Plants and vacation - Plastic bag trick

As plant enthusiasts, we all know how stressful it can be to leave our beloved plants behind when we go on holiday. At Plantejakteren, we decided to do an experiment to find a simple, effective solution. We wrapped our plants in transparent plastic bags for three weeks to test whether they would survive without extra care. The result? Surprisingly, we got to see some unexpected improvements - which you definitely don't want to miss!

Our experiment

It may seem simple, but wrapping your plants in clear plastic bags can actually help them retain moisture throughout the holidays. When the plants are well watered in advance, the plastic acts as a mini-greenhouse and holds the moisture, so that your plants have a stable environment while you are away. This is probably a bit moist for succulents, but should work for most others.

You do this

• Buy 2-3 different sizes of transparent garbage bags
• Water all your plants lightly and let all the water run through, the key is not to over water the soil but a light watering.
• Place the plant in the plastic bag, inflate and close the bag tightly
• If you have many small plants, these can be combined in the same plastic bag
• Place the plant in indirect light
• We removed all direct sunlight by closing blinds, and used our 10w grow lights 12 hours each day at a distance of 3-5 meters

 

Pay extra attention

• That the plants do not get too much light (no direct sunlight!).
• That the plants have been recently watered, but not completely wet.
• If possible, avoid leaves hitting the bag itself, but it is not a crisis if it is not.
• You can use wooden pegs or something else to hold the bag above the plant at height.

Other possibilities

Self-watering systems – There are many products that make watering easier, such as capillary mats and self-watering pots. They give the plants regular access to water while you are on holiday.

A simple solution is to use watering cans to draw water from a bucket to the plants.

Get someone to water – If you have friends or family nearby, they can help by watering your plants. Feel free to give them a simple guide for care.

Watering bulbs – Watering bulbs, or holiday waterers, slowly drip water into the soil. It is simple, but gives less control over the humidity.

 

The result from the experiment

Back to our experiment!

After three weeks in plastic bags, we saw that it had grown extremely with roots not only in the soil, but in virtually all nodes!

Lots of new leaves and all the plants were healthy. There was some mold as a result of it being a little too damp, but we could easily wash this away and solve it by letting the water run well through and out before wrapping the plants next time.

This showed us that simple methods can be just as effective as more complicated solutions. So the next time you go on vacation, try this method to keep your plants healthy.