IKEA’s £2 pot will water your plants when you’re not there

Given that yet another heatwave is set to strike the UK this week, and the fact that I’m heading off on holiday, I’ve been struggling to come up with ways to water my houseplants when I’m gone. I’ve settled on IKEA‘s self-watering VÅRDTRÄD plant pot as a means to keep my plants healthy and happy while I’m gone.

Anyone heading off on holiday will have spent a fair amount of time considering how to water plants on holiday. But what about your best houseplants? An irrigation system won’t work unless they are in a large cluster together, so this is where a self-watering plant pot can come in handy.

IKEA’s VÅRDTRÄD range starts at just £2, making it a highly affordable watering option. Meanwhile, its plentiful positive reviews sealed the deal for me.

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The VÅRDTRÄD plant pot is designed under the ethos that ‘Forgetting to water is human.’ It uses a built-in reservoir and capillary wick system to provide constant, slow hydration to your plants – perfect for when you’re going away for a few days. Water is stored in the base of the pot and travels upwards, into your soil, via a fabric wick.

Just like drip watering systems, this plant sends water slowly to the roots of your planters, ensuring your plants get the right amount of water. On paper, it sounds like the perfect houseplant solution for holidays. But before I bought one, I wanted to get an expert opinion from someone who had first-hand experience.

‘Self-watering planters are an absolute lifesaver when I go on holiday and don’t want my plants to dry up. They really take the weight off – you don’t have to worry about your garden when you’re supposed to be relaxing, so to me, they’re well worth the money,’ Sophie King, Garden Editor at Ideal Home, told me.

IKEA VÅRDTRÄD plant pots.

(Image credit: IKEA)

And Sophie’s not the only one impressed by these plant pots. IKEA’s VÅRDTRÄD pot range has plenty of positive reviews to back it up.

‘I bought this plant pot for a work plant to take the stress out of trying to remember to water it when I’m busy. I’ll definitely get the next size when it needs repotting,’ says one.

‘These are amazing and seem to work for all types of plants. I had an aloe I thought I had killed either over- or under-watering, popped it in one of these and now it’s healthy and having babies. Peace lily was starting to go yellow (yes, I really am rubbish at watering!), now it’s healthy, green and flourishing after being put in one of these. Spider plants – love it! Miniature indoor rose that we got free from a supermarket as it was almost dead – recovered, flourishing and flowering! I genuinely would have considerably fewer plants alive if it wasn’t for this pot!’ said another.

If you don’t have an IKEA local to you, don’t worry, as your local garden centre should stock self-watering plant pots, too. Alternatively, I’ve tracked down a few more you can shop online.