On holiday without a plant sitter.

The spots that go first

Not every corner of your home is equally risky. In practice it is almost always the same four places.

• A south- or west-facing windowsill. Direct sunlight behind glass gets so hot in August that leaves burn. This is where most of the casualties fall.
• A dark corner behind the sofa. Exactly the opposite: too little light, so the plant was already weakened before you left and does not make it through the final weeks.
• Above the radiator or next to an air conditioner. In summer too, because an air conditioner dries out the air just as thoroughly as heating does in winter.
• The hallway and the stairwell. Little light, draughts, and you never pass through with the watering can because you only walk straight past.

What you can still do before you go

If you are going through summer with real plants anyway, this list helps. It is no guarantee, but it makes a difference.

• Group everything together in the bathroom or the kitchen. Close together, plants keep the humidity between them higher.
• Move them out of direct sunlight and half a metre back from the window.
• Water normally, not extra. Leave the saucers empty.
• Trim off some leaves. Less foliage means less evaporation.
• Ask someone to drop by once every ten days or so, and explain what each plant needs. A note by the watering can works better than a message afterwards.

Where an artificial plant takes over

The most honest set-up is usually a mixed one. Keep the plants you enjoy looking after, and replace the spots where it never works out anyway. Those are almost always the corners listed above: the hot windowsill, the dark corner, the hallway.

An artificial plant asks nothing there. No water, no light, no plant sitter. The only upkeep is the occasional dusting with a dry cloth or a feather duster, and that can easily wait until you are back. How to do that best is covered in our article on cleaning artificial plants.

What you should know: do not leave an artificial plant for years in full burning sun behind glass. The materials are strong, but UV light is UV light. For outdoors and for bright spots we have plants made for exactly that, and we have described separately what to watch out for outdoors.

What a mixed set-up looks like

An example from an ordinary living room of four by six metres. In the bright corner by the window stands a real plant, because that spot works. Next to the sofa is a large 180 centimetre artificial plant that fills the corner and stays the same all year. In the hallway a narrower one of 140 to 150 centimetres, because you walk past it and there is no room for anything wide. And on the south-facing windowsill nothing living any more, but a smaller artificial plant that could not care less about the heat.

The result is that your home looks the same in September as it did in June, and you do not have to ask anyone to come round in July.

How long do they last

That is the question we get most often. A good-quality artificial plant lasts for years, and its lifespan depends mainly on where it stands and how much direct sunlight it catches. We have written a separate article about what you can realistically expect.

Want to look around first: our bestsellers are the plants that go out the door most often, and the full collection has everything in one place. Order before 4pm and your parcel leaves the same day. Shipping to the Netherlands and Belgium is free.