Your holidays are just around the corner, but you still haven’t thought about how you’ll look after the plants you’re leaving behind at home?

Here are some tips to help them survive the hot weather whilst you’re away.

Use strips of cloth. Fill a large bowl with water, cut out some long cotton strips, and then put one end of them at the bottom of the bowl, and the other end at the bottom of your plant pot. The wet cloth will allow the soil to soak up the water it needs.

Pierce the lid of a bottle. Fill a plastic bottle with water, put a small hole in the lid, turn the bottle upside down, and then place it into the soil. With every drop, the soil will always retain some moisture, meaning your plant won’t dry out.

Let the light in. If possible, put all of your plants that need a lot of light together in one room where you’ll be able to leave your shutter slightly open.

Create a damp environment. If all of your plants are in just one room, leave a few containers filled with water dotted around to create a damp environment. As a guide, one container per plant should be enough.

Avoid direct exposure to sunlight. Even plants that need a lot of light can easily dry up if they are exposed to direct sunlight for too many days. If you are unable to leave them in a safe place inside your home, put the plant pots next to each other on your balcony so that the leaves create a communal area of shade.

Depending on the weather and the type of plants you have, choose the solutions that best suit your needs.