Winter Plant Care Guide: How To Keep Your Plants Alive
You might be thinking of cutting short your gardening time in the winter as it becomes a quiet season for plants. However, you might also witness their leaves falling, and there isn’t much growth among your green buddies.
But here is when you need to be wise about it!
You need to be extra efficient for winter plant care. As sometimes, it is easy to be casual about the house plants, but why would you want to be in a place where you had spent so much time to prosper them but now let them die?
It is time you need to put winter concerns aside. In order to turn everything around and make you become a gardening pro, we’ve compiled our finest winter plant care advice and techniques. Your houseplants won’t simply survive this year; they’ll flourish!
Scroll down for some mindful suggestions.
- Guidelines About Watering
It is important to understand the fact that the need for water reduces during the winter season.
Take a look at this illustration to help you comprehend.
You may use your own example of how much water you drink or how thirsty you are in the winter versus the summer.
The same is the situation with your plants. If you have a pot of Vriesea Ospinae in your house, you may go and check it, as this becomes more evident when you look at the soil, as it doesn’t get dry in the winter.
Therefore, you should cut the water to half as compared to the other seasons. Undoubtedly, water is essential for photosynthesis, but consumption is reduced, so you must cut the water supply short.
Moreover, the water need also gets covered by the dew, which gets to the ground in abundance during winter.
- Stop Fertilizing During Winter
As the leaves of the plants start drying, that might look like a point of concern, and you start taking undue preventive measures like using plant fertilizers.
But hold on, take a deep breath! It is bound to happen with plants that the dead leaves will fall from them. You should not look to give plants any fertilizers. Water consumption has already been reduced in the fall. So the fertilizer won’t make any difference to the plants.
Instead, it will stay on the surface of the plant soil. Therefore, the pre-spring season is the best time to fertilize the plants, when new leaves and colorful flowers emerge.
- Small Plants Need More Attention
There can be many kinds of plants on the premises of your house, but small greeneries need to be taken care of as it is also easy to manage them.
Therefore, you should upskill your farming techniques and start repotting with the help of appropriate tools. Such things come in handy when you look to do winter plant care efficiently.
Doing it at this time will be easy as there is less growth. Also, you will be able to see the condition of the soil and whether it needs any alteration.
- Look Out For Rotten Parts And Pests
During winter, the plants are usually at a standstill, so the chances of pest attacks go higher. Or you might witness rotten bushes still hanging by the plants.
You must be proactive about it, as studies have proved that there are many incidents in which a small rotten branch or leaf has caused irreparable damage to the whole plant.
Therefore, take some time to examine all the plants closely and get your plant scissor to sharpen. Then, cut such damaged parts to prevent the plant from dying.
The same should be done for the pest, as you should use anti-pest spray so that they don’t attack the plant and thrive in the winter.
- Be Active For The Sunlight
Sunlight is as essential for plants as oxygen is for humans. But it becomes a big problem in winter as the sun tends to get covered under the clouds.
The outdoor plants are somewhat stronger and tend to survive longer, but the worry still stands for the indoor house plants. Therefore, you must be on your toes while doing winter plant care.
Whenever the sun comes out, ensure that the plants get sunlight and that it should not be on a particular side. You must look to rotate them so that every side of your plant gets enough sunlight to keep them alive.
- Take Some Controlled Steps
The plant’s surroundings and atmosphere are the most important aspects of survival. When the humidity around a particular plant increases, it releases more oxygen. It also needs more water and tends to escalate its growth.
Therefore, ensure to increase the humidity level to 45-55%. Try to main such a level because overdoing it might also hamper the plants. So you need to be vigilant around this time.
Plants can be easily made more humid by grouping them close together. Due to humid conditions, the water will evaporate from the soil and the leaves of the plants. As this procedure takes place naturally, it will keep your green buddies in great condition. You can also buy humidifiers on Amazon.
- Ensure To Keep Your Plants Clean
The dried leaves will typically fall naturally over the winter, but winter plant care means going a step ahead. For example, closed windows can increase indoor pollution and dust during the chilly winter months.
If dust and other particles build up on the leaves of your houseplants, this may reduce their ability to receive light. However, given how short the days are, it is more important than usual for them to get as much light as they can.
So every few weeks, help yourself by gently dusting off the leaves with a soft, moist cloth. You should also spray clean water on them.
- Stop Mold Growth
If this has been a problem for you, you should try bottom watering, which helps maintain the top soil layers nice and dry and inhibits mold growth.
Place your plants in the desired amount of water in a tray. In this manner, the plant receives water while the top layer of soil is kept dry. Just ensure the plant isn’t submerged in water for longer than 24 hours, and keep the water level low to prevent the soil from getting overly saturated.
That is how instantly you may prevent your plants from any damage.
- Think Out Of The Box
You should look to keep the beauty of your plants intact.
But as your time with plants gets limited during fall, it can be the best time to decorate the plant pots.
It can be the best time to redo it if they have lost color due to different weather conditions. Separate those pots which need reconditioning. Select a bright sunny day and take them out for repainting.
So, wait until the sun comes out because it will help your plants to be in the sun, and the paint will dry quickly.
Just checking on some of the taller plants that are spending the winter in the garage .
— Mike Clifford (@MikesRarePlants) December 13, 2022
all seem ok so far 😁🌿 pic.twitter.com/SdWYkBWTeC
The Bottom Line
You should gear up to protect your plants before the fall starts.
It is understandable that winter plant care can be more demanding for your plants than any other season. Therefore, you must be well-informed and make sure that you treat every plant individually.
Doing this will ensure that your house plants have a much longer life.
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