Houseplants: winter care tips to keep them thriving!
1. Keep an eye on your humidity levels
If you love to blast the heater, you’ll want to keep an eye on your humidity levels as the heater will make the air a lot more dry. The vast majority of indoor plants are native to tropical areas, so are sensitive to decreases in humidity. Low humidity can lead to brown tips, curling leaves and sometimes death depending on the plant.
A few humidity hints & tricks:
- Invest in a humidifier
- If you need a fast hack, a clear plastic bag over the top of a plant creates an instant mini greenhouse. This works nicely for a plant that is showing all the signs of low humidity and needs an instant pick me up.
- Clustering plants together is another great trick as it creates a mini climate of humidity. As each plant loses water through transpiration, another nearby plant can absorb it!
2. Reposition your plants
Keeping in mind the climate of tropical regions where most houseplants live in the wild, houseplants aren’t really adapted to the cold. The minimum temperature they are ok with is 15C. So you’ll want to watch out for cold windows or other drafty spots, or rooms that get super chilly, and relocate plants accordingly.
When you’re heaters are on, be careful of where your plants are positioned as you don’t want them in the firing line and at risk of drying them out.
3. Put down the mister!
Misting when it’s cold can cause spotting & infection on leaves – If you need to mist, ensure the water is at room temp, do it only in the mornings, & ensure it’s warm enough for the water to dry quickly.
4. Stop fertilising – if you’re a diligent plant parent who has been giving their indoor jungle a regular feed through the warmer months, now’s the time to give yourself and your plant a little break. Many plants have a period of dormancy during the colder seasons and can’t effectively use the extra nutrients they get from fertilisers, which cause a harmful build up instead.
5. Watch out for pests
Some of our indoor plants, particularly those tropical beauties, can suffer during winter and struggling plants are susceptible to pests and disease. Check on them regularly, looking carefully over leaves (front and back) to catch any issues early before they take hold. If you do find a sick plant, quarantine it from the rest of your collection while you treat it to avoid infestation.
6. Regularly rotate your plants
Plants are more likely to stretch towards the sun with less light during the winter months. A quarter turn each time you water them keeps them growing evenly. If your succulent is looking leggy (all stem, no leaves), move it closer to light.
In conclusion….
Lucky for us here in Australia, most of us don’t experience extremely low temperatures (apart from our very Southern friends), so winter is not something to be too worried about. You just need to be prepared to change up your routine a little bit, and keep on an eye on your green friends to keep them happy & lush.
