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By Citizen Reporter

Journalist


Daily hacks: How to keep your plants alive while on vacation

Going on vacation and have no one to look after your plants? Follow these tips and tricks to keep your plants alive while you are away.


Getting into the hobby of gardening and growing plants has many wonderful benefits, and spending time outside with nature has proven to be great for your physical health as well as your mental wellbeing.

Although being a plant parent may be super fulfilling, taking care of plants is a major responsibility as they require a lot of attention, tender love and care.

If you are planning on going on a vacation, or have to leave your home for a week or two for whatever reason, you do not have to worry about your plant babies as there are ways to prepare for your departure to ensure that your plants are still in a good and healthy condition when you return home.

Here are some tips and tricks from The Sill on how to keep your plants alive while on vacation:

Tweak the lighting and temperature

Plants usually thrive on natural lighting to grow and blossom into their most healthiest state.

When going on vacation, you should consider moving your plants into a cooler spot in your house that receives less natural lighting to slow down the growing process.

Once you have returned from your holiday, you can move your plants back into the sunlight where you can monitor them frequently.

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A pot plant situated in a more shaded and cooler area in the house. Picture: iStock

ALSO READ: Daily hacks: How to eat healthy on a tight budget

Hold off on using manure and fertilizer

If you often use fertilizer to help your plants grow, make sure you hold off on using it weeks before your trip.

You’ll want your plants to grow at a much slower rate as usually while you’re away, which will help your plants conserve energy and water for a week or two.

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Fertilizing your plants. Picture: iStock

Maintain moisture

If you plan on being away for a long time, you should water your plants frequently before you leave to ensure that they lock in all the moisture they can get to stay alive for however long you will be away for.

Let any excess water drain from your potted plant before you’re on your way, so the potting soil is moist but your plants are not sitting in a saucer of water

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Watering a plant. Picture: iStock

Prune your plants

Growing buds and flowers usually require a lot of attention and care which cannot be done when you are away from your plants.

Before leaving home for your trip, prune off all buds and flowers from your plants.

This will allow for your plant to grow at a regular pace, and will not need for you to frequently water it to keep the buds and flowers healthy.

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Pruning your plants. Picture: iStock

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