The Gardener’s Notebook
A summer holiday doesn’t need to be death of your plants, says George Hudson, if you follow these few simple lifesaving steps
Taking time out of London over summer? Me too. But what about your plants? If you’re anything like me you’ll have made the mistake of coming home to a collection of dead sticks. Add plants to the end of your packing list and follow these steps to keep your garden lush while you enjoy the sunshine.
Indoor plants
If you are away for only a couple of days, most indoor plants will cope. The main threat to their existence is drying out. Flats can get really hot if the windows are closed, but it’s not realistic to leave them open while away.
Instead, work out somewhere bright in your home but ideally out of direct sunlight. This might be the middle of the room or a corner. Cluster plants together in that area on their saucers or in their decorative pots and water them well. If you are away for a couple of weeks this should keep most plants happy. A few leaves might go yellow; it happened to my Sparmannia recently. This is the plant prioritising leaves nearest to light but don’t worry, healthy plants will soon grow new leaves.
Some indoor plants require a little more moisture. I’ve got two Tassel ferns (Huperzia) at home. They are ferns that look a lot like a conifer and are endemic to the tropics. If they dry out even slightly they’re toast, so I water them using the super simple wick method. All you need is a strip of cotton from an old T-shirt or a piece of garden twine (needs to be natural fibre), and a container of water. Tuck the fabric into the pot and let the other end fall into the water. Very slowly, the water will travel from the container via the cloth to the pot, through osmosis.
Outdoor plants
Plants in the ground should be okay for a couple of weeks, unless they’re newly planted. Give them a really good soak before you go and ideally add a layer of mulch around the roots to lock in moisture. Potted plants are likely to struggle more — try to move them to a spot that doesn’t get sun all day. If pots have holes in the base or are terracotta, they can be placed in a tray of water for a couple of weeks with no ill effects. Or use the wick method outside.
Failing all this, you can always ask your neighbour.