Returned home from summer holiday just to find your beloved houseplants looking a bit peaked? Well, you are not alone. While it may be fairly easy to find friends or neighbors willing to pop over to water your outdoor containers, indoor houseplants are often overlooked and forgotten during vacation travel. And although your plants can probably withstand a few days, prolonged neglect can turn healthy houseplants into a wilted puddle. But before you throw those plants away, it may be possible to revive them with these helpful houseplant care tips.

Houseplant Care Tips:

To revive wilted houseplants, follow these easy steps.

1. Use a fork to lightly break up the dry surface of the soil. As a plant dries out, peat-based potting mixtures and the plant's rootball shrink away from the pot sides, so any water will be shred and run off. Lightly breaking up the surface allows water to penetrate the soil and reach the roots rather than simply running down the drain.

2. Immerse the pot in a bucket of warm water. Wait until the mixture becomes completely wet and the bubbles stop appearing.

3. Allow any excess water to drain away, and then put the plant into a cool, well-lit location. If you caught the plant in time, it should recover in a few hours.

For more houseplant care tips, stop by the garden center. Our friendly experts are on hand seven days a week with answers to all your gardening questions!