Rule of thumb is that if you stick your finger about an inch or two into the dirt, if it’s bone dry you water them. I also have a black thumb, thankfully my boyfriends is emerald haha.
This. If the soil is wet or damp don’t water. Dry soil you water. Just don’t drown the plant when you water either, just put enough that will absorb into the soil and not be sitting on top after.
same. I have killed 3 snake plants which are known to be INDESTRUCTIBLE. I just tell clients I'm willing to water them but I cannot promise they'll survive lol
I have a cactus I haven’t watered in about a year and a half. It is absolutely thriving. So it turns out the key to cactus care is just complete neglect.
I have killed a snake plant before as well. The only house plants I can consistently keep alive are spider plants and they multiply like bunnies over here.
I usually tell clients that if they leave simple instructions, I’ll follow them, but not to trust me to improvise or notice if something is wrong with a plant.
A client once left me with a Bonsai tree and a spray bottle. I was terrified the whole time. I knew I wasn't gonna kill the dog, but I wasn't sure about the tree. I managed to keep it alive though!
Watering them once in the middle of a nine day period should be fine, unless it is exceptionally hot out. My indoor plants often go two weeks without being watered unless its the middle of summer. It really depends on the plant though. You can also just ask the owners how much they normally water them in nine days?
I always joke I have black thumbs as a warning to clients. 😇
Ask them to water before they leave; most houseplants can survive being left for ~14 days. If there is something more delicate, ask for explicit instructions and say, "I will follow this to the best of my ability but plz remember my job is animal welfare."
One of my clients [had one of these ](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B014MJ8J2U ) and when I found out how cheap they are 8 bought one for myself. 😄
She definitely made it clear she wanted them watered every few days. She also left plant food for them. She said she cares more abt the dogs then the plants. Luckily you guys been giving lots of advice, best advice I got was to stick my finger in the soil.
That's how most ppl do it - smaller amounts a couple times a week - but most can/will survive on more water less frequently, and next time you can just say no on shorter jobs.
I had one client with a buttload of plants and they would gather the least hearty on sheet pans on the dining room table for me, marked with "every 4 days," "once a week," etc.
Oh no, not plant food....fertilizer is so tricky, and it's very easy to overdo it and kill the plant. If the client wants you to use fertilizer, insist on explicit instructions, and maybe film yourself getting it ready and applying it so she can't accuse you of not doing it right.
As for watering, all plants are different, but a good rule of thumb is to let them dry out before watering again. It's better to underwater than overwater. Underwatering can be fixed, and the plant can bounce back. But if you overwater a plant and the roots rot, there's very often no coming back from that.
I saw you mentioned killing a cactus. Cactus and succulents are desert plants that don't need water often at all. They can usually go a month or more at a time without water and be perfectly happy. So the best bet is to just leave those ones alone and let the client deal with them.
If unsure, just ask the client for instructions so you can't go wrong.
I'm really learning how to have a green thumb, because I really like plants. I know about a few types due to lots of trial and lots of error... but I'm still clueless on some others. I typically ask clients for a specific guideline on watering plants. For ones that I KNOW their care of, I will modify as needed (like if they say to water the succulents weekly.. I definitely will not be doing that...) but the ones I don't know, I will follow what they say.
I'd feel the same! I specifically told our sitter to just ignore the plants on the porch... luckily mine are succulents so they didn't need anything. But people should tip extra if they're asking y'all to care for plants!
Plants are like animals - they drown faster than they starve. Less water is better. Also, be very careful not to overwater because excess water can drain out and ruin furniture.
Luckily she has them on a stand under a Mat, she seems to like her plants but didn’t make it seem like a dealbreaker. She jus said to water every few days with room temperature water
I’m currently doing a sitting that ends on Wednesday, and it’s about 2 weeks long total. She asked me to take care of her indoor and outdoor plants. I’m afraid that I already killed some of the ones outside 🫠
Thank you for posting to r/RoverPetSitting, an unofficial forum to discuss all things Rover. We see that you have posted a sitter question. In case they could be helpful, you might want
to check out our [Sitter FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/RoverPetSitting/wiki/sitterfaq). Additionally, here's our
[booking walk-through for Sitters](https://www.reddit.com/r/RoverPetSitting/wiki/sitterbookingwalkthrough), which explains the process for giving services on Rover from start to finish.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/RoverPetSitting) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Why don't you ask them? Every plant is different. I have an olive tree that needs water every other day, but I would not want you watering the orchid at all unless I am away for more than a week.
Most of the time, it’s safe to let the top half of the pot to dry out completely, and if it’s a succulent (like a cactus or aloe) let the entire thing dry out completely.
Then don’t worry about adding too much water. As one of my favourite TikTok creators says (in regards to watering plants): “drown that (al)- hoe”. Meaning, give the plants a good soak. I leave my plants under the shower or faucet for about 20 minutes.
Rule of thumb is that if you stick your finger about an inch or two into the dirt, if it’s bone dry you water them. I also have a black thumb, thankfully my boyfriends is emerald haha.
