Travel/vacation with Orchids?
 

I think this may be a silly question but I'm really not sure what would be best.

I only have my two NOID phals, a baby Den. Kingianum, and my african violet right now and I will be leaving tomorrow for two weeks to stay at the coast.

Should I just bring them with me? I have someone who can water them for me, but they are even less knowledgeable than me and would only be watering them when I call and ask them to (which is fine because I can ask what the media/soil looks like).

My only concern is the temperature environment change. The plants have been indoors and we live inland- where we are going will be hotter (even inside) and it's right on the water. Would it be too much of a change for them?

Appreciate any advice, TYIA.

You can get African Violet pots, which have a water reservoir, which will last 2 weeks (as long as the room is not as hot as an oven).

Orchids: If you water them well, and then put in a room with relatively low light, they are fine for 7-10 days. If you can convince your friend to water once, you should be fine. But explain that watering means drenching.

How warm will your growing area be day/night while you are gone? I agree with Kim your friend only needs to water once. I would leave a note next to the plants repeating that watering more than once would be too much, and the plants must not stand in water. My experience has been non-plant people forget what you tell them and water far too much, so leave a note.

Look up the wicking method of watering African violets. Many growers use that for them, and other gesneriads. In my warm house the self-watering pots don't work. Water doesn't move through the inner pot to the soil fast enough for the plants to get enough water.

I will admit that I usually take all my mini/small orchids (about 20-25 plants...) with me on vacation to France every summer because they dry out the fastest and I either don't have a plant sitter, or feel bad about the person coming more than once during my 3 week absence to water 50 plants one by one...

For the plants that do stay behind, I move them all to the coolest room in the apartment and draw the curtains (very light curtains) to keep the sun out. I water just before leaving and leave written instructions for the plant sitter (pour water through pot, no standing water...)

So it sounds like I should leave them?

The temp here should not change (74-76˚) and my original plan was to water them very well right before leaving and then have them checked on about every 4 days. My friend is right next door so it's not too much of a hassle.

I'm not too concerned about the orchids, but the violet is still adjusting. It's so tiny I worry about any set backs. I've developed an obses..habit of checking on them every day, so it may just be my anxiety.

At those temperatures they will be fine with one watering.

African violets are very succulent and survive surprisingly long periods of time without water.

Put the AV in a bowl of water, leave the rest and have a friend water once. There's my vote.

I've left mine for two weeks with no water (inside, not outside) and they were fine.

Some very good suggestions made already above.

One option is your option - to take the orchids with you. Another option is - if you have time for it - is to have an automatic watering system (or some sort of watering system - even not automated) - not like this budget system (because you won't have time buy the components and to set it up) that I used to water my phrags and paphs while I was on about 9 days holiday ------- but some other system that you could rig-up ------ such as running some tubes at low water pressure (drip tubes), that can keep trickling small amounts of water down the sides of the pot (into the media around the sides of the pot). The only thing is ----- depends on whether you have sunlight etc near a basin or kitchen sink ----- or whether you can keep the orchids outside, so that the water can drain somewhere - instead of draining onto a home floor.

I'm thinking that if a very slow trickle .... real continuous slow drip or very slow trickle system ----- can be set up, and run water down toward the sides/rim of the pot ---- it could keep the pot media humid enough for two weeks.

If your plants are inside and the temperatures are only in the 70s, I think if you have your friend water once halfway through your trip, you'll be fine.

I typically spend 8 weeks in Brazil every summer, which turns my orchid obsession into a huge hassle. It's too much trouble to bring them all back in, plus they are easier to water outside because you can just spray them down and it doesn't matter where the excess water goes, so I always find an orchid sitter. It's hot in the summer, and I have experimented with different ways for the sitter to water. When I'm home, I check on the plants every day and water the ones that need it, and skip the ones that don't, but I haven't found anybody who can water my plants for 8 weeks who has enough knowledge about orchids to be able to tell which ones need water and which don't.

I've tried having the person water every day, because when it's hot enough, they need it every day. The problem with that is that not every day is hot enough, and water every day ends up being too much. I've tried having them water every other day. That works better, but some of the ones that really need water every day are awfully shriveled when I get home. The best way I have found to do it is to have my orchid sitter water every day for three days, and then take two days off. That gives the ones that don't need it every day a two day period to dry out, and the ones that need water every day are less dessicated with three days of water and two days without than they were when I tried every other day.

Of course, nobody is going to care for your plants the way you do, so when I come home, there are always some problems with some plants that take some time to recover. My system is not perfect, but 8 weeks is a long time, and it's the best I've come up with so far. Maybe someday I'll think of a better way.

I'm home this year because Covid-19 is so bad in Brazil, and a lot of things are still closed, so even if I could go there and stay safe, what would we do for 8 weeks? Sit at home and look at each other all day every day because nothing is open? I opted to stay home this summer, and my plants are looking much better than they usually do in the summer. I really wish I could come up with a better way to get care for my plants while I'm gone, but none of my orchid sitters have ever actually killed a plant, so I guess we can call that a win.

I can’t speak to the African violet, but with mine I give them a good watering before I leave, tell everyone not to touch them, and they’re fine when I get back. I love orchids as office plants, they seem to be one of the few plants that I can abandon for a couple weeks and return without them having missed a beat.

I’ve read way too many horror stories of well meaning plant sitters drowning the orchids. Letting them ride it out is probably safest.