Ok, so the sitter who just completed a 5 day sit for my cat was more than adequate. House was spotless, my cat seemed fine. But a couple of my outdoor plants died because he didn’t water them. It’s not a big deal but it was disappointing. Seems a bit unfair to knock off a star, especially since I know he was working and probably busy. But it’s a matter of attention to detail and follow through since he specifically said he’d water the plants as soon as I left. Do I even mention it or just let it go?
Did the sitter not water any outdoor plants or did he miss the two that died?
Or, where there only two?
Or, did he not water any but only two of them died?
He may have watered them after you left but then not again after that.
I looked after a very large number of outdoor plants once, probably a couple of hundred, and one died but I don’t think that warranted being marked down a star (I wasn’t marked down) It depends on the overall picture.
You could take a star off the reliable category if you feel it is appropriate but not off the overall rating.
As @anon55123711 says, it would depend on the situation. Anyway, I would not mark down on stars just because of that. If you think it was his fault, you can mention it in your review. That will help other owners and sitters to make informed choices.
I am not a gardening person but it seems odd to me that a plant would completely die in just 5 days, unless there was a extreme heat wave. But it is just speculation. I don’t know the specifics.
It sounds like they needed watering before you left and perhaps he just forgot. It was a short sit so he might have been distracted by settling in and then moving out again.
While sitting once, I didn’t spot some plants in pots on the steep drive. I only noticed them after about 10 days. They survived but it was more due to luck than anything else.
Personally I wouldn’t deduct a star.
5 Stars! Please don’t take this personally,because I know you are just asking the question. But if we got knocked off a point for 2 outdoor plants suffering, we’d feel totally advantage of, and totally deflated, when we do this out of the spirit of kindness.
Your home was spotless, your cat was obviously well cared for, because you would have noticed if that wasn’t the case.
We definitely wouldn’t return to sit for a pet parent again who knocked off a point for something like this, because we’d be treading on eggshells, we wouldn’t feel comfortable… and more importantly we simply wouldn’t want to help them out again, as our perception of them would be naturally changed.
We also wouldn’t sit for anyone who we knew had knocked off a point for a couple of plants with other sitters, when everything else seemed to be good. He may well have watered them, and the heat/sun got the better of them. The amount of times we get asked to care for both indoor and outdoor plants that are already suffering is enormous, so we simply wouldn’t apply for any sits where we had known the pet parents had knocked off a point for something like this.
But like I said, don’t take it personally, you’re asking the question which is brilliant, you obviously want to do the right thing, which is fantastic.
It depends on the plant and the weather conditions. For instance, annuals in hanging baskets often need to be watered at least twice a day if it’s hot or even if it’s very windy. They could easily die in a couple of days.
I typically default to the, “What would I do if it were my family member or best friend?” scenario.
If my family member or best friend took great care of my cat and my house, and a couple of plants died - I’d let it go.
I would ask him if he watered the plants. Did you leave instructions how often? If you just said, can you water the plants when I leave, he could have watered it once. It’s amazing how literal some people take direction. It’s good to be very detailed with plants. Please water the two outside plants one cup of water every other day. Not just water the plants. To non plant people they don’t know the needs of the plants. First give him the courtesy of asking him if he forgot to water the plants. His answer can help you change what you write in the WG so this does not happen again.
I would not mark the sitter down for this, in your review.
To prevent this from happening again, I have two ideas:
- Make sure plants are well watered before you leave.
- Print out a paper calendar for the sitter (free ones found easily online) and jot clear notes for your watering schedule on the particular days when you would like it to be done.
This is really helpful for me. And don’t bury the paper calendar in the Welcome Guide. Leave it on the kitchen counter or table in easy view. I look at this daily as a reminder—put out the trash bins, give pet monthly medication, water indoor plants, water outdoor plants, etc, etc.
Thanks for all these great replies. To clarify, there were about 8-10 outdoor plants. One that died was a big pot of flowering black-eyed susans. It would have been obvious to me that they needed water - and he walked by them every day. I live in the mid-Atlantic and it has been extremely hot and dry. When he came by before the sit I mentioned watering the plants and showed him where the watering can was. I said I would water on the way out and he said no, I’ll do it right after you leave don’t worry. So he may have watered once and then forgot about it. The other plants that survived were hardier and didn’t get as much direct sun. There were other signs that he wasn’t comepletely dialed in on details I provided and I don’t think he refilled the cat fountain at all while he was here. But like I said, overall - he communicated daily, left the house spotless, and he took good care of my cat. Just want to be fair and honest in the review so these are all helpful comments.
It could just as easily be a lack of attention to detail on your part before he arrived. Perhaps they would have survived if watered before you left and placed elsewhere. If mentioning this or reflecting it in your star rating, you might come across as petty or even supervisory to readers.
Both travelers and hosts can see your reviews, they can see his as well 
Great idea! Thanks.
As a HO we do not have outdoor plants but we have ten indoor plants that need watering once a week, and it takes about 5 minutes. 1 glass of water each, half a glass if the soil is still a bit damp. Very easy to manage. It’s mentioned in the welcome guide. We show the plants to the sitters in our walk through. If we were to find dead plants upon our return I would be devastated. Why? A few of those plants are from my parent’s home and we’ve had them for 25 years. They were a fixture in their home and they are in ours. They are a living memory of my parents. They’ve lived for over 40 years with just a few minutes a week of care. This would definitely affect our review of the sitters.
That is completely understandable.
If I were taking care of your home, I would have the weekly watering on my paper calendar, on the kitchen counter. I would find out what day of the week that you water.
This sort of simple calendar is so helpful for me, so that I do not forget anything that the owners asked me to do.
I have no green thumbs, but have learnt some by error.
I would say that even if someone did indeed water plants, it could be easy to do it wrong. It really is an art in my opinion to water in the right amount and frequency. In a very hot area it could be necessary to water so much more than you’d think, as otherwise it could just be superficial and dry up in no time, also depending on the time of day or even where you water in the pot (or under it).
I might mention in passing that two plants died, but not dock stars.