Going on Holiday. Tips Needed.

[migraineur]

Yo

I am going on holiday for about 10 weeks and I am worried about leaving my plants behind at my current place since the people whom I live with probably would not really care. I'm thinking of getting someone else to look after my cactus seedlings and various other young seedlings and young plants.

Can any of you who have experienced the same situation provide any advice so I can minimise loss or damage to my babies?

[whitewind]

Cacti seedlings might be alright in the shade, if they are small get big ziplock bags and drop the pot in, small bamboo stakes to hold the sides away and seal the top - should be okay if in the shade. Larger plants will probably survive drying out.

Your other plants and seedlings are much more problematic, you will need someone to water very regularly. I usually make sure everything is in a saucer and get them to water the saucer. Recently I made a large saucer for small pots by dropping large plant trays longways into a strong binliner which then provides two layers to hold the water. Filling this to halfway, if the plants are in the shade, will easily last for a week between watering. Trial it out for a couple of weeks before you go so you can be sure how it behaves in your area.

Other than that, pay a friend who cares about plants (very important this) and offer them some of your seedlings as payment. Make sure they have the time to do it too - maybe they could house-sit for a while too?

[quarterflesh]

set up sprinklers on a timer

[kadakuda]

setup good (prevent water loss and auto watering). nothing beats a good friend/family member. every vacatin i take (only 4 weeks, not 10!) i estimate i lose 5-20% of everything i grow due to not ahving it automated and lacking a human who can actaully handle watering for me. fidning someone who can kleep plants alive for long times is actually very hard to do sometimes.

[migraineur]

Yeah, I was thinking of offering someone some of the plants as payment but I'd have to find someone who's interested and capable. I'd be shattered if I lost my loph (caespitosa) seedlings. I already lost some the other year when wind blew over my mini greenhouse.

[planthelper]

give the plant sitter, individual instructions, which are located at each individual pot/plant.

move all plants/cacti/succulents, into a less demanding enviroment (shade or shade house), but if you do this, the care/instructions would change aswell, be aware of this! (for example, viridis in total shade will need far less water suddenly, compared to your normal routine).

probably the best, you move early and find out youreselfe first, how things have changed.

if plant show etiolation or stunned growth on return, it's still better than all dead.

unless your sitter is as good as you, expect losses.

if you have fish, make sure they don't over feed them. give exact instructions to the dot!!

[migraineur]

Thanks for the tips, guys. It's strange how attached we become to our plants. It's heart breaking to lose them after all of the hard work we've put into growing them, especially when you've grown them from seed and they take years to mature.