The problem of watering indoor flowers during the holidays is familiar to many. Going on vacation with your family, you need to entrust someone with the care of pets.

It’s good if there is one of the relatives who understands at least something in indoor plants and can water it properly. Or at least just water occasionally so that they don’t dry out at all.

But almost always, upon returning from a trip, you have to count the losses - it dried up without water, its roots rotted from excessive watering, something was broken, something was crushed.

And if there are no relatives or close friends ready to take on the responsible mission of caring for your indoor plants?

If you are leaving for a month or more, then you cannot do without a special automatic watering system.

Now they are sold in any city and are a water tank of a certain size, a set of thin tubes and a control system that provides water from the tank at the right intervals. You set how often and how much to water, and you can safely leave. But in order to avoid unwanted surprises, it is better to try how it works before the holidays.

And if there is no automatic watering system, then you have to come up with different tricky ways to water the plants during the holidays. It should be said that all these tricky ways are good if you are away for 1~2 weeks. If more, then how lucky!

There are several ways to provide plants with water on holiday.

Method 1. Grandma's old way. Water the plants abundantly so that the earthen lump is completely saturated with water. Put the pots on pallets or in wide basins of water, so that the bottom of the pot is in the water (shallow). It is even better to pour small pebbles or coarse sand into the pan and place the plants, slightly deepening.

This method of watering during the holidays is suitable for undemanding plants, which tolerate both excess moisture and overdrying (chlorophytum, geranium, balsam, chamedorea palm, sansevieria, crassula).

Method 2. Use a plastic bottle. Water the plant well. Take a plastic bottle with a cork, heated on fire with a thick needle (you can use an awl, knitting needle) to make two holes - one in the cork, the other in the bottom. Pour water into the bottle and secure it with the neck down. Water will constantly flow out drop by drop and moisten the soil. So it is better to water large-sized plants.

Be sure to try this method some time before departure: take several different bottles, punch holes, set the neck down in any tall dish (each separately) and see how much water drips from each of them per day. If you choose the right bottle for each plant, then the problem of watering during the holidays will be optimally solved.

Method 3. Wick watering. This is a common method of constant watering for some plants, in particular Saintpaulias (violets). The essence of the method is that the pot with the plant constantly stands on a vessel with water, in the soil under the plant one end of a synthetic cord is laid in a ring, its other end is lowered into a vessel with water through a drainage hole. The cord should absorb water well. Water wets the cord along its entire length, rising from the vessel into the pot and moistening the soil.

This method of irrigation is suitable for small plants and requires their preliminary transplantation into a pot with a wick.

But this method can also be used for temporary watering for the holiday period. To do this, a synthetic cord that absorbs water well is taken or a tourniquet is twisted from a strip of fabric. One end is placed on the surface of the earth in a pot (preferably sprinkled with a little substrate), and the other is lowered into a bucket of water. It is better to place the bucket above the pot (then the wicks do not dry out). Usually plants are placed on the floor, and a bucket of water on a stool.

It is important to test this method on each plant in advance. Some plants need several wicks, others only one. This method of watering is good for 10 days of vacation.

The same method is used to moisten a pallet with pots placed in sand or peat.

Minus - sometimes in hot weather the wicks dry up and water does not flow to the plants.

On sale you can find ready-made wick systems for irrigation, consisting of a tank of water, a wick and a porous ceramic rod for immersion in the soil.

Method 4. Use hydrogel. A hydrogel is a polymer that can absorb water in very large quantities and then slowly release it to plants. It is sold in granules.

The polymer is soft, colorless, absorbs water quickly and is designed to be added to the soil. Indoor plants planted in a hydrogel substrate are rarely watered. It is good enough to water the flowers before the holidays, and you can not worry for a week or even two. They won't rot, and they won't dry out. Minus - plants must be planted in advance in such soil.

You can also use decorative Chinese hydrogel in the form of colored balls.

Pre-wet the granules for 6-8 hours. When swollen - pour into pots on top of the substrate and cover with moss on top. The balls will gradually release moisture into the soil. If the plants have a non-surface root system, then you can mix the top layer of soil with hydrogel balls.

If your vacation is a joy, then for indoor plants this is a serious test.

