Winter Houseplant Care

Winter Houseplant Care

Winter can be a tough time for houseplants. Dry air from central heating, shorter days, lower levels of light, and improper care can leave them looking ragged and susceptible to pests and disease. But you can keep them healthy during winter so they’ll grace your home with greenery though outside is dull and brown.

Many houseplants, such as cacti and other succulents, benefit from cooler temperatures during winter months. Kept too warm in winter, they may shrivel, drop leaves, or become weak and vulnerable to pests.

Also, flowering potted plants received as holiday gifts will hold their flowers longer in a cool environment. Keep such plants in an unheated room, or at least away from heaters, vents, or fireplaces.

Reduced humidity during winter is the culprit behind brown tips, yellow edges on leaves, and dropped flower buds. Even if your furnace has a humidifier, you may need to supplement the humidity around your plants. An easy way to do this is to place the plants on a pebble tray—simply a tray containing pebbles on which plants are set. Keep the pebbles damp, to increase humidity, but don’t let the water touch the bottom of the pots where it can be absorbed into the soil. Grouping plants closer together also helps with humidity.

Spider mites—signs are tiny webs between leaves and stems, or leaves that are dull and gray—are the most common houseplant pests during this time, because they love warm, dry conditions. Rinse the plant in the sink or shower at least once a week until the mites are gone.

Houseplants that need a lot of light, especially flowering plants such as African violets, may need to be moved closer to a window, to a sunnier room, or given supplemental light. Plants don’t like to wander around the house more than necessary, though, so don’t move the plant if it seems content in its current location. Clean plant leaves if they become dusty, because dirty leaves can’t absorb as much light.

Though finding a sunny spot sometimes can be difficult, avoid putting plants on windowsills near the glass. When the air outside gets too cold, any leaves that touch the glass will be damaged. Consider moving these plants away when temperatures dip below 50 degrees, even if windows are insulated.

Pamela Kock is a freelance writer from southeast Ohio and editor of a website devoted to houseplants.

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