I left my houseplants for two weeks in a 28°C heatwave with just a cotton wick in a jar of water: when I came home, I understood why gardeners swear by this trick
A two-week heatwave and a single cotton string proved that capillary action is an underrated plant-saving hack. This century-old trick kept a shelf of houseplants perfectly hydrated without timers or neighbors, and it works so well that some gardeners never stopped using it.