Before leaving, try to make sure that they get through the parting painlessly and meet you green and blooming.

The most serious problem that the flowers will experience during your vacation is the lack of water. You can solve it by buying special devices. The simplest is powered by a Krona battery and has a reservoir for irrigation. This should be enough for 2-3 weeks. If you don’t need additional expenses before your vacation, you can do without store equipment.

Eight tips on how to prepare plants for prolonged loneliness.

1 Remove the flowers from the windowsill or close the curtains more tightly. The less light, the slower the life processes in plants, which means they will need less moisture.

2 Water the soil well so that it is saturated with water. The pot can be wrapped with a damp newspaper, and on top also with cellophane. This will reduce moisture loss.

3 Small plants should be covered with plastic or glass caps, bottles, but so that their edges do not extend beyond the pot and let air through from below. Evaporating water will condense on the walls and drain back into the ground.

4 You can place a clay pot in a larger plastic one, and fill the space between the walls of the pots with expanded clay, abundantly moistened with water.

5 Take a plastic bottle, fill it with water for irrigation and pierce the cork with an awl heated over a fire or a thin knitting needle. The same hole must be made at the bottom of the bottle. Then put it in a pot with the neck down, deepening it into the ground by 2-3 cm. Water, flowing out drop by drop, will moisten the soil for a long time. But such "bottle" watering requires a preliminary check. The holes may be too large, and then the soil will be waterlogged. Or, conversely, the water will flow out too slowly. Pick up optimal size holes can only be trial and error.

6 You can collect the pots in a basin and put in the bathroom. Plants will stay fresh for a long time if the bottom of the basin is covered with a well-absorbent pad (felt, rug), and then several layers of newspapers are placed. Open the faucet so that water flows out of it drop by drop. Just do not forget to leave the drain open, otherwise the neighbors will not be flooded for long. However, this method is not suitable for flowers that can not do without sunlight for a long time.

7 Effectively moistens the soil and such a "plumbing system": a woolen thread or bandage is dropped from one end into the ground in a pot, and the other end is lowered into a container of water, which should be located above the pot. You can also use wicks from any fabric that conducts water well. It is only important to consider the size of the pot. For a small one, one connecting “pipe” is enough, and for plants located in containers of a larger diameter, several threads or wicks will be required. If the plant is not afraid of waterlogging, you can use this method of watering to place the pot in a plastic bag and seal it on top with tape.

8 For plants that are grown in pots with good drainage holes in the bottoms, the following method can be used. Lay an oilcloth on the table (so as not to spoil the furniture), on it - a wide strip of any dense, well-moistened fabric (cloth, felt, gabardine rug, old children's blanket). Place pots with already watered plants on the fabric. The end of the cloth should hang off the table and drop into a large container of water placed just below the plants, such as on a high chair. In this case, the fabric lying on the table will not dry for a long time, and the plants will receive water through the drainage holes of the pot.

Remember that all these methods are designed for a maximum of three to four weeks of your absence. If you have to leave for a longer period, then you can’t do without complex store-bought automatic watering systems. However, they can be successfully replaced by neighbors or relatives.

5-7 days before departure, carefully check if the plants are affected by pests and diseases. Remove from the plant all dried and disease-damaged shoots and leaves, as well as large buds and flowers. Treat diseased plants with the appropriate preparations.

It is better to cut off too large leaves.

Plants should be placed in a lit place, but not in the sun.

Close both doors and windows so that there are no drafts in the room where the plants will remain.

2-3 weeks before departure, stop all types of top dressing.

If you leave the plants in a tray of water, place the flower pots on a raised rock or wooden stand to keep the roots warm.

Flowers in ceramic pots tolerate "separation" better than those that live in plastic containers.

The most unpretentious

Tradescantia, begonia, dracaena easily tolerate a temporary lack of moisture. But in a week they will want to "drink".

Aloe, agave, euphorbia comb well tolerate temporary "droughts" and love sunlight, so it is better to leave them in a room on the windowsill, having previously watered well or provided with drip irrigation.

Palm trees and ficuses that live on the balcony, it is better to bring them into the room during the holidays. And also provide drip (or other) irrigation. Of course, they are also unpretentious to moisture, but they can get sick in three weeks of your absence.

