Air that is too chilly can be quite damaging to many plants. Make sure they are shielded from the cold air as the first step in winter plant care. By insulating your home’s doors and caulking your windows, you can partially fix this problem. Additionally, during the hot months, if you store plants next to exterior doors or on leaky windowsills, make sure to relocate them to places where they won’t be stunned by the chilly air.
Keeping plants away from heat sources like fireplaces, radiators, and even heating vents is also a good idea. Blasts of hot air can harm your plant just as much as blasts of cold air. For the optimal conditions for plant life, keep your plants at a constant temperature of 65 to 75 degrees F (18 to 24 degrees C) during the day and above 50 degrees F (10 to 10 C) at night.
Reduce your watering and use warm water for plants in winter
The majority of houseplants “dorm” throughout the fall and winter even though they are inside. With less light, plants will grow slower and use less water and fertilizer. As a result, your indoor plants may require less feeding over the winter.
Observe the general recommendations for watering and only apply water if the soil is dry an inch or two below the surface. Keep in mind that leaving your plants submerged in water can result in root rot, fungus, mold, and a number of other problems. If you notice yellow leaves or moldy soil, you should lessen how often you water your plants. In the winter, you might also wish to give your plants warm water. It is best to water plants with warm water in the winter since it not only promotes faster and greater plant growth, but it also keeps the plants warm.
We advise you to stick to the typical “once per week” schedule used by most houseplant owners in order to maintain consistency and avoid disrupting the rhythm. But on the days you water your plants once a week, merely cut back on the water you give them by 25 to 50 percent.
Increase your home’s humidity
Low humidity during the winter months is a problem for both people and plants. Keep your humidifier on if you have one because plants prefer humidity levels of roughly 50–60%. If not, try grouping your plants in your home’s most humid areas—typically the bathrooms or kitchen—or setting them on top of a sizable tray or baking sheet that is moistened with water. Place some stones in the water, then place the plants on top of the stones (you just need to make sure the pots don’t touch the water).
Clean your plants
In the winter, the sun is scarce. Make sure the leaves of your indoor plants stay clean and dust-free so they can make the most of the little amount of light they receive. Put your plants in the bathtub once or twice a month, and give the leaves a gently rinse with a handheld sprayer or wipe them down with a moist towel to remove dirt and grime. Keeping the leaves clean will increase their capacity for photosynthesis.
Give them plenty of light
The final tip for maintaining indoor plant life is to remember that during the fall and winter, plants require light more than anything else. To ensure that every plant receives the necessary amount of sunlight, you must rotate your pots with extreme care. Use a full-spectrum lightbulb in a typical desk lamp to shine it on your plants for at least 12 to 14 hours each day if the amount of natural sunlight available is insufficient. Find out more about how to set up a grow light or buy an LED grow light from our shop.
As a final piece of advice, it’s important to remember that some of the suggestions we make in this post call for adjusting many variables.
For instance, if you relocate your plants away from a drafty window, the amount of light they receive will almost surely change, and possibly the humidity will as well. For this reason, after you’ve moved your plants, keep an eye on them every day. To get it correct, you might need to try a few different things or need to go back and undo some modifications.
Adjust Your Watering Routine
Although it may seem contradictory, the majority of indoor plants require less water in the winter. Despite the fact that winter air is dryer, plants develop more slowly and some even fall into complete dormancy during the colder months. As a result, plants require less water to maintain their hydration, and overwatering can cause root rot. Remember that different plants require varied amounts of water. Drought-tolerant cacti and other succulents may not require any watering, whilst certain tropical plants may still need more frequent watering.
Winter months can cause surface soil to dry up more quickly, but it isn’t necessarily a sign that the plant needs water. When the soil is dry an inch or two below the surface, test it with your finger; if it is, it’s time to get the watering can out.
Tip
Do not water your houseplants with cold water. To prevent shocking the roots of the plant, use water that is close to room temperature. In some winter climates, tap water can become very chilly; thus, wait several hours before using it to water your plants. This kind of gradual warming also enables dissolved gases, such chlorine, to evaportate from the water.
