--- title: "I'm going on vacation for a week and don't have a plant sitter lined…" description: "I'm going on vacation for a week and don't have a plant sitter lined up. Anyone have any tips for keeping 40+ houseplants alive while I'm away?? And buying…" url: "https://getplanta.com/community/lZ7uAE3pQ86jnFGxrCwLrg/Pm8LDlRNzdo9CzW3z43IFx" community: "Anything about plants" author: "Kelly" published: "2026-04-15T20:05:26.179439Z" language: "en" image: "https://images.getplanta.com/v2/cloudinary/global_data/communities/everythingHousePlants.jpg" --- [Community](https://getplanta.com/community.md) / [Anything about plants](https://getplanta.com/community/lZ7uAE3pQ86jnFGxrCwLrg.md) # I'm going on vacation for a week and don't have a plant sitter lined… _Posted by Kelly on 2026-04-15_ I'm going on vacation for a week and don't have a plant sitter lined up. Anyone have any tips for keeping 40+ houseplants alive while I'm away?? And buying self-warering pots for each one is currently not an option. ## 16 comments ### Mikel’s Plant Posse commented on 2026-04-15 Trained chimpanzees!? 🤣 sorry, aren’t there those bulbs you can fill with water and stick upside down in soil and it kind of slow releases it … or is that basically the self watering concept? #### Kelly replied on 2026-04-15 Oooohh, I get what you mean! I bet I could rig something like that to work for my picky ones. I was saying I can't feasibly but everyone new pots before I go 😅 #### Mikel’s Plant Posse replied on 2026-04-15 I get what ur saying. ### Wade commented on 2026-04-15 I usually just water everything the morning of a trip and in my experience, it has never failed me. #### Kelly replied on 2026-04-15 Even after a week?? I thought about trying this, but I feel like I have a few drama queens who will try to off themselves... #### Wade replied on 2026-04-15 Yeah I went out of state for a week and everything lived just fine. But I don’t have very many picky plants. And definitely not 40+ haha ### Mrs. Calloway commented on 2026-04-15 Look up on YouTube. They have this trick where you use a string or a q tip and it drips water.. (Ive never tried this) Or if you have a wine bottle, fill it up and stick. I’ve done the wine bottle but my monstera dranked it all in one sitting 🫩 so try these methods before your actual trip. Maybe try using the bottles only on the dramatic plants . And water before you go with the Nonpsychotic ones since they are more forgiving. #### Kelly replied on 2026-04-15 The non psychotic ones has me rolling 🤣🤣 #### Mrs. Calloway replied on 2026-04-15 I felt it in my soul when you said some of your plants will off themselves. Not pointing fingers at peace lilies. ### abitofbrit commented on 2026-04-16 You should be fine for a week. You’ll come back to a few thirsty plants, but they’ll bounce back quickly. Just be sure to give them a good water before you leave and move them a couple feet back from the windows so they maintain their moisture longer. ### abitofbrit commented on 2026-04-16 If you want to be extra super careful, here’s what I did when I went out of town for a week and a half: I got a cheap popup greenhouse off Amazon and set it up in my master bathroom, a couple feet away from a window. I grouped my plants by ones that have to go in the greenhouse, ones that could stay out with a watering bulb, ones that’d be fine with just a good water, and ones that didn’t need anything at all (like succulents \& cactus). It worked like a charm, and I came back to thriving plants. #### abitofbrit replied on 2026-04-16 This thing was PACKED with plants. 😆 ![Attachment 1 of 1](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/17SrAqQj8OyNFHAybODfewSCnqbgQBEM__0Czrcugaw/EWcArYrETGONCEWwtOi7pg.webp?size=large) ### Lisa\_starch\_bishop commented on 2026-04-16 For a few of those thirsty drama llamas you could try the wet towel technique. There are articles and videos online about it. Wet towel and sit your plants with drainage holes on top of it is the most basic explanation. #### Kelly replied on 2026-04-16 Interesting! ### Vi🌿 commented on 2026-04-17 Don't quote me on this, but I saw a post about someone putting a bunch of plants in their tub with about 2" of water for the time they're gone ### Nissshhyyy commented on 2026-04-20 I water and then use trash bags, tie closed overtop to keep moisture in. Can bag a few plants together. Only for plants that can tolerate it tho. No cactus or strings of things. And sometimes will only bag up the pot and not the full plant if the plant doesn’t like high humidity --- _Source: the Planta community (https://getplanta.com). Reading is open to everyone. To post, comment and like, get the Planta app: https://getplanta.com/download_