Snowbirds: what to do with your house plants all winter
Sun, Oct 18, 2026
A week away is easy. Water everything, close the blinds a little, done. Four months is a different problem.
Why the usual fixes don't last
Self-watering globes and wicks buy you two or three weeks at most. Grouping plants in the bathtub helps with humidity but not with light, and a Vancouver December gives you about eight hours of weak daylight anyway. Heating dries the air further.
A neighbour with a key works if the neighbour is reliable for sixteen weeks. Many are. Many forget around week five, and they feel terrible about it.
A winter in a greenhouse
With Leaf It With Us, a local nursery keeps your plants for the whole trip, up to 6 months. They get proper light and someone whose job is watering. You get a photo at least every 7 days, wherever you are.
Long stays are priced for it. After the first 4 weeks every day costs 30% less. Some nurseries will collect your plants from your building and bring them back, which matters if you don't drive or own a two-metre fig.