You may be noticing the morning frost on your outdoor plants. You may be leaving for work and having to wait for the windscreen to clear. And you may be wondering how to care for your houseplants over the winter.
Here’s our quick summary of everything you need to know. In short, you need to follow these 5 steps…
- Keep them away from doors (draughts)
- Avoid radiators at all costs
- Water less
- Stop feeding
- Give them light
Essentially the winter months mean you can relax and worry less, but let's break things down in more detail.
1. Keep away from doors (draughts)
In the warmer weather you may well have a houseplant in the entrance of your home. But this time of year, that plant will need a new home.
Houseplants like a consistent temperature at all times, so cold draughts can really unsettle them.
2. Avoid radiators at all costs
On the topic of consistent temps, we’ll all be turning on the radiators to keep warm. Just as they don’t like the cold, houseplants can scorch and not farewell if placed near a direct heat source - so best to avoid at all costs.
3. Water less
Houseplants {almost} stop growing in the winter and this means their needs reduce. It all works in a cycle type motion, if the plants aren’t growing as quickly, they aren’t as thirsty, so you can water them less.
Only give them water when the top 2 inches of soil are completely dry.
4. Stop feeding
In the same breath you can stop feeding them. Given your houseplants are dormant, you can completely stop feeding. Our experts always advise to only actually feed your plants from March to September.
5. Give them light
Last but by no means least is to reassess your plants light source. Shorter days means less hours of sunlight. That said, we need to maximize the light and move our plants closer to windows.
And breath…
That’s a wrap. Generally, this time of year, make yourself a warm drink, put the fire on and your feet up and let your houseplants do their thing. They may not grow but keep them energized and ready to start thriving once again next year.
If you have any plant care questions, reach out to our plant experts - contact us today!