I'm leaving my plants alone at home while we go away for a week; what can I do to keep them in good shape?

One of my plants is a bonsai tree, and the other is a young trumpet vine. We do not have caring neighbors to water them for us.

I'm leaving my plants alone at home while we go away for a week; what can I do to keep them in good shape?
I believe there are different kinds of products you can use. I believer there is a foam that will slowly water them. There are also pots that have reservoirs in the bottom of them that you can fill up. Some people stick plastic pop bottles in their pots and poke holes in the bottom and fill the bottle up with water...sort of an in pot reservoir. You can also take and put newspaper or mulch on top of the potting soil to help hold the water in. Another thing you could do is put the plants in a shady spot and make some kind of dome over them to keep the moisture in. The more moist and shady it is around them, the less they lose water.



Another thing you can do is dunk the pots of all of them into a bucket of water making sure not to get the plant wet. Then let the pot drain. This makes sure that the soil is fully soaked before you leave, giving the plant plenty of water.
Reply:I've also heard that you can put them in the bathtub with some water in there and they will be fine while you are gone. Unfortunatey, I don't go anywhere, so I have never tried it.
Reply:Almost EVERY plant store, nursery, etc. has self-watering tablets that you can insert into plants to give just the right amount of water while you're on vacation. Ask the salesclerk about it and you'll be pleased with the results. They are relatively cheap but will save your plants.Have fun on your trip.
Reply:Water them right before you leave then shut the shades so it stays cool in your house.
Reply:I used to have a lot of house plants. When we went on vacation, I put them all in the bath tub with just a few inches of water. Be sure your faucet doesn't leak tho! If you only have the two plants

you could put them in a pan with a bit of water in the bottom. Good luck!
Reply:Water them befo you leave, and keep them out of direct sunlight. This should be enough to keep them healthy until you are back home.
Reply:Get some 2 liter bottles, fill it with water, put some small holes in them and plug it in the ground.
Reply:Try a nursery, there is a thing called a water wick you can purchase. There is also jell crystals you can buy that retain the water and release it slowly. Keep them in a deep saucer will help also so when you water them before you leave the water will stay in the saucer, be careful not to get too much water in them, you don't want the saucer to over flow.
Reply:For the bonsai, water well, and leave it alone. They don't need much water.



For the trumpet vine, the best thing is the water holding crystals, but they are expensive. If you can't do that, then do you have a friend with a baby? The diapers will have those crystals in them. You can cut one open and use them.



Forgot to ask, are they inside or outside?
Reply:They're plants, they should be fine on their own for a week. Just give them a drink before you go, and put them up someplace where they can get a couple hours of sunlight a day while keeping them out of reach of any pets you have that may give them a nibble while you're back's turned. Other than that, I wouldn't worry too much about them.
Reply:Put them outdoors but where it gets shady. That's what we do.