Method one- Plants are watered abundantly, so that the earthen ball 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, larger one, 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 the lower part of the pot is 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, or 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 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.

Method three- A wick is twisted from a bandage or a strip of cloth, 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 is a wide strip of any dense woolen fabric (cloth, felt, an old children's 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 are a container of water, a set of thin tubes and a software control that turns on the water supply at certain intervals, for example, 2 times a day.

Sometimes a seemingly insignificant problem may arise that can create certain difficulties and slightly spoil the mood before such a long-awaited and desired vacation. We are talking about watering flowers and other house plants during your absence. For people who are not interested in floristry, this circumstance seems not worthy of attention, however, for amateur flower growers who put their whole soul into plants, this can be a big problem - our article is for them.

Before leaving, you should carry out a number of procedures that will help to significantly reduce the need for watering plants during your absence:

1. Flowers should not be fed later than two weeks before your departure. Flowers need water after feeding for better absorption of minerals.
2. Just before leaving, cut off the flowers, buds and leaves (not all, but so that the green mass noticeably decreases, but without prejudice to decorative look). A large amount of greenery contributes to the rapid evaporation of moisture.
3. Review each plant for diseases and pests - if you find a problem, take action.
4. Move flowers to a shaded part of the room, away from windows. Lower illumination and, accordingly, air temperature contribute to less evaporation.
5. Gather all your plants into a compact group by sliding the pots. In this way, you will create a microclimate with high humidity.
6. Just before leaving, water all the flowers with a little more water than you usually do (but do not fill it in), it is recommended to use the immersion method for individual plants.
7. An excellent solution would be to overlay the pots with wet moss.

Important! Plants in ceramic pots require more frequent watering than those in plastic pots.

Watering while on vacation

There are enough ways to water plants in the absence of owners. Quite a few various devices industrial production are presented on the market. But, taking this or that method as a basis, you can independently make a completely effective device that will replace you during your vacation.

Wick method great for some plants (for example,) as permanent way glaze. Its essence is this: before planting a plant, a wick is placed on the bottom of the pot, folding it in the form of a spiral. The end of it is brought out into the drainage hole, and from there into a container of water.

In our case, we can resort to a slightly modified method: we put several wick rings in a spiral on the surface of the soil around the flower, sprinkle with soil on top. We lower the free end into a container of water located above the level of the plant. Pay attention to the neck of the container: if you leave for a long time, and the neck is wide, the water may evaporate.

Watering from a funnel

There are ceramic cones (funnel) - such gadgets are sold both with and without a liquid reservoir. Water in this case comes from a separate container.

The tip of the funnel is made of a special material based on clay, which gives off water depending on the moisture content of the substrate where it is inserted.

Depending on the height of the position of the reservoir with liquid in relation to the pot with the plant, the rate of water supply changes.

Did you know? purifies the air in the room, harmonizes the general aura. However given plant has a negative biofield - make sure that the flower is not near the bed. But he will feel great in the kitchen: chlorophytum is able to absorb up to 70% of carbon monoxide.

Watering through drainage holes

The method is as follows:

1. It is necessary to water the plants well, and then put them in a wide container, for example, a basin.
2. At the bottom of the container, you need to pour 2-3 cm of water and pour a layer of expanded clay (10-14 cm, water it well) around the flower pots.
3. The containers should be without stands, therefore, in order to avoid freezing of the root system, make sure that the pots are on the expanded clay layer, without directly touching the water.

Keep in mind: there are certain risks in using this method - even if there are pests on one flower, they can infect other plants.

The method is especially good for flowers in clay pots and in ceramics. In order for it to show the greatest efficiency, the soil in flowers should be covered with a layer of moss. In this case, the plant can freely, without any shocks, transfer up to three weeks without owners. You can also supplement this method with drip or wick irrigation.

There is also a capillary mat for drip irrigation. This is a hygroscopic mat made of a special material, which is placed on a layer of garden film, its edge is lowered into a container of water, and pots with plants are placed on it, of course, without pallets.

Important! Do not purchase capillary geotextiles for home use: they are made from recycled waste and are intended for industrial use.

