How to care for plants during the holidays

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The holidays begin and, before leaving, you have to organize the house to find everything in order when you return: a big cleaning and declutteringempty-the-fridge dinners and a plan for make sure that plants survive even on their own. In some apartment buildings, neighbors collaborate by moving all the pots up the stairs or into the yard and taking turns caring for everyone’s plants. The luckiest ones can count on the support of friends or relatives for checking and periodic watering. Abroad, there are even “plant sitter” services. However, most people have to resort to tricks and systems to avoid compromising the domestic flora during travel or summer vacation.

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PLANTS ON THE BALCONY: WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU GO ON HOLIDAY

Place plants in the shade and sheltered from sudden storms, leave the awnings down (but only if equipped with an automatic system that retracts them in case of wind or heavy rain) are just two of the easiest measures to adopt to take care of plants during the holidays. To maintain the right hydration of the soil there are various methods, from “artisanal” ones to drip irrigation systems; if instead you are away for just a few days one solution could be to take larger saucers where you can leave a few fingers of waterso that the soil and roots can absorb it slowly. Gardeners recommend starting to water the plants a little less 10 to 15 days before departure, thus encouraging the triggering of a mild vegetative rest, and proceeding with summer pruning especially on the taller plants and with the thickest foliage, for example oleanders or hydrangeas.

WHAT TO DO WITH HOUSEPLANTS WHEN LEAVING FOR HOLIDAY

In general, it’s always better bring houseplants outdoors during the summer, watering them more often than in winter. When you go on holiday, it would be good put them all in a room where the shutters are left upI opened the shutters, so that they have enough natural light. The watering methods can be the same as those used for pots on the balcony.