Can I leave houseplants outside while I'm on holiday?

[StrangewaysHereWeCome]

Just that really. Going away for a week, lovely neighbour is feeding the cats but don't want to lumber him with the plants as well. Embarrassingly I don't know what all the plants are, but could Google lens them if that helps to inform?

Some tropical-type plants (philodendrons and such like) don't like being exposed to the wind and direct light of a UK garden. But I don't think it would be life or death for them - just some terminally damaged leaves. Most other plants would be ok at this time of year, but if it is very dry they would still need watering.

Thank you. I have just Google lensed them and have:
Monsters
Peace lily
Polka dot plant
Epipremnum aurean
Purple passion tradescantia
Mother in law's tongue

Plus some seed grown basil and time that I'm confident should be ok. Forecast is for sun and showers pretty much every day while we're away.

Would any of these be better with a thorough watering and then leaving for a week?

theres very little that won’t survive a week without water.

but if you’re concerned you’d be better off putting them in the bath/sink with some water a cold snap is likely to be more damaging that a dry week

Water them before you go and they'll be completely fine for a week indoors.

All of those will be perfectly ok for a week. The monstera and mother in laws tongue shouldn’t be watered more than 1-2 weeks any way.

Good but surprising that they'll be fine - the basil in particular seems half dead if I leave it for longer than 48hrs. Most of them are in the super-sunny room though - should I move to north facing?

Thanks again for your help!

Put them in the bath with a few cms of water and they’ll be fine

I agree with this - I’d just give them a good water (unless they are really wet already) and leave them. If any are in full sun you could move them back so they don’t risk drying out.

I do put some of mine in the bath, on a wet towel, if I’m away that long but they are small plants that dry out quickly (and don’t cope well with it).

I put a philodendron out early one summer and forgot to move it back when the temperature dropped. It’s taken two years to get back to its former glory…

Leave the basil in a little dish of water. The others will be fine.

Thank you all very much! I'm on it now.

Basil* and peace lily are both notoriously sulky plants. They will wilt to the point that they’re flat on the ground but bounce back in a day or two with a good soaking

(*this does not apply if your basil is a recent supermarket herb aisle purchase, but more established plants are pretty robust)

I agree that the basil can be stood in water, and the plants should be moved to a cooler room in the shade. If you water them before you go, they will be fine for a week.