Alter Humidity Levels
The largest challenge that indoor plants face throughout the winter months is often low humidity levels. Plants like a humidity level that is closer to 50%, which might drop to 10 to 20% in heated homes during the winter. If your home has a humidifier, move your plants there so they can benefit from it. If you don’t have a humidifier, find another way to increase the humidity.
Organize your plants first into groupings. Plants naturally release water through their leaves through transpiration, thus combining them will make good use of that moisture. Because they absorb moisture from showers and cooking, bathrooms and kitchens are the greatest places to keep plants.
The age-old method of putting your plants on or close to a tray of water is another excellent choice. But avoid letting the plants submerge themselves in the water. Put stones or pebbles in the tray to elevate the pots’ bottoms above the water line, then set the pots on top of the stones. By doing this, humidity levels will rise without encouraging root rot.
Instead than helping the plants, misting usually works better at making the gardener feel good about themselves. You might believe that spraying your plants will provide them with some comfort, however misting just provides a brief burst of moisture. Because indoor temperatures allow moisture to evaporate quickly, misting is necessary several times a day to be effective. Try misting if you only have a few plants and believe you will be really diligent about it. An indoor plant may rarely be over-mist. Misting plants in humid summers can result in fungal issues, but this shouldn’t be a concern in the winter.
Pay Attention to Temperature
Like most people, most plants thrive in temperatures above 50 degrees Fahrenheit at night and between 65 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit during the day. Keep your plants away from heat sources like radiators, ovens, fireplaces, and electronics in order to give them that, as well as from chilly drafts. Houseplants can die from temperature changes just as quickly as from extended exposure to heat or cold.
Follow the Sun
In addition to having fewer daylight hours, wintertime sunlight also comes in at a lower angle. Your houseplants might need to be moved to a brighter location or even given more light. An all-day sunny window with a south or west orientation is an ideal location. Moving plants next to a chilly window, however, should be avoided since they might experience a draft.
Every time you water your plants, rotate the pots by roughly a quarter of a turn. This prevents some branches from reaching for the light, allowing the plant to grow evenly and receive some sun on all sides.
The amount of light that reaches plant leaves can also be diminished by layers of dust. This dust can be removed from leaves with a moist cloth, giving plants more access to light during the winter.
Plants will need to be exposed to the grow lights for extended periods of time in regions where the winter sun is essentially nonexistent and where the majority of their light comes from supplemental lighting. If a plant needs six hours of direct sunshine, it can also require an additional 12 or 14 hours of light to provide the same amount of energy. Grow lights are far less strong than sunlight, thus plants require more time under them to absorb enough energy.
Put Your Houseplants on a Diet
Because they are not growing as quickly in the winter, the majority of houseplants don’t require any fertilizer. Stop feeding them until early spring as continuing to do so would only disrupt their natural cycle. Resuming fertilization will give them a boost for the growing season if you start to notice new growth or the present leaves seem to be turning greener.
Some tropical plants grow rather actively all winter long, especially vining climbers or trailers, and they may still need some feeding, but often at decreased rates.
How should indoor plants be cared for during the winter?
We all require light, but because the days are so brief in the winter, it can be difficult to acquire much of it. Like people, plants require light to survive, even indoor plants. Homes only receive a limited amount of light throughout the winter, and if your home doesn’t face the appropriate direction, you might only receive light via select rooms and windows.
Be ready to relocate your plants over the winter to locations with windows and light. For the most light, make sure the windows are thoroughly cleaned both inside and out. In order for the leaves to properly absorb that light, make sure that any dust that has amassed on them has been removed.
Are indoor plants evergreens?
It may seem impossible given the weather in San Diego, but fall has officially arrived, and winter is just around the horizon. When you wake up on these chilly early mornings, you can feel it. Perhaps you’re layering up like we do in Southern California by wearing socks with your flip flops. (Not appealing, but that is a topic for another piece.)
Your indoor plants can sense the changing of the seasons even if you can’t. In the spring and summer, they flourish just like their outside counterparts. Even though it isn’t too cool in San Diego, they still require some extra care during the cooler months of the year, much like your outside plants.
When we turn on the heaters in the winter, our already low indoor humidity drops much lower. Your plants will die if the air is dry. The majority are tropical natives, which makes the situation worse.
