Container plants left on their own in garden for 3 months- survival tips?

Yes, I wish we were going for a 3 month holiday. In reality, we must move out to get some pretty gruesome work done in the house, it will take around 3 months.

We will take the essential house plants with us, but the biggies must stay. I'd be grateful for tips to give the best survival chance for our beloved babies.

The Remain group is:

• Huge avocado tree, in a 60cm pot, usually drinks around 5l a week. A family treasure, I really don't want to lose Jaakko (yes, we do give names to our plants. That's perfectly normal! ). My plan A is to stand the pot on a plastic ex-guinea pig cage tray which is 1.5m long and 20cm deep so would gather water when it is raining.
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• Lovely box in a 30cm container. It will not get much help from the rain as the leaves umbrella over the soil. Should it go on the tray with Jaakko?
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• Various succulents, they should be fine waterways but I'm a bit concerned about pests and finding a place where they will not be drowned if it rains. (If... ) Saucer or not to saucer? How much shelter should I give?
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• 2x Rosa Rugosa in 50cm containers- would it be better to take cuttings with us and just abandon them?
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• Random houseplants
• Blackcurrant shrub in 50cm container
• Raspberries in 50cm container (loseable, we'll get new batch going by next summer with a little help from Wilko's- but it would be a shame)

The house will not have water for most of the time so I can't really ask the builders to water anything. My heart will not break for most of the plants as a dead plant is just an excuse to visit a garden centre for a replacement, but it would be great to give them a good sporting chance.

I will cry if Jaakko dies though.

Any ideas or tips? I'm thinking also about digging Jaakko and the box in the ground, but have minimal space under a tree so it might not be possible.

Thanks!

 

Install some auto watering system, or ask neighbour to look after

 

Thanks Tracy! An automated system is not possible as both water and electricity will be off for long periods. I will ask the neighbours if they could step in if we happen to have a long dry spell, but can't really ask them to take the job for 3 months. That's why I try to think of a best plan so that the plants have as much chance as possible to stay alive by themselves.

Btw, I haven't started packing yet. Maybe I should?

 

How far away are you staying? If it's not too far perhaps you can hook up a water butt to fill with rainwater and then use it when you visit?

 

Hi Lori, we can probably visit 2-3 times, it's a bit far away. Water butts are a brill idea, thanks! Currently we don't have them but can buy with council discount. Then again, the house will be scaffolded up so I'm not sure if they would fit- will have to ask the builder guys what they think. If we had a butt full of rainwater I could perhaps ask the guys to water Jaakko if they have a spare moment. Anyways I will ask them to eat the raspberries

 

You can plant it on ground, which will not need water most times. When very dry, let neighbour help

When you come back, you can get them to container again

 

Dont hold me to this but I believe you can as JWK suggests get timers off ebay quite cheap that supposedly will work of gravity. To avoid debris blocking drip feeders I would eg connect a water butt to normal hose via battery timer and say 1 minute each day to top up the water tray the plants sit in.
Experiment with timings etc.