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Should I leave my container rose etc indoors while on vacation?

3 years ago

We have a deck garden with a rose, kale, herbs, Cestrum and others in containers. They love the sunny deck but need regular water (almost every day in this very hot Chicago summer). We will be gone on vacation for-10 days. I can ask a friend to water the plants, but not every day. If I bring these plants inside and leave them near a sunny window, I could probably get away with asking my friend to water them twice in this 10-day period (based on my experience keeping the tropicals inside in winter). Do you think these Sun-loving plants will suffer too much being inside for this period? The house will probably be around 80 deg F. Thanks for your time and advice!

Featured Answer

Vinod
Original Author

3 years ago

Thanks for the tips everyone. I didn't have the luxury of watering the plants every day, so I did end up taking the rose indoors, in front of the south-facing bay window. I set the container on a tray where excess water could collect. My friend watered it twice in 10 days. The rose made it, and looks pretty intact! It dropped some older leaves, which may be due to reduced sunlight rather than water, and seems to be doing okay now that it is back out in full sun. I will update if I find any further damage.

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Comments (9)

Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR
3 years ago
I would find someone to water them every day outside while you are gone, so the plants don't interrupt their routine. That way you won't worry. You could put them in saucers and have the friend overwater them, leaving a couple of inches of water in the saucers to stretch out the trips over there to water. Someone must want to help you. We would all do it if we were in Chicago.
Vinod thanked Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR
Kristine LeGault 8a pnw
3 years ago
When we went on vacation I filled the kiddie pool with a little water and stuck in as many pots as I could
Vinod thanked Kristine LeGault 8a pnw
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flowersaremusic z5 Eastern WA
3 years ago
Could you pay a neighbor child to water for you? Most elementary age kids would be thrilled to earn a few dollars, and it's something they could easily handle.
Vinod thanked flowersaremusic z5 Eastern WA
mjkjrobinson
3 years ago
Good idea leaving the plants in kiddie pool,what a great idea!
Vinod thanked mjkjrobinson
seil zone 6b MI
3 years ago
Take empty soda pop bottles, punch or drill a hole in the cap, fill with water and invert into the pot soil. They last for quite a few days and your waterer just needs to fill them back up a couple of times while you are gone. Saucers or the pool may be fine for some plants but not for roses. And roses HATE being indoors.
Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR
3 years ago
Here in the dry heat (103 F today) roses can have a saucer or pool because it dries up so fast they never get a chance to rot. In Alaska, I could have left roses for a week without problems.
mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
3 years ago
When I used to root roses, the only way I could keep them watered was to keep them in a baby pool. The biggest issue I had was throwing other plants in with them that couldn't handle the wet as well as roses. They could go weeks sitting in water without issues. However, the usual routine was to put a couple of inches of water in the pool - enough that it would take about a day and a half to evaporate. Then let the pots dry out for a day, then put more water in the pool the next day. So I was watering about every third day. Since the pool wasn't on level ground, the roses got the low end, so the more sensitive plants could dry out faster.
Kristine LeGault 8a pnw
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Glad that you had your vacation and came home to an unscathed rose.

I came home from a weekend trip to the coast a few years ago in hot August and my roses looked fine but everything else was a droopy mess. Before I even went in to the house I grabbed the hose.

Going anywhere in the summer is always a challenge.

Im so glad that everything worked out well for you

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