Pray for 10 days of rain? :)

Other than drip irrigation I can't think of any way to supply water for 10 days.

You could leave them in a saucer of water, but there are drawbacks to that approach such as water logging the soil and without rain it would likely be used up/evaporate within the 10 days.

Dunno, it's a tricky thing.

If it were me and drip irrigation were out of the question I would probably choose to water them to saturation and then bring them indoors near a sunny window for the 10 days rather than leave them outside and risk dead plants upon my return.

Bringing them indoors isn't ideal, but then again, leaving container plants unattended for 10 days isn't either. You gotta do what you gotta do.

Any chance of hiring a neighborhood teen to stop by?

Maybe I need to think more about having a drip irrigation system that would last for more than a couple of hours. If I tip over a bottle with holes in the lid . . . won't it drain out in a matter of hours?

They are so small, rather than ask someone to drop by, just take them to someones house so they can water them and not be inconvenieced by having to stop by your house. Pick them up on your way home. Just figure out how often you want them to water them.

Good idea except - I have much more than the two in the picture and I am new to my locale. I know almost know one. I need to think about a way to water all of them.

I think I can turn them into an SWC by making a fabric wicking pot to attach to the bottom of the pot and then sitting that portion alone in a pot of water. Would this work???

You go, girl! (forgive me if you're not a girl -- can't tell from your name) I remember when you first posted about felt pots and it was an interesting idea. Glad to see you followed through with it.

I think the fabric wicking pot might work -- maybe Al T. will chime in on this -- but blaze a trail, and let us know how it all turned out after 10 days. Who knows -- you may want to patent something like this when you get the kinks worked out!

Good luck -
Sunny

Hi locteach,
Support stake/tie ins recommended for those tall plants before you go away.
Maybe those water retaining crystals will get you through the trip.
There is an enclosed bottled design; it is filled with the product in a gel & has an outlet end.
Poke the outflow spike of the up ended bottle in the soil & it "waters" the plant. Use one for each plant.
(Look online/go Home D. for item.)

If you have a way to elevate a 5 gallon bucket just above the plants, you could run some plastic tubing from the bucket to the plants and bury the loose end in the pots. I'm pretty sure you could get a hose clamp that would let you regulate the water flow, like a plant I.V. drip. :- )

I haven't tried this, just an idea.

Hi Sunny - I am a girl. :-)
Gringojay - Thanks for the idea . . . I looked at HomeDepot but did not see anything.
lightfusegetaway - This is a great idea as well. Maybe the parts will be easier to purchase.

Back to Home Depot for me tomorrow.

Laurie

You can purchase a timer that attaches to your outdoor hose bib. If you hook up a simple sprinkler that will accommodate all of your plants, you can set it to come on for prescribed number of minutes every day.

Look for small, stationary (also called 'spot') lawn sprinklers. They only require a little bit of water pressure and will water a small area. Attached to the hose and timer, you've got your problem solved.

Perfect! - I am going to see what the least expensive option and follow that plan. I will keep you update.

L.