Our indoor plants slow down in the winter just like we do. They thrive in the summer but suffer in the winter from low light levels, brief days, dry heated air, and a chilly environment. Our indoor gardening duties must change as their growth patterns do.
Less H2O.
In the winter, indoor plants require less water. Overwatering is a significant factor in plant death in general. Water suffocates the air pockets in the soil. Roots of plants require air just as much as they do water and nutrients.
Before grabbing the watering can, check for water. Not simply on the surface, the soil should be dry approximately two depths down. Water the entire surface of the pot and let the water to drip out the bottom into a sink or bucket. When you’re finished, don’t leave the pot sitting in a saucer of water.
Let in light and keep plants clean.
Keep leafy plants tidy to handle low light levels. The light required for photosynthesis, which provides food for the plant, is diminished by dust. How to maintain clean plants is as follows:
- Put the entire plant in the shower or clean it with a rag and warm, soapy water. This is a successful method for getting rid of pests like aphids, mealybugs, scale, and spider mites. To prevent sickness, complete the makeover by removing all brown and dead leaves.
- To let in as much light, sunshine, and heat as you can, keep your windows clean. In the fall, the light coming through the windows will vary as the sun goes from north to south.
- Reposition your plants to give them the most light and warmth possible.
- Refrain from putting them near heaters, registers, drafts, or chilly windows.
Increase humidity.
Put rocks or pebbles in saucers with water to help moisten dry indoor air. Make sure the pot’s bottom is not in the water or touching it. For increased humidity, group plants together or use a humidifier or vaporizer.
Prepare for spring.
Your indoor plants will generate new growth in February as the days become longer. More water and organic fertilizer are required for your indoor garden. Maintain your water-checking routine and fertilize at half-strength. Water and fertilizer will need to be used more frequently as the days get longer and warmer.
Refresh the soil.
The plant should be taken out of its pot, the root ball should be pruned, and a new pot with fresh potting soil should be used. Break apart the root ball slightly and plant it up to a size 1-2 larger if it is severely pot-bound.
When you buy the correct plant for the proper place, you can have success with houseplants right away. Avoid trying to cultivate a sun-loving plant in a dim environment and avoid placing shade-loving plants in the sun. If you take care of their requirements in the winter, you’ll have a lush indoor garden while the snow is falling!
How can I maintain the health of my houseplants?
Beautiful, healthy houseplants are the ideal way to bring life and color into your home. You may learn how to properly grow and care for indoor plants, whether your goal is a small number or a houseplant jungle. You can get on the right track for healthy indoor plants by following these easy steps:
How can I encourage healthier, more rapid plant growth?
The most fundamental elements that contribute to a plant’s ability to grow larger and quicker are water, air, light, soil nutrients, and the right temperature when combined with love and care.
What substance hastens plant growth?
Although there are other widely used options, including milk, juice, and water, each has advantages and disadvantages, pure water remains the most trustworthy beverage for the best plant growth.
How can a plant become unhealthy?
Examples of biotic agents that cause damage to plants include grazing or browsing animals, insects, mites, fungi, bacteria, nematodes, viruses, parasitic higher plants, and protozoa. A sick plant exhibits apparent changes in appearance as one of its symptoms.
How can I hasten the growth of my house plant?
Increasing the amount of intense light that indoor plants receive is the simplest approach to make them grow more quickly. Faster growth can also be achieved through regular feeding, repotting when plants outgrow their pots, trimming or pinching back, and adequate hydration.
Let’s look at five simple things you can do right away to help your plants grow more quickly and remain healthy for many years.
Increase Bright Light
Bright, indirect light is beneficial for all plants, even those that grow in low light. Placed in a brighter environment, plants that thrive in low light or tolerate it develop more quickly. Low light may be tolerated, but it does not necessarily mean it is best for growth.
Find out how your home is oriented on the compass if you’re serious about growing houseplants. You can find out which way your windows face by using one of the many free compass apps available for mobile devices. This is very crucial.
The optimal position for that plant is given based on direction while looking at the care guide for your particular plant. You can then decide where in your house is ideal to put it. (This is presuming that you are developing under natural light. Later on in this article, we’ll discuss artificial lighting.)
Most indoor plants flourish in windows that face east or west. But for other types, the sun could be too powerful. Slow growth in plants typically indicates that they aren’t getting enough light. It’s crucial to offer BRIGHT INDIRECT light rather than direct sunlight.
If you see leaves turning brown from excessive sunshine, especially hot afternoon sunlight, try placing transparent curtains in your windows to filter the light. The strongest light comes from south-facing windows, which is typically too powerful for most tropical indoor plants.
Always refer to the care instructions for your particular plant to learn how much light it needs. While some plants can handle only a half-day of direct sunlight, others cannot withstand any direct sunlight at all. The secret to promoting rapid development is to give your plants as much intense light as possible without harming them.
When I started growing my plants under artificial plant lights, I went through an EXPLOSION of growth. I only have a few east-facing windows in my house, which is rather dark. My plants sprang off when I got a few of these cheap plant lights from Amazon!
I especially like this light because it has four adjustable heads, allowing me to illuminate the widest potential area. You can see how many plants I’m growing with just one light in the image above. Additionally, it includes an automatic timer that you can set once, and it will turn on and off for you.
When I moved my dieffenbachia under this light, it immediately began to thrive even though it was withering in my east-facing front window. The rate of growth of my pothos is also visible. Right off the table end, it has begun to vine. Additionally, my peace lily is blossoming more.
In my experience, using artificial lighting is the most effective approach to hasten the growth of indoor plants. Your plants will grow bigger, stronger, and healthier than you ever imagined they could with 810 hours per day of full-spectrum LED light exposure.
