Caring for your indoor plants in the cooler months.

Caring for your indoor plants in the cooler months.

At this time of year when the evenings close in earlier our green friends may need a little extra help. Would you like some tips on how to care for your babies in the cold?

So pop on your favourite Cream Collection Gardening apron and let’s take care of your green babies!

Here are some tips for caring for your indoor plants during winter:

Let there be light!

We all need light and it’s hard to get a lot of it when the days are so short like they are in the middle of winter. 

Plants are similar to people, they need light, including our babies. The amount of light that homes get during the winter months is short, and if your house doesn’t face the right way, you may only get light in certain rooms and through certain windows.

Be flexible and be prepared to move your plants around - closer to windows and areas that get light during winter. Make sure that the windows ledges are cleared to allow for maximum light. Also make sure that any dust that has gathered on the leaves has been cleaned off so the leaves can absorb that light better. You can use old towels, tea towels ripped into smaller cloths - they are great for this as they are gentle as well as great for collecting tiny dust particles.

Give them water

During the winter months, most of the time the issue is not that plants don’t get enough water, but that people give them too much water. This can be particularly true if you have indoor succulents - do not over water them.

Make sure to test more than just the top of the soil in your plants. Some plants need to totally dry out before being watered again, stick your finger into the soil and go down a few inches and see if the soil is dry.

A dry home can lead to problems, too. During the winter months the air often gets dry and it gets drier if you crank up the heat. To counteract this, some people use humidifiers to try and keep the air moist. If you have plants in rooms where a humidifier is working overtime, then you probably don’t need to water them as much.

When you water plants, it’s often best to remove them from the saucer you keep them in and run them under a tap. Let the water run right through the soil and out the bottom. Put each plant back in the saucer and check again in about 15 minutes. If there’s any water sitting in the saucer, get rid of it - you don’t want to drown them.

Prune and repot

Now is the time to prune and trim. Again, this can depend on the type of plant you have, succulents tend not to need much, if any, pruning. However, if your indoor plants include vining plants, now is the time.

Succulents also do not tend to need repotting, but if you have woody plants, they tend to go into dormancy during the colder months. Now is the time to repot woody plants so that they are ready to start budding and grow when spring comes around.

We clear our garden or deck table, take all plants outside and check them all over. A little care goes a long way.

Watch for pests

During the winter months the increased heat from the heaters, lack of sunlight, and increased humidity because of humidifiers all can lead to pests and mould. Be watchful of these on your plants and take steps to eliminate them when they appear. Tend to this when you prune and repot - you may have to replace a layer of topsoil.

A sprinkle of cinnamon really helps with these nasties - just sprinkle it on the soil around the plant. If required (as above) remove the top layer.

Now that this job is done you can rest assured that your plants are in the best condition to thrive not only through the cooler months but into Spring also. 

A little hint for you - we have linked the image to one of our favourite gardening aprons - see more information here This world-class apron is so well designed it ticks all of the boxes when gardening. With two pockets and super comfy cross over back straps. Split front for ease of movement. Made from durable organic cotton, it is super hard wearing. The straps are long enough to wrap around and tie in front too - so it provides a really good fit.

Go green thumbs! 💚

Leave a comment

Please note, comments need to be approved before they are published.