Keeping Houseplants Alive and Happy When You’re Away Is Easier Than You Think

Again, for most weeklong (or so) vacations and most drought-tolerant plant varieties—such as pothos, aloe, snake plants, rubber plants, bromeliad, and cast iron plants—you don’t need to do anything special for your houseplants while you’re gone.

However, if you have fussier plants in need of more hydration—or you’re worried your space is too dry, or you don’t have room to relocate all your plants off your windowsills—you can rig up a simple irrigation system to provide water in your absence in a way that doesn’t lead to drowning.

Cutsumpas is a fan of plant spikes (like these from Plant Nanny that we recommend in our guide to creating a houseplant starter kit) that fit any long-necked bottle full of water, releasing it at a steady trickle into your houseplant’s soil.

“I find them to be the best solution, because the water can’t go anywhere until the soil goes dry, so the process is very slow and gradual,” he said. “They allow the plant to soak up water at its own pace. Plus, they’re going deep down into the soil rather than watering from the top, which cuts down on the risk of fungus gnats.” (Fungus gnats tend to make camp in the top inch or two of a houseplant’s soil, he added.)

While plant spikes are usually great for larger potted plants, smaller pots may topple over if you try to anchor an entire bottle of water into their soil. Instead, consider these tinier, mushroom-shaped glass globes, which work in the same way as the plant spikes, suggests associate staff writer Ellen Airhart, one of our in-house plant experts. Just fill them up with water, poke a chopstick or other small stick into the dirt at an angle, then slide the globe in. Before you leave for your trip, check the stem for pieces of soil or perlite that might block the water’s flow.

If your plants live in porous terracotta pots, you could also just place them, pots and all, in a bowl of water while you’re gone. While this isn’t Cutsumpas’s preferred method, it does have the benefit of being easy and free (so long as you have enough bowls for all your pots). If you go this route, he suggested only submerging the bottom third or so of the pot in water, so that it has a chance to draw up hydration as needed, instead of being inundated with water from top to bottom.