If you are going on vacation from four to five weeks this is a tried and true way to keep your potted plants, as well as large ferns in hanging baskets watered without depending on someone to tend them in your absence. Watering succulent plants is not recommended using this method, learned from experience!
Hanging baskets - water a few days before you are leaving being careful not to overwater. Take a clear plastic dry cleaner bag, put over the fern leaving the hanger exposed to hang up, then once hung, gather at the bottom the excess plastic loosely securing with a twist tie. This works like a greenhouse effect. Use a twist tie at the top where hanger protrudes.
The big heavy plastic zippered comforter bags are excellent to put several plants in the bag after watering, then zip them into their greenhouse atmosphere.
I have used this method for saving five hanging asparagus ferns from outside for four years. You may want to check them over the winter and add a little water to them.
This worked so well for me I thought it worth sharing. Sorry I do not have pictures, but I think it is easily visulized from my description.
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You have my vote, but I'm curious, is lack of air circulation ever a problem?
No, air circulation was never a problem that I experienced.
Syd
Do you use this to overwinter your plants too. Would you have to water anytime during the winter storage?
I over-wintered my outside asparagus fern pots for four years. I cut them all back (not to the ground) before putting them into the zippered plastic comforter bags and occasionally opened the bags to check for dryness & added some water and zipped them back up.
I slowly introduced them to the outside the same as you would purchased plants. Being outside they bush back up like when you were bringing them in for the winter when you cut them back.
I do this every year with my Boston ferns. They are just fine all winter long. Just be careful not to over water.
When putting the plants away for the winter, do you dig then up from the ground and put them inn the plastic bag for the winter and check on them here and there to make sure there's moisture still in there? Thanks
I do this when going out of town, but did not think of it for the winter, so it works outside in freezing temps?
This would work for ferns and some plants but depending on what climate you live in this is not good for some plants as they develop mold and it can cause root rot in some.
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