Drip irrigation

There are a large number of varieties of this method, below we will talk about the simplest, but quite effective and popular:

1. Make it in traffic off plastic bottle holes, fill the bottle itself with water and hang the cork down. It is necessary to calculate so that water drips from a height of 6-8 cm with a frequency of 1 drop in 20-30 seconds. This should be done in advance so that the system is ready and adjusted for your departure.
2. You can stick a bottle with a cork with holes in the ground. This method requires careful adjustment. If you are going to resort to it, experiment in advance with the diameter of the hole and, accordingly, the speed of the water supply. Try to measure (by the amount of water that has left the bottle) how much moisture the plant received in 1, 2, 3 days, and whether the soil is sufficiently moistened.
3. A more complex system can be made using droppers: one end of the dropper is lowered into a container located above the level of the plant, the other (needle) is near the plant. The advantage of this method is that you can regulate the supply of moisture.
4. A method similar to the previous one, only natural threads or strips of fabric are used instead of droppers. In this case, it is not possible to regulate the supply of moisture, but it is believed that the plant itself takes the amount of water it needs.

Video: how to organize drip irrigation for indoor plants

A hydrogel is a polymeric substance that absorbs water in quantities many times its own weight. The data differ, but in various sources the proportion of the weight of the gel to the mass of absorbed moisture is from 1:100 to 1:250. This substance absorbs water, and then gradually frees itself from it, giving it to flowers.

The hydrogel is available in the form of granules. There are also products with fertilizers in the market. Their manufacturers claim that the effective service life of such pellets is 35–50 months.

Before you leave your plants unattended, soak the hydrogel in water for 8 hours. After that, put the swollen gel on the soil and cover with moss. In the event that the roots of the plant do not come to the surface, you can lift the top three-centimeter layer of soil and put the substance under it.

Did you know? Popularity is due to its pronounced antibacterial properties. Almost all anaerobic bacteria (streptococci, staphylococci) are afraid of this flower, just likemosquitoes and flies insummer time. It is widely used in medicine - not only folk, but also traditional.

Alternative Methods

Of course, do not forget about such options: take the flowers to friends during your absence or ask someone to come in for watering. Circumstances may arise here when the person to whom you entrusted the care of your flora wants to play it safe and flood the plants. Not everyone understands that sometimes excess moisture is worse than its lack. You should explain this in detail to a potential assistant, but do not overdo it so as not to scare the person with responsibility.

You can try to find a person who professionally takes care of flowers, for example, via the Internet: there are enough offers in this segment of the service sector. Or you can try to negotiate with someone you know not on a monetary basis, but in exchange for a return service - to look after the flowers during their vacation.

Video: watering flowers during the holidays We looked at the basic techniques and methods that allow you to water your flower garden during the holidays. If you decide to make the device yourself, we remind you once again that it is better to test and configure it in advance. If you want to invite a person from outside for a responsible procedure, you should once again consider the safety of this method.

For several years I have been using primitive and effective method"automatic irrigation". I put a stand next to the plant at the height of the pot, fill a container with water with a 3l jar, 5l canister, depending on the volume of the pot and the plant's need for watering. I cut a ribbon, approximately 1 cm wide, from pure wool fabric (cotton, bandage is possible) and 1 m long. The ribbon is well wetted (soaked) with water, lowered completely into the container and immediately pulled out to the desired length, placed around the stem ring. The irrigation system is ready. Do a test run before using it. By using different widths of fabric strips, you will achieve a certain amount of water supply. Make sure that the strip touches the bottom in the container.

The plant is installed in a basin on a stand 5-10 cm high, in which case excess water will drain to the bottom of the basin. Use the tape (wick) for no more than 3-4 weeks, salinization (contamination) of the pores (fibers) of the fabric occurs.

You are going to leave home for vacation, May holidays, New Year Or just visiting another city? Great prospects for a change of scenery are always accompanied by two problems: what to do with a cat (cat, dog, birds and other animals) and who to ask to water indoor flowers and potted plants.

If you intend to ask neighbors, relatives or loved ones to water your flowers during the holidays and vacations, consider whether it would be convenient to limit other people's rest and free time to your concerns.

