Can anyone give me recommendations for an automatic watering system? I’m leaving on a trip soon and don’t want to rely on the house sitter. I’m in region 8A for reference. 

Perhaps search our site first
www.bonsaiempire.com/blog/automated-bonsai-watering

The most important thing in this article is the phrase that tells that any system must be thurogly tested long time before the trip. There are no chanse that a modern watering system can be optimized for a bonsai collection in weeks, it needs months. And you still need to rely on someone that understand your system and bonsai to look after it while you are away. Maybe it is easier to find someone that just water your tree while you are away.

Needless to say. People with big and old collections do not leave their homes in the summer. Pretty much like every gardener with a beautiful garden. Plants do require care in summer and if you are not there anything can happen. And according to Murphy it will.

CharlieS wrote: Can anyone give me recommendations for an automatic watering system? I’m leaving on a trip soon and don’t want to rely on the house sitter. I’m in region 8A for reference. 

I had one once.

We went on vacation in the summer, got home to crispy trees, and was told by our neighbor that we had accidentally left the water on. Being good neighbors they had come over and turned the water off, saving us the water expenses. 

Perhaps a bit late but I’ve used the Gardena aqua bloom system being gone for over a month and had great results. So good I bought a second one. 

I use a 100 liter tub instead of the small one it comes with when I leave for a long time.