Houseplants make a lovely addition to all home decor. Keeping live plants indoors provides better air quality and simply makes us feel good! Your houseplants can thrive through winter when you know their light, water, and temperature needs.
Modify the Light
The sun is lower on the horizon and shines for less hours during winter. If your houseplant requires bright, consistent light, place it on a higher perch for more exposure. Rotate taller plants to keep them growing upwards instead of bending towards the light. Try a few small succulents on a sunny windowsill.
Most houseplants thrive in bright, indirect light, such as Dracaena, Philodendron, and Sansevieria. Set on a side table near a window with a sheer curtain or slatted blind. Multiple houseplants with the same care can grow together in one container offering interest with texture, height, and leaf variations.
Consider the light your houseplants would require in nature and mimic that light in your home. Easy care ZZ Plant and Pothos tolerate low light very well. Many ferns like morning or late afternoon sun, like the dappled light of the woodlands.
Test the Soil
All plants have a growing season and a time when they go dormant. During the winter months, houseplants require less water and no fertilizer to keep their natural state of rest for survival. Overwatering is the number one reason houseplants fail.
Check the soil by sticking your finger one inch into the soil. If it is dry, water slowly until you see leakage through the drainage holes. Tepid water will not shock the roots. Design Tip: Group plants with similar needs near one another in coordinating containers for a pleasing appearance and ease of care.
Root rot happens with overwatering. Stagnant water becomes brown and sometimes smelly. Prevent root rot by using a container with drainage holes. Or keep a pot-within-a-pot, where the plant in the greenhouse pot sets inside a decorative container without drainage holes. If you see excess water in the decorative container, dump it out or drain it with a turkey baster.
Create a Natural Habitat
Most houseplants like 70-80 degrees, taking 65 degrees overnight just fine. Cold or warm air drafts can be harmful to plants however. Be sure to keep them out of a direct path of indoor airflow from vents and cold drafts near doors.
The colder it is outside, the harder it is to maintain higher humidity indoors. House humidity is usually half of the temperature setting. A home set at 70, probably has 35%. Humidity. Plants like 40-50% humidity. Use a humidifier or increase the humidity around your plants by placing the plant containers on saucers filled with pebbles and water.