Watering indoor plants

All types of indoor plants and flowers should be watered at least once a week. without watering can dry out, because the roots of plants cannot reach ground water in deep soil layers. Plants grow and develop using water and sunlight, which are involved in the process of photosynthesis, allowing plants and flowers to grow and develop.

Plants that do not require watering include only cacti and certain types of desert flora. During the existence of plants in desert and semi-desert zones, they have learned to evaporate less moisture even at high temperatures and bright rays of the sun, so these plants do not need to be watered very often.

If it happened that all the leaves of the plant dried up, but the roots remained alive, then the pot should be placed in partial shade and the rhizome should be watered a little so that it comes to life again.

What water is suitable for watering indoor flowers and potted plants

Water for watering plants can be taken directly from the tap. Tap water is hard, so the water should stand for several hours at room temperature before watering. Heavy metals in tap water, indistinguishable to human vision, collect at the bottom, so after the water has stood, never empty the water from the tank completely - always leave a few centimeters of water with precipitation at the bottom.

Dip one end into a container of water (to the bottom), and fix the other inside the soil in each pot. As long as there is water in the container, the cotton strips, according to the laws of physics (using surface tension), will help keep the soil in the pot moist.

The disadvantage of this method is the need to select several containers (for three flowers, 1 liter of water per week will be enough), as well as the danger of the soil drying out in case of a long absence (after the water runs out).

3)3. Flower flasks are very popular and can be bought or made by hand from a suitable bottle, jar or medical dropper.

3.1.Pour water into the bottle, put a rubber cap from a regular pipette on the neck. Make a small hole in the cap for water.

Insert a bottle of water into the ground upside down - the bottle will be upside down with a neck in the ground. Ground resistance will not allow water to flow out immediately completely, and your houseplants and flowers in pots will be supplied with the required amount of water at the time of departure. If it is difficult to find a rubber pipette tip, then you can make small holes directly in the bottle cap so that water can gradually flow out through them.

You can also attach the tubes to a large, for example, five-liter bottle, which must be placed above the plants. The tubes in the bottle can be fixed, if necessary, with ordinary electrical tape.

3.2. Take a medical dropper and hang over each flower pot separately. You will need as many droppers as there are flower pots in your home, and additionally consider the system for attaching droppers above each of the flower pots separately.

3.3. Take a three-liter jar, a cotton towel and a plastic tray. Lay a towel on the tray, pour water into the jar and close the neck of the jar with the towel tray in such a way that the side with the towel touches the neck of the jar (see example 3 in the figure).

Press the tray firmly against the neck of the jar and turn the structure with the jar upside down. Gradually, the cotton towel will be saturated with water from the jar. Place flower pots on a towel without lower saucers so that the hole at the bottom of the pot is on the towel. The edges of the tray will not allow water from the towel to drain onto the floor, and the roots of plants through the hole will be able to receive moisture in the required amount. This method is not suitable for plants growing in pots (for example, watering orchids).

A simple and inexpensive way is complicated by the process of fixing the bottle and can of water upside down, the need for a large number of droppers, and the limited amount of water in the bottle, jar, flask or dropper, which may not be enough for the entire time of departure.

4)4. The effect of a closed system of the water cycle can be created using a transparent plastic bag: close open ground in a pot in a bag (you can put a few pebbles on top to hold the bag tighter), and put a larger bag on top.

Polyethylene will slow down the evaporation of water, and the evaporated moisture in the form of droplets will begin to settle on the walls of the bag and again serve as a source of moisture for plants. The package must be transparent so that sunlight can penetrate the plants and maintain its strength. This method is suitable for leaving for a few days (no more than a week), and only for small plants (because it is rare to find large plastic bags).

5)5. Aquaground is a transparent or colored hydrogel soft balls, which are composed of collagen. Collagen, when in contact with water, absorbs it and holds it inside.

Aqua-hydrogel is used for bouquets of cut flowers: multi-colored balls look very nice in a transparent vase, turning an ordinary bouquet of flowers into the main decoration of the interior. Aqua soil can be scattered on the surface of the earth in a pot, there will be enough moisture for a week of absence. After drying, the balls of aqua-hydrogel can be used again by putting them in water.

Her Majesty's Gardeners hope their advice will help you keep your potted plants and flowers healthy and beautiful!