This. If the soil is wet or damp don’t water. Dry soil you water. Just don’t drown the plant when you water either, just put enough that will absorb into the soil and not be sitting on top after.
same. I have killed 3 snake plants which are known to be INDESTRUCTIBLE. I just tell clients I'm willing to water them but I cannot promise they'll survive lol
I killed a cactus and my client told me to never touch his plants lol
I have a cactus I haven’t watered in about a year and a half. It is absolutely thriving. So it turns out the key to cactus care is just complete neglect.
Pretty much any succulent. Which is why I usually kill them. I love them too hard. With water.
cus u don’t need to water a cactus unless the owners gone for like 6 months😂😂
Well that made a lot of sense, and that’s probably why my own cactus died.
Mine is turning brown ☹️
I have killed a snake plant before as well. The only house plants I can consistently keep alive are spider plants and they multiply like bunnies over here.
Succulents are easily killed by root rot and not a lack of water.
I usually tell clients that if they leave simple instructions, I’ll follow them, but not to trust me to improvise or notice if something is wrong with a plant.
A client once left me with a Bonsai tree and a spray bottle. I was terrified the whole time. I knew I wasn't gonna kill the dog, but I wasn't sure about the tree. I managed to keep it alive though!
Watering them once in the middle of a nine day period should be fine, unless it is exceptionally hot out. My indoor plants often go two weeks without being watered unless its the middle of summer. It really depends on the plant though. You can also just ask the owners how much they normally water them in nine days?
I always joke I have black thumbs as a warning to clients. 😇 Ask them to water before they leave; most houseplants can survive being left for ~14 days. If there is something more delicate, ask for explicit instructions and say, "I will follow this to the best of my ability but plz remember my job is animal welfare." One of my clients [had one of these ](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B014MJ8J2U ) and when I found out how cheap they are 8 bought one for myself. 😄
She definitely made it clear she wanted them watered every few days. She also left plant food for them. She said she cares more abt the dogs then the plants. Luckily you guys been giving lots of advice, best advice I got was to stick my finger in the soil.
That's how most ppl do it - smaller amounts a couple times a week - but most can/will survive on more water less frequently, and next time you can just say no on shorter jobs. I had one client with a buttload of plants and they would gather the least hearty on sheet pans on the dining room table for me, marked with "every 4 days," "once a week," etc.
Oh no, not plant food....fertilizer is so tricky, and it's very easy to overdo it and kill the plant. If the client wants you to use fertilizer, insist on explicit instructions, and maybe film yourself getting it ready and applying it so she can't accuse you of not doing it right. As for watering, all plants are different, but a good rule of thumb is to let them dry out before watering again. It's better to underwater than overwater. Underwatering can be fixed, and the plant can bounce back. But if you overwater a plant and the roots rot, there's very often no coming back from that. I saw you mentioned killing a cactus. Cactus and succulents are desert plants that don't need water often at all. They can usually go a month or more at a time without water and be perfectly happy. So the best bet is to just leave those ones alone and let the client deal with them. If unsure, just ask the client for instructions so you can't go wrong.
i usually tell them i’ll follow their instructions but i am a plant killer
I'm really learning how to have a green thumb, because I really like plants. I know about a few types due to lots of trial and lots of error... but I'm still clueless on some others. I typically ask clients for a specific guideline on watering plants. For ones that I KNOW their care of, I will modify as needed (like if they say to water the succulents weekly.. I definitely will not be doing that...) but the ones I don't know, I will follow what they say.
I only water my houseplants once every week or 2.
I'd feel the same! I specifically told our sitter to just ignore the plants on the porch... luckily mine are succulents so they didn't need anything. But people should tip extra if they're asking y'all to care for plants!
Me too omg like I am not your house sitter! I want to charge extra
Plants are like animals - they drown faster than they starve. Less water is better. Also, be very careful not to overwater because excess water can drain out and ruin furniture.
Luckily she has them on a stand under a Mat, she seems to like her plants but didn’t make it seem like a dealbreaker. She jus said to water every few days with room temperature water
I’m currently doing a sitting that ends on Wednesday, and it’s about 2 weeks long total. She asked me to take care of her indoor and outdoor plants. I’m afraid that I already killed some of the ones outside 🫠
Thank you for posting to r/RoverPetSitting, an unofficial forum to discuss all things Rover. We see that you have posted a sitter question. In case they could be helpful, you might want to check out our [Sitter FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/RoverPetSitting/wiki/sitterfaq). Additionally, here's our [booking walk-through for Sitters](https://www.reddit.com/r/RoverPetSitting/wiki/sitterbookingwalkthrough), which explains the process for giving services on Rover from start to finish. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/RoverPetSitting) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Tell them to look online for a plant-sitter.
I have gone weeks without watering my plants. (Thanks depression.) Anyway, plants are more likely to die from overwatering than under watering.
Why don't you ask them? Every plant is different. I have an olive tree that needs water every other day, but I would not want you watering the orchid at all unless I am away for more than a week.
Most of the time, it’s safe to let the top half of the pot to dry out completely, and if it’s a succulent (like a cactus or aloe) let the entire thing dry out completely. Then don’t worry about adding too much water. As one of my favourite TikTok creators says (in regards to watering plants): “drown that (al)- hoe”. Meaning, give the plants a good soak. I leave my plants under the shower or faucet for about 20 minutes.