How To Care For Your Houseplants In Winter With London Terrariums
Emma Sibley, Founder of London Terrariums is back and this time she’s here to tell us her ultimate tips on looking after your houseplants this season.
So it’s getting colder and darker and chances are most of the plants you have in your home are either tropical jungle plants or sun loving cacti. Throughout the winter, most houseplants will go into dormancy (take a long old nap) and you will start to notice they stop flowering and their growth slowing down. Here are a few things that you can do to give your plants the best winter plant care.
Watering & Humidity
As your houseplants will pretty much go to sleep for the winter you will need to decrease their watering as overwatering in winter can lead to root rot and mould - which we do not want! Cacti and succulents should only be watered every 4-5 weeks and leafy tropicals such as Calathea, Cheese Plants and Palms should be watered every 2-3 weeks.
One thing to also take into account though is humidity, as you turn the central heating and radiators up, your home will become drier. Make sure you move plants away from hot radiators or group them together as this will increase the humidity round them. You will also need to increase the humidity around delicate plants such as Ferns and Calathea as they will quickly crisp up.
Top Tip: You can use a spray bottle to mist leaves a few times a week to keep your plants looking their best!
As your houseplants will pretty much go to sleep for the winter you will need to decrease their watering as overwatering in winter can lead to root rot and mould - which we do not want! Cacti and succulents should only be watered every 4-5 weeks and leafy tropicals such as Calathea, Cheese Plants and Palms should be watered every 2-3 weeks.
One thing to also take into account though is humidity, as you turn the central heating and radiators up, your home will become drier. Make sure you move plants away from hot radiators or group them together as this will increase the humidity round them. You will also need to increase the humidity around delicate plants such as Ferns and Calathea as they will quickly crisp up.
Top Tip: You can use a spray bottle to mist leaves a few times a week to keep your plants looking their best!
Light
The next thing to think about is light. It’s getting dark around 4pm at the moment so think how much less light your plants are getting, especially as they go into dormancy because of this but they will still need a bit of extra glow. Now is a good time to move any sun loving plants to a South facing window or into a room which gets the most sun. If you struggle with light in your home you can always get yourself some grow lamps, to clip onto the side of a bookshelf or table to give your green friends a little helping hand while the light is low.
The next thing to think about is light. It’s getting dark around 4pm at the moment so think how much less light your plants are getting, especially as they go into dormancy because of this but they will still need a bit of extra glow. Now is a good time to move any sun loving plants to a South facing window or into a room which gets the most sun. If you struggle with light in your home you can always get yourself some grow lamps, to clip onto the side of a bookshelf or table to give your green friends a little helping hand while the light is low.
Plant Food
Have you been giving your houseplants food throughout the summer? If so - great! But now is the time to cut right back and hold off on plant food because the plants go into dormancy and are not actively growing they don’t need much food. You can dilute the fertiliser by 50 percent, then once you see the plant shooting out new growth you can start feeding again.
Have you been giving your houseplants food throughout the summer? If so - great! But now is the time to cut right back and hold off on plant food because the plants go into dormancy and are not actively growing they don’t need much food. You can dilute the fertiliser by 50 percent, then once you see the plant shooting out new growth you can start feeding again.
Repotting
Don’t repot until the Spring, even if you are worried that your plant is outgrowing its current pot, it will be much happier in the long-run if you wait until just before it starts growing again.
Top Tip: March and April are the best months for repotting.
Don’t repot until the Spring, even if you are worried that your plant is outgrowing its current pot, it will be much happier in the long-run if you wait until just before it starts growing again.
Top Tip: March and April are the best months for repotting.
Houseplant Housekeeping
Now is the best time to tidy your plants up and carry out a bit of houseplant housekeeping! Take off any dead leaves from the compost and dust off leaves so they have the best access to limited light and can breathe better.
You can basically give your plants a bubble bath! Heavily dilute some tepid water with some washing up liquid and take a cloth to wipe over leaves and woody stems. If you pop your plants in your bath or shower this is a great way of rinsing them off after. Nice and clean for their big winter nap!
Now is the best time to tidy your plants up and carry out a bit of houseplant housekeeping! Take off any dead leaves from the compost and dust off leaves so they have the best access to limited light and can breathe better.
You can basically give your plants a bubble bath! Heavily dilute some tepid water with some washing up liquid and take a cloth to wipe over leaves and woody stems. If you pop your plants in your bath or shower this is a great way of rinsing them off after. Nice and clean for their big winter nap!