDR version: water everything as well as you can before leaving, move potted plants into the shade, and, if you’ll be away more than a few days to a week, it’s time to recruit a helping hand. But seriously, stretch that attention span a little and read the details of our expert tips. You’ll be glad you did.
Tip #1: Water, water, water (before you leave)
Keeping your plants well-watered while on vacation was the biggest concern that came up when I spoke to my teammates. Everyone agrees that watering your indoor and outdoor plants very deeply right before leaving was essential.
Paul, one of our tree and shrub experts, recommends using soaker hoses and/or 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. If you’re only going away for a few days, your garden beds should be just fine until you get back.
For indoor plants, our expert Barrie also suggests watering everything really well before you leave and placing your pots on a humidity tray (a shallow tray filled with pebbles and water). 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 (no need to do this with cacti and succulents). If watered deeply, most indoor plants do well for up to a week all by themselves.
Tip #2: The shade is your friend
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.
Our Perennial Plant Buyer, Katy, moves her containers and hanging baskets onto her covered porch in the shade, where they are protected from the hot sun and wind but still have good air circulation. She also soaks everything really well as close to her departure as possible. If she is only gone for a few days, the plants are generally fine unattended and if she will be gone longer, she’ll have someone come by to give them a good deep soak at least once a week.
Leslie, our General Manager, moves her hanging baskets to the shade and sets them in a saucer filled with water. The plants soak up the water from below as they need it and can last several days unattended this way.
Indoor plants can also benefit from shady conditions so you might want to close your blinds or curtains before you leave, Barrie says. Even houseplants that prefer full sun will be fine in the shade while you are away and will dry out less quickly.
Tip #3: Self-watering devices make great plant sitters
Self-watering devices work wonders for outdoor and indoor plants, and they don’t need to be complicated. If you will only be away a few days, they can take the place of a hired plant sitter or that obliging neighbor.
Michelle, one of our Perennials department experts, moves any potted plants (including plants she has purchased but hasn’t had time to plant yet) into the shade and, to make things as easy as possible for her plant sitter, she leaves buckets filled with water. The plant sitter can just dunk the pots into the buckets of water and let the plants soak up water until they are completely saturated, which should keep them healthy for a few days after the soaking.
Our graphic designer and pruning expert, Dan, recommends tree gators, which are large bags that, when set up next to a tree or shrub, slowly release water into the soil to keep it deeply watered. Gators are a must for newly planted trees and shrubs even when you aren’t away!
For indoor plants, Barrie says to consider using watering crystals or glass balls, which work in a similar way. Fill them with water and place them upside down in the pot where they will slowly release water as the soil needs it.
Tip #4: Take advantage of technology
Timers can really save you from worry when you are on vacation by starting and stopping sprinklers, soaker hoses, or drip irrigation on a schedule. If you only have one area that needs watering, you can set up a timer before you leave and voilà. Michelle moves her potted plants to an area with a sprinkler so they can also benefit from a timed watering.
If you have a large yard, you may still need a human to connect your hose to different areas but your helper will certainly be happier than if you had asked them to hand water everything daily! Make sure you familiarize whoever is helping you with your system so they know how to use the timer and how to turn off the water in case anything out of the ordinary comes up (leaks and floods are no fun, especially when you aren’t at home). Saijo, an expert in our Annuals and Edibles departments, recommends double-checking all your connections and batteries before you leave so you can have peace of mind on your vacation knowing your plants are being watered on a set schedule.
The technology of the thermostat is a great help for indoor plants. If she’s going away in the winter, Barrie turns the temperature down to 62-65 degrees to keep the house cool because the hot, dry air of the heater dries out indoor plants more quickly. In the summer, she moves her indoor plants into the coolness of the bathtub or shower and gives them a simultaneous soak and humidity spritz with cool water (note: remove dog from bathtub before turning on the water or you’ll have hell to pay).
Tip #5: Do a little plant-sitter training
We all know plants need regular water but did you know that when and how you water can make the difference between a healthy plant and a sad (or even dead) plant? Well of course YOU did, but your chosen plant sitter may not.
Our Annuals Buyer, Liane, suggests inviting your plant sitter to come over ahead of time for a tour of the garden/house so you can show them where your supplies are kept and what needs to be watered. Depending on your relationship, you could mention that the best times to water are early morning or later in the evening rather than midday, and you could demonstrate the watering techniques you learned from your friendly Swansons’ expert, whether that is simply connecting the hose to a drip system and setting a timer or hand watering a pot slowly and until water runs out of the bottom and the pot feels heavier. You don’t want to be pedantic or overly demanding, of course, but you do want them to feel comfortable and confident. It can’t hurt, as Saijo says, to pay your plant-sitter well and/or bring them back treats from your trip!
Tip #6: Prepare and share
If you have the time before your vacation, a little planning and preparation can make a big difference. Saijo recommends looking at the 10-day weather forecast to be aware of any predicted hot spells or storms. Dan advises doing a bit of trimming, deadheading, and slug baiting if you can, so your garden is in top shape before you leave.
Yours truly, as a veteran grower of vegetables and fruit, has a “prepare and share” tip for you: harvest what you can before you leave and eat it, store it, and/or share it with friends, neighbors, and most definitely with the person coming by to check on your plants. If you don’t have time or you’re growing a crop that needs to be harvested quite often, make the offer that whoever wants to come harvest while you’re away can enjoy the spoils. No one I know is turning down home-grown tomatoes anytime soon (zucchini… that might be another matter).
You are now ready to enjoy that vacation knowing your garden will welcome you back with leafy, fruit-laden arms. If you have questions or you’d like more detailed advice for your specific situation, please ask us in person or email us. We love sharing the knowledge of our years of study, collaboration, and trial and error. And don’t forget to send us a postcard!
