Houseplant care in autumn and winter
Caring for potted plants in fall and winter is slightly different than during the growing season and may be more difficult. Many houseplants in this period suffer from a lack of light and too warm and dry air in heated apartments. How to help them and how to provide the best conditions for potted plants in autumn and winter?
The autumn-winter period is the most difficult for home flowers to survive. According to the natural requirements of plants, they should go into a state of rest during this period. To enable them to do so, along with limiting the amount of incoming light, you should lower the temperature in the rooms where the plants are located, limit watering them and give up fertilization.
Providing plants with the right conditions, however, can turn out to be quite difficult. If you cannot provide the plants with the most suitable conditions, you should at least try to help them survive this period as much as possible. An important element here will be to achieve a balance between factors influencing the condition of plants.
7 potted flowers that bloom in winter
As much light as possible for houseplants
The first such factor is light. In autumn, the day is shorter and the amount of light reaching our apartments becomes much smaller than in the summer season. It may not be sufficient for many houseplants. The consequence will be the loss of leaves and even the death of the entire plant. Plants with light and variegated leaves are the least resistant to light deficiency.
To provide plants with as much light as possible, it is worth placing them close to its source, i.e. near the window. Rooms with windows on the south-east side are better lit, so it may happen that the plants have to be moved.
Also pay attention to the fact that a lot of sunlight is taken by the curtains. For the sake of plants, uncover the window completely.
Dust on the leaves may also be a factor that hinders light from reaching the plant. Therefore, caring for potted plants in the fall requires thorough dusting. You can move plants to the bathroom, use shower of lukewarm water to remove dust, then gently wipe leaves dry.
Larger plants that cannot be moved wipe with a damp, soft cloth. But beware – leaves covered with hairs, cutter or a wax coating, must not be wiped with a cloth or sponge.
Temperature in fall and winter
Another factor that you must pay attention to is temperature. In order to maintain the proportions between the factors influencing the condition of plants, it is necessary, along with reducing the amount of light reaching the plants, also lowering the air temperature in the rooms where the plants live.
In practice, it is quite difficult, as it cannot be required that you lower the temperature in living quarters to 16 or 18 ° C.
If you cannot move the plants to cooler rooms, a good solution will be to place the plants near the windows or on the window sills, because due to the leaks in the windows, it will be slightly cooler in these areas (as long as there is no radiator under the window).
However, you should remember that sudden cooling down, which can be enough when opening the window to ventilate, can harm the plants. Therefore, while airing the plants, move them away from the opened window.
Watering potted plants in the fall and winter
The next factor that you should regulate is water. In autumn and winter, the water demand of plants decreases, so watering plants should be limited. You should not water the plants more often than once every two weeks, only when the soil is dry, remembering that during this period, excess water can be more harmful than its shortage.
It is also good to pay attention to air humidity, not only for plant health, but also for our own. Electric humidifiers, containers hung on radiators or at least a damp towel placed on the radiator can help here. It is a good idea to arrange the pots of plants on wide, flat bases filled with small pebbles.
Water is poured into the coasters, which will then evaporate from them. Many plants will also benefit from spraying the leaves with dispersed water. Humidification is especially important at the beginning of the heating season, as over time plants will get used to drier air.
Pests of houseplants in autumn and winter
Due to the too dry air during the heating season and the general deterioration of the condition of plants, they are often attacked by pests of potted plants, such as spider mites and scots. Another lot of bugs includes mealybugs, scalefish and bowlers, so there are quite a lot of them.
When any of these pests appear, you can buy insecticidal soap. The preparation is in the form of liquid. You should spray leaves and bugs as soon as you discover any of them. Also to stop spread try to isolate affected plants if possible.
Fertilization of potted plants in autumn and winter
The question often arises: is it necessary to fertilize potted plants in autumn and winter. Well, the general rule says that during this period, plants should not be fertilized at all, because they should go into a state of rest. However, from reading the text above, you can see that creating resting conditions for plants is a fiction, especially due to the excessively high temperature in heated apartments. So, since you force plants to vegetate, you should also fertilize them.
Of course, such fertilization must be much less intensive than the one you used in spring and summer. You can use fertilizers dissolved in water in small amounts or fertilizers with long-lasting effect. Fertilization during this period must be adjusted to the individual needs of the cultivated species.
Many species grown in our homes (especially plants of tropical origin) will be able to survive the winter in this way, but remember that some plants absolutely must undergo a period of dormancy and you will have to move them to cooler rooms, water them sporadically and not fertilize at all. Such treatment is required, among others. geraniums and fuchsia.