Provide Enough Moisture
Make sure your plant has enough water and humidity after increasing the bright light. The majority of the time, signs that your plant is lacking hydration include drooping, yellowing and falling-off leaves, or brown leaf edges.
Just like with sunshine, different plants require various levels of moisture. Always examine the specific care needs for your particular plant. Following are some general principles:
- Keep the soil wet. Never let the potting soil become fully dry. Very few plants are able to withstand total drought. Even if they can endure it, being completely dried out will almost certainly prevent them from thriving and growing quickly.
- When growth is active, water more. In the spring and summer, when temperatures are warm and plants are actively developing, they typically need more water. Plants grown in artificial lighting might require the same quantity of water all year round.
- Dry air holds more moisture. Your plants will need more water if you live in an extremely dry place (like the desert where I currently reside) than they would in a tropical, humid climate. Additionally greatly drying out the air is using central heating during the winter. In these cases, water more often and give plants that need it additional humidity.
- Boost the humidity around plants. Place a decent humidifier next to your plants, set up humidity trays for them, or mist your plants frequently with a spray bottle of room temperature water. See my post on How to Increase Humidity for Plants Without a Humidifier if you don’t have access to a humidifier.
These are all broad principles. Always double-check the particular specifications for each of your individual plants. Since each houseplant is unique, determining just how much moisture they require can take some time.
But one of the best things you can do to encourage indoor plants to grow more quickly is to keep them well-hydrated and raise the humidity levels. If you leave dried-out plants too long without water, they may stop growing altogether.
Feed Plants Regularly
Regular feeding is a crucial component of a higher growth rate for indoor plants. Although light and photosynthesis supply a large portion of the nourishment for plants, it is still crucial to add additional nutrients to the soil by using fertilizer.
Like with light and water, the type of plant will determine how frequently you should feed it. You can still adhere to some general principles, though.
- Early in the spring, before the start of new growth, begin fertilizing indoor plants. For further information, see my post on When to Begin Fertilizing Houseplants in Spring.
- Use a fertilizer for indoor plants that has been diluted to half strength once a month. Depending on the requirements of the particular plant, use an excellent all-purpose food like Jack’s Houseplant Special once or twice a month.
- When plants are dormant in the winter, avoid feeding them. The only exceptions are plants that bloom in the winter or those raised under artificial lighting. For further details, see my post on Fertilizing Indoor Plants in the Winter.
Allow Room to Grow
This can prevent your houseplants from getting any bigger if they have outgrown their existing containers. How can you tell if re-potting in a bigger container is necessary? Observe these indicators:
- The drainage holes in the bottom are being overtaken by roots.
- The plant looks to be popping out of the pot as a result of roots pulling it up and away from the container.
- Because it doesn’t have enough space, your plant is developing more slowly than usual, or growth entirely stops in the spring and summer.
- Your plant has gotten top-heavy with foliage and frequently topples over.
- Despite receiving regular waterings, your plant is constantly thirsty.
Repot most plants in the spring, just as new growth is starting. Select a replacement container with a diameter that is 2 inches (5 cm) greater than the old one. Always read the care instructions for your specific plant because some huge or quickly growing plants may require a container that is 4 inches (10 cm) larger.
Prune to Encourage Growth
Another method for hastening the growth of indoor plants is pruning. By regularly pruning your houseplants, you can encourage faster growth and bushier foliage. Of course, each plant is different, but the following general rules apply:
- When a plant is actively growing, prune it. Pruning is an excellent idea for plants that have lost their shape or have branches that are unhealthy.
- Avoid pruning too heavily. Pruning certain branches back to the plant’s base and leaving some branches longer will keep a plant lush and bushy.
- Stems should be pruned immediately above a leaf node (the place where leaves are attached to the stem). Use pruning shears to trim stems about 3/4 inch (1.9 cm) above a leaf node or other branch junction for the greatest results.
- When necessary, remove old flowers from indoor blooming plants. Deadheading is a technique that promotes your plants to produce more blooms.
Light pruning encourages new growth of leaves, stalks, and flowers as well as helping plants develop into balanced shapes. Pruning is a crucial component of taking care of indoor plants, while some require more pruning than others.
Are eggshells beneficial for houseplants?
You are not required to fertilize your plants using commercial fertilizer. To naturally add more calcium to the soil or soil surface of your indoor plants, simply add crushed eggshells.
The eggshells will also assist to aerate the soil, which is another benefit. The roots of your plants might develop more easily as a result.
Clean eggshells should be ground into a fine powder in a food processor, coffee grinder, or mortar and pestle to generate your own organic plant fertilizer.
When you repot your plant, mix this eggshell powder into the soil and add it to the soil around the base of the plant.
Is baking soda beneficial for houseplants?
Although it appears to do no harm, baking soda on plants occasionally can help stop the blossoming of fungus spores. Although it works best on fruits and vegetables that are still on the vine or stem, routine treatments in the spring help reduce foliar diseases like powdery mildew.
Leaf burn can be prevented by mixing 1 teaspoon (5 cc) baking soda with 1 gallon (4 L) of water. To make the mixture stick, add 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of dormant oil and 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) of dish soap or horticultural soap as a surfactant. Remember that the solution is water soluble, therefore for optimal results, apply on a day that is dry and foggy.
Even though some tests and academic studies lessen baking soda’s efficiency against fungi, it won’t harm the plant and has immediate advantages, so give it a try!
BEFORE USING ANY HOMEMADE MIX: It should be noted that whenever a home mix is used, a little section of the plant should always be tested first to ensure that it won’t hurt the plant. Additionally, avoid washing plants with any detergents or soaps that include chlorine as this can be damaging to the plants. A home remedy should never be administered to any plant on a hot or sunny day, since this will cause immediate scorching and result in the plant’s eventual death.