Taking Care Of Houseplants In Winter

 

Houseplants often bring a sense of ever so green vigor in our much gloomy homely surroundings.  It’s not just about aesthetics anymore; plants inside our house bring much elation in our homes in those cold days. However in absence of proper houseplant care, winter will stay true to its nature and suck the life out of your plants living them cold and lifeless.

Ok, let’s part away from the theatrics, shall we? Winter season has always been tough on living things, as the adverse conditions tend to have detrimental effects on plants. But, few plant care tips can certainly guarantee their survival and health.

The sunlight is something the plants will always need. Even with plant activities fall to a near hibernation levels in winter, a minimum of 6 hrs quota of proper sunlight must be ensured. Keep the plants near the most illuminated window, possibly facing south. Clean the windows regularly so the clear sunlight should not get obstructed.

Even thought the essential range of temperature at night may fall to 50-650F, care should be taken to keep the temperature above 500F.

In winter, the water requirement of plants falls heavily. This is even truer in case of cacti and the succulents. In such a scenario, over-watering the plants is always the most frequent oversight which can happens. The moisture levels of the soil could be monitored simply by inserting a finger in the same.

In case of cacti and succulents, the soils should be dried up to the levels of roots in order to demand further watering. The drainage within the pot should be ensured by the aperture at the bottom, failing of which can lead to flooding inside the pot and thus causing root-rot.

Plants need an optimal humidity of 40-50% in order to keep up with normal physiological processes. So, it is always imperative to ensure that plants are not kept near any hot spots such as near the radiator or the furnace. In winter, the heating systems in many homes tend to make the air dry, as the humidity levels can fall up to 10-20%. Employing a humidifier to spray mist of water on plants is the commonly used solution for this problem.  If the scenario are reversed that is in case of high humidity, a dehumidifier may spring into action.

Adding fertilizers is task that could be left out in winter entirely, as the decreased growth processes in plants requires quite none of it in winter. As the winter feds, plants can be put on the resumed schedule of fertilizers nevertheless.

One thing which is often ignored and sidelined often is the cleaning of plants. For healthy plants, it is crucial that they absorb essential gases and water form air continuously. With saturated dirt on plant leaves, the miniscule sized openings on them called as ‘stomata’ is often left non-functional. This problem can easily be solved by washing the plant leaves with soap water with the help of a sponge. Gentle touch is necessary here as to not harm the leaves physically. 

Keeping with the above tips has its merits as to keep your plants green and beautiful in winter, so that they can get through it without much hassle.

Taking Care of Your Houseplants

Many of us just cannot help getting some beautiful flowering plants in our home. But it’s not just flowers; also there are different varieties that have found home beside us. These plants not just gives hint of natural beauty to our homes, but they often complements that perpetual nurturing instinct in each and every one of us.

May be tucked into a corner of the living room or settled in an elaborate construction with a personal aesthetic choice for some; plants makes up a part of our home.  So, some level of houseplant care is mandatory to keep them intact and more appealing.

Following are few gardening tips to ensure healthy growth of any indoor plants and to prevent any undesired effects on the same.

Compatibility: Before getting a plant, it is necessary to do some homework. The choice of plants not only depends on the surroundings it demands, but also the time you can offer in order to maintain it. So, a beautiful flowering plant may looks pleasing, but may soon turn gloomy if those needful monitoring duties in houseplant care were not observed.

Water: The most commonly found reason for an indoor plant dying is established to be over-watering. Even when, the pot is equipped with a drainage hole allowing through it all the excess run-off; more than generous watering efforts can put any plant into jeopardy.

The water demand of a plant may simply be understood by inserting your finger into the soil. The moisture level in soil can very well express the water needs of a plants, as dryness of soil lets you know that it’s time to pour some water.

Light: Although light is the principle source of energy for plants, the amount of light plants should be exposed to, is an important factor. Depending on the species and variety, light requirement of every plant is different and so does the period of exposure, thus shaping the directives of typical houseplant care. Some plants such as with variegated foliage need more light than many flowering plants. According to the plants needs, setup the ideal position for a plant close to bright sunlight and follow a light cycle recommended for the same.
Use of artificial lights such as LED or HID bulbs may come in handy, if your house is not illuminated enough.

Fertilizer: Regular regimen of fertilizers should be kept on schedule. As most of the available fertilizers are developed for flowering plants, thus they have rather low levels of Nitrogen. Identify the products which provide similar proportions of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus as in 10:10:10.
Plants are to be fed with fertilizers once in a week, the amount which is to be further decreased in winter i.e. once in a month. Use of water soluble products are commonly used, however use of slow- release granules and fertilizers spikes is not uncommon either.

Humidity: As many of popular plants are often tropical nature, they require humidity of 50-60% in general scenario. At winter, conditions even get more difficult due to introductions of furnace or heater at home, making the air much drier. Hand-held spray can certainly help to maintain required amount of humidity, something which can be further enhanced with grouping the plants on a tray of damp gravel.

Maintenance:  Regular monitoring supported grooming exercises helps to keep the plants healthy and beautiful. Pruning will help a plant become bushier and fuller, as trimming can remove those wayward branches. Deadheading often carried out to remove dead flowers, so as to divert the bit of energy from seed development to further growth.

Pests and diseases: In case, any symptoms such a tuft of white fluffs, presence of tiny bugs or yellow speckling are observed, the affected part should be removed and mist to be applied around  the given region. This prevents any further progress of pests and diseases and thus further damage.

Regular monitoring and proper track of important factors should help anyone to develop some beautiful looking plants in any indoor conditions.