Winter Care for Houseplants

When Old Man Winter comes to call, we are not the only ones who feel the jack frost nipping at our noses. Our houseplants usually will show their intolerance of the changing climate by boasting brown, dried leaves or foilage. Don't worry. With these handy tips, you can prepare and extend the life of your houseplants all through winter. And they will be at their best when spring time rolls around. You may not realize it, but as an added bonus to beautifying a room, some houeplants have been noted to absorb air pollutants indoors and thus improving the quality of our air dramatically. NASA has been conducting it's own research on the topic of using your houseplants to improve the quality of your air. And they will be launching some plants into orbit in the near future aboard an orbiting space station. I can't wait to see the results they conclude. So until then, be sure to follow up with these handy tips below to keeping your houseplants green all winter long.

- All plants require some source of light. Natural or artificial may be sought, depending on the type of plant you have. So remember to adjust a plants light level either by moving it closer to windows, farther from heat sources or so on, until you find just the right environment your plant is desiring. Also, try to turn your plants once a week so all sides receive the same amount of light.

- The watering cycle of a plant may change also. So keep in mind that while indoors in winter your plants probably will not use as much water. But many varying factors come into play also with this subject. If your plant is in direct view of full sun all day or in a room with wood heat, it may require just as much or more water than summer. Reason being these factors have a high rate of drawing moisture out of indoor plants. You will just have to tweak your watering method to each plant to find the right amount.

- Air Temperature may need to be adjusted. This kind of links to tip #1 in a way, but is different because I'm not speaking of direct light/heat source. I am now talking about the air around the plant. In winter, the air indoors seem to reach that dry, musky feeling. So keep in mind that the ideal range is somewhere between 65 to 75 degree in the daytime and around 60 to 65 degrees at night.

- Watch your plant for downward curled leaves or mottling. This could mean your plant has cold damage and again you may need to adjust the temperature.

- Don't over fertilize your plant in the winter months. A good rule of a green thumb is to never fertilize your plant in the months from October to April. By fertilizing you are only encouraging your plant to grow more. And this should wait until the plant is back in it's most suitable environment, in spring and summer.

-Try to increase the humidity in your home. Purchase a humidifier if at all possible and follow the guidelines with that model.