Follow these maintenance advice from the experts at Good Earth Plant Company if you want your beloved houseplants to remain healthy and last till the return of sunny spring days.
Making sure your windows are spotless can also help when you move plants to maximize winter light. Image credit: Flickr/FD Richards
- the air with more humidity. One misting each day is fine for indoor plants, but two or three is preferable. A little dampness is perfect for tropical houseplants. Alternatively, you can place them nearer to water sources throughout the winter, such a kitchen or bathroom or even an interior water feature like a desktop fountain. Allow your plants to benefit from the humidifier you use in your bedroom.
- Keep it tidy. Use a soft, wet cloth to remove any dust or filth from the leaves of your houseplants. A plant’s capacity to “breathe” and absorb humidity might be hampered by dirt and dust.
- Avoid overwatering. By advising you to boost humidity yet refrain from watering your plants as frequently in the winter, we may appear to be going against what we have previously advised. However, because there are fewer resources in the fall and winter, your plants naturally slow down their growth and require less water. For tropical plants, you can frequently cut your watering schedule in half. Even less water is required by low-water-use plants like succulents. Just remember to resume regular watering in the spring.
- Warm showers only. Both you and your houseplants dislike a chilly shower in the winter. Use room temperature or slightly warmer water while watering.
- Avoid fertilizing. Instead of trying to push your plants to grow all year long, let them grow according to the cycles of the seasons. Delay applying fertilizer and plant food until the spring.
- Never replant or repot. Repotting a beloved houseplant should be postponed until spring for the same reasons.
- Light up, please. Our days are shorter in the fall and winter because the sun is at a lower angle. Much less light reaches your plants now than it did in the spring and summer. If you have indoor plants that prefer bright light, relocate them there for the upcoming few months. To aid the entire plant in absorbing the available light, you can also tilt various sides toward the sun.
Even though the seasonal changes in Southern California are often moderate, it’s still vital to listen to nature. Your plants will be able to recover during this period of rest and emerge much stronger in the spring. It would be wise for humans to take note of this lesson.
Does wintertime plant growth continue?
Anaya is the source of today’s Wonder of the Day. Can some plants grow in the winter? wonders Anaya. Anaya, we appreciate you WONDERing with us.
Ever notice how a lot of things change when the seasons change? Everything changes as we circle the Sun, including the time of day and the weather. The most changes of all occur when the tides rise, the leaves change color, and the plant life itself.
Plants begin to sprout in the spring. Full blooms begin in the summer, and harvest season begins in the fall. What about winter, though? It goes without saying that many plants die throughout the winter. Can anything, however, grow in the winter?
Depending on where you reside. Why? since conditions vary greatly from place to place! For instance, regions near the equator frequently experience warm winters. In these areas, the majority of plants may thrive all year long. It’s a different story for individuals who experience frigid temps, though!
Have you ever assisted with gardening? Then you might be familiar with hardiness zones. Each zone is a region of the earth where particular plants are most likely to thrive. Additionally, they offer planting advice for gardening in all four seasons, including winter.
No matter what hardiness zone you live in, certain plants do thrive in colder climates than others. Crocuses and violas are suitable choices for flowers. Heather, hellebores, and snowdrops are also. Some rose varieties may even thrive and bloom in the dead of winter.
What about a vegetable garden in the winter? Beans, tomatoes, and peppers all thrive in the spring and summer. Other plants may, however, survive mild winters. Garlic, carrots, and radishes are examples of root vegetables that do well in chilly climates. Additionally, leafy greens including cabbage, kale, and collards.
However, even in harsh climates, crops thrive when shielded from frost and subfreezing temperatures. When temperatures drop, many gardeners accomplish this by covering the plants with plastic sheets. For the season, some farmers relocate their crops to a greenhouse.
Plants can be grown anywhere, even in areas with severe winters. All you have to do is keep them inside! In the winter, taking care of houseplants is a wonderful opportunity to exercise your green thumb. For their spring gardens, many individuals also sow seeds indoors over the winter.
How does winter feel where you are? Do you want comfortable weather all year long? Or are you anticipating possible snowy days spent creating forts and sipping hot cocoa? There are several strategies to keep growing plants throughout the winter, no matter what your circumstances are!