Leaving Dubai for a holiday is exciting, but houseplants can struggle while you are away, especially in summer when apartments heat up quickly and air conditioning may be off or set higher. With a little planning before you travel, most indoor plants can survive two to three weeks without daily care. The key is to reduce water loss, move plants to a cooler, brighter spot, and arrange simple watering help rather than relying on luck.
Start Preparing a Week Before You Leave
Do not wait until the night before your flight. In the week before you go, check each plant for dead leaves, pests and dry soil. Trim yellow leaves, wipe dusty leaves so the plant can use light better, and water thoroughly so the soil is evenly moist. Avoid major repotting just before a trip, because the plant needs time to settle.
Group plants together by their needs. Plants that like humidity, such as ferns and calatheas, do better grouped closely because they create a small pocket of moist air around each other. Cacti and succulents need far less water and can be left separately in bright light.
Watering Options When You Are Away
For a short trip of a few days, a deep watering before you leave is often enough for hardy plants like pothos, snake plants and ZZ plants. For longer trips, consider one of these low-cost approaches:
- Self-watering spikes or globes: Filled and pushed into the soil, these release water slowly over several days. Test them before you travel to see how fast they empty.
- A wick system: Place a large container of water next to the plant and run a cotton string from the water into the soil. Water travels slowly along the string. This works well for medium-sized pots.
- A tray with pebbles: Sit pots on a tray of wet pebbles to raise humidity, but do not leave roots sitting in deep standing water, which can cause rot.
- Automatic timers: If you have many balcony plants, a battery timer for a drip line can help, but test it fully first and check your building rules.
Try any system while you are still home first, and avoid sealing plants in plastic bags in the heat, which can encourage mould.
Placement, Light and Temperature
Placement matters as much as watering. Move plants away from direct midday sun through south or west-facing windows, where leaves can scorch in hours. A bright spot a metre or two back from the window is usually safer. Keep plants away from air conditioning vents as well, because cold, dry air can dry soil and damage leaves.
If you normally turn air conditioning off, consider leaving it on a higher setting or a timer in summer. Temperatures in a closed apartment can rise sharply. Close blinds partly to reduce heat, but leave enough light.
Balcony plants are most at risk. If possible, move smaller balcony pots indoors for your trip, or into deep shade, and water them very well before you leave. Larger plants that cannot move should be grouped in the shadiest corner, with mulch on top of the soil to slow drying.
Asking for Help and Making It Easy
The most reliable option for trips longer than ten days is still a person. Ask a friend, neighbour or colleague, or look for a trusted plant-sitting service in your community. Make helping easy: leave all plants in one or two places, label pots that need special care, leave a watering can filled nearby, and write short instructions rather than a long list.
Be clear about how much water to give and which plants to leave alone — succulents are often killed by overwatering while owners are away.
What to Do When You Return
When you get home, check plants calmly before watering everything heavily. Dry soil should be watered slowly so it can absorb moisture again. Remove dead leaves, check the undersides of leaves for pests that may have appeared in warm conditions, and move plants back to their usual spots gradually rather than into harsh sun straight away.
Some leaf loss is normal. With steady watering and light, most plants recover well. Note what worked, so your next trip is easier to plan.