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Going away for a month, should I buy a water tap timer?

Should I get one of these to water these two while I go away for just over a month in May or is it not necessary?



Thanks very much.

Posts

  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    If it's dry (and more so if it's warm as well) the plants in containers will need watering, particularly the acer because the pot looks quite small for the size of the plant. Can you get someone to come in once a week and give them a drink?
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • Gn0meGn0me Posts: 85
    Thanks very much, would once a week be enough?
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    It would keep them going if it was a good soak and the plants were in the shade.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I'd rather have someone water them, but that can be tricky if they don't know exactly what to do, or they forget, and even if you're in a damper, cooler area, they could dry out quite easily at that time of year, unless there was persistent, regular rainfall for the entire time. If you're in one of those very dry parts of the UK, it's very dodgy.
    Once they dry out, it would be very difficult to rehydrate them, and although a timer might help in that sense, you'd have to accept that it isn't 100% reliable either.

    Grouping potted plants together in a shady spot, with some others as well, will help with moisture loss, but they'd still need that regular watering. 


    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    I have found, and seen with neighbours, that people asked to water are unreliable.

    I put my plants in deep, cool shade and stand on a capillary mat whose end is in as big a reservoir as I can find.  Do you have the time to do a trial.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • barry islandbarry island Posts: 1,847
    In the past I bought a cheap kids paddling pool not the inflatable type the rigid fold away sort, put it in the shade put the most likely pots to dry out in it and added a couple of inches of water and that kept the plants happy for a couple of weeks and that was during during July, August.
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