| The first thing
to keep in mind, as always, is that plants will
do better if they get too dry than if they are
kept too wet. If you are going away for ten
days and you usually water your plants weekly,
just manipulate your watering schedule so you
water them on the day that you leave. Give the
plants a little extra water, and then forget
about them until you return. When you get back
the plants may be quite dry & even be drooping
a little. Although this isn’t good on
a regular basis, once in a while it won’t
do much harm. When you water after a vacation
& the plants are extremely dry, never use
fertilizer. This will burn the dry roots. Now
would be a great time to use an excellent product
called SUPER
THRIVE. This is a plant stimulant not a
fertilizer; and can be used in conjunction with
a fertilizer when you are feeding your plants.
Super Thrive works best with dry soil. I recommend
it for plants that have been stressed, new plants
that are getting acclimated, and sick plants
that don’t seem to be growing well. Two-ten
drops per gallon of water are all that you need.
If you are going away for longer than 10 days,
there are several ways of caring for your plants;
some are good, some are bad. Please email me
anything that has worked for you. I love getting
new suggestions to share. (judy@foliageunlimited.net)
1. Have a friend come over to your house and
take care of your plants (while he or she is
emptying your mailbox). This ranks at the very
bottom of my list of recommendations. First
of all your friend knows nothing about the specific
needs of your plants. He or she, in an effort
to do a really good job will probably over water
the plants; they’ll never recover; and
you’ll have to buy all new plants. Plus
you’ll be angry but can’t say anything
because your friend was doing you a favor
2. I knew one woman who would fill her bathtub
with a little water and let the plants sit in
the tub absorbing water while she was gone.
This is not a bad idea; but will only work if
you have a few small plants or a tub the size
of a swimming pool.
3. How about this one, puncture a hole in the
top of water bottle & quickly turn it upside
down onto the soil of the plant. The water is
supposed to slowly leak into the soil. Whenever
I try this, whether on inside or outside plants,
the water never seems to drip out slowly enough.
4. Fill the drip saucers under each plant
with water. The plant will absorb the water
from the bottom, as needed, through the holes
in the grower’s pot. I know I told you
to always water thoroughly from the top to rinse
out salts that have built up in the soil. But
every once in a while, watering from the bottom
won’t cause that much damage. Be sure
there is no fertilizer in the water; the soil
certainly won’t need any extra salt. This
method has worked well for me.
5. My final suggestion, if you are willing
to spend a little money, works the best. There
is a product called Dri Water, A 2” gel
pac (it resembles a roll of bulk sausage) works
well on pots from 4”-12”. It provides
water to the plant for up to 30 days, depending
on the size and water requirements of the plant.
For larger pots I sometimes use 2 of the Dri
Water gel pacs. All you have to do is lay the
opened pouch on the soil & leave for vacation.
The cost for a 2” gel pac is about $2;
well worth it considering the cost of plant
replacement.
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