Does anyone know if there is a gadget or contraption, smart or otherwise, that can help water plants indoors? The tricky part with this particular plant is that it requires well draining soil so the usual water stakes don't work; the water just ends up in a messy puddle in the drip tray seconds after the stake is inserted into the soil.
I had tried relocating the plant outdoors for the summer to be watered by rain and the timed sprinkler system, but came home after an 8-day trip to a baked-dead plant that somehow between the pest control guys and the yard guys had gotten moved against the wall and cooked in the hot sun. I still have its twin and have kept it indoors since but would like to be able to keep it watered during extended trips. The plant is relatively rare here in N. America and takes forever to grow so I would like to keep it alive and thriving. It's a 3' tall shrub in a 24" pot so it's not very portable.
We used to have some houseplants in self-watering pots. The water supply is in the bottom so the soil only draws up what is needed. We went away for 2-3 week trips with those, never a problem.