If you’re anything like us, your house became a jungle during quarantine, full of indoor plants. I mean, if you’re going to be stuck indoors, you might as well make your home a lush, green paradise you never want to leave, right?
But now the temps have grown colder, and the plant babies… well, they’re not looking as perky and happy as they once were, are they?
The thing is, with even fewer opportunities to do things outside the house, and the world looking mighty barren and desolate outside our doors, we need the soothing presence of those magical indoor gardens more than ever.
So if you’ve found yourself in the same boat, you’re in luck – today we’re taking a look at 8 ways to make sure your indoor plants are happy, healthy, and thriving through the cold winter months.
1. Maximize the Sunshine
When temps drop, everything gets darker. So put your plant babies in the sunniest spot you can find, and move them throughout the day if you need to. You can purchase rolling plant stands for larger pots.
Your best bet is a window that’s facing east, where hopefully you’ll get not-too-harsh sun from the morning til afternoon.
2. Make Sure Your Windows Are Sealed
Your indoor plants love the sun, but can’t thrive if it’s too cold. And if your home is too chilly or drafty, you might find them dropping leaves like crazy.
Make sure that your windows are well-sealed and insulated. If that’s not possible, do what you can to make sure your plants aren’t too close to your windowsills or doorways.
3. Supplement Lighting if Need Be
If you can’t place your plants near windows, or there’s just not enough light coming through them, consider replacing any nearby incandescent bulbs with full-spectrum lights.
You can also look into some grow lights, which are especially helpful for succulents and some tropical plants.
4. Cut Back on the Water (and Fertilizer)
If you’re noticing things like yellow leaves, small insects flying around, or moldy soil, you could be watering your plants too much. It might seem counterintuitive — or even neglectful — at first, but in winter houseplants just don’t need as much water, and overwatering can be especially damaging in cold temps.
“Most plants only need water once a week in winter,” says horticulturist David Clark. “They will kind of go dormant, especially if they’re plants that grow outdoors in summer and they’ve come from that bright light into a home with lower lighting and lower temperatures.”
Try cutting back your watering by half, or just water when they start to look a little thirsty. And cut back on the fertilizer too – many plants go dormant in the winter and they just don’t need it. Save the superfoods for Spring.
5. Start Misting
You might be cutting back on saturating the soil of your plants, but they’d still appreciate an environment that gives them the occasional fog or light rain (i.e. mist). That heater you’ve been running can really dry the air out, so a little spritz every few days will keep everyone happy.
You can do this with any ordinary spray bottle, but honestly the experience is just so much better when you get your hands on an antique-style glass plant mister bottle.
You could also consider setting up a humidifier, or creating a DIY humidity tray: Line a tray with small pebbles, add enough water to almost cover those pebbles, then set your plants on top in a warm, sunny spot.
6. And Dusting (or Bathing)
Did you know that if your plants get dusty, they can’t breathe? Poor babies!
“When they get dusty, that causes plants not to breathe. It plugs their leaves, which have little pores called stomata,” says Clark. “If you cover a leaf surface with dirt, it won’t get the full effect of sunlight and photosynthesis will be slowed.”
You can wipe all of the leaves down with a damp paper towel, or put them all in the sink (or bath tub for larger plants) and clean the leaves with the sprayer/shower head.
7. Hold Off on Repotting
I know, I know, these wintertime blues have you seriously eyeing those cute planters at the nursery. But resist the urge to repot your plants during cold weather. Root growth is super slow this time of year, and soil in bigger pots stays wet longer, risking root rot and over-watering.
You can use this time to prune back any yellow or brown leaves, or vines that look a bit on the leggy side. You’re not going to see a lot of growth right now, but it could clean everybody up nicely.
8. Sing to Your Babies
Okay, so this might feel a little silly – unless you’re someone who already sings to all your plants and animals, in which case carry on – but there are genuine theories proposing that singing to your plants helps them grow.
Now sure, it could be because you’re targeting a little extra carbon dioxide toward them. Or maybe it has more to do with good vibrations than breathing.
No matter the actual logic of it, a little gratitude never hurt anyone, right? So tell your plant fam you love them by talking to, singing to, and playing music for them. We hear they’re partial to classical tunes.
