House Plant Winter Care
House plants sit upon a windowsill overlooking a snowy landscape.
As the days turn cold, rain becomes a regular fixture, and we bundle up for the holidays, sometimes gardening takes a backseat. Although Bay Area people are lucky in that we can grow crops year-round, not all of us live in regions where outdoor gardening is possible due to frost and low temperatures. If you are focusing less on your outdoor garden in the coming months, then turning your attention to your house plants can be a great way to continue your plant care education.
Watering of a house plant.
Keeping your indoor plants healthy during the colder months is very important for long term health. Although house plants will generally need less watering in the winter, making sure that they get enough light will be the main task at hand. With less sunshine and daylight savings time, you should arrange your house plants according to their light needs, and those with the highest light needs prioritized.
A variety of houseplants sit upon a large windowsill.
First and foremost, figure out where in your home gets the most light. Typically, the best and brightest light will come from southern and western facing windows. Once you have tracked where the bright light spills into your home, arrange your plants accordingly. Take your plants that will need more light, such as calatheas, parlor palms, or money trees, and place them in the brightest spots. For plants that can tolerate low light levels, such as pothos, snake plants, philodendron, and ZZ plants, you can move those to the less bright areas.
Houseplants arranged in a aesthetic-forward manner.
A couple of important things to note about house plant arrangement: do not place your more sensitive plants too close to the windows themselves, and if your house does not receive enough light at all, invest in some grow lights. In regards to windows, keeping most plants at least 3 feet from the actual glass will benefit them in keeping their temperature controlled. In summer and winter months alike, a plant too close to a window could be subject to sunburn or frost. You should place your plants at least a few feet from windows to create a buffer of temperature control. As for homes with little natural light, your plants will need extra care during the winter. Getting LED grow lights is an efficient way of combatting light deficiencies. Although many commercial grow lights are bright and large, many softer plant lights are perfect for house plants to keep them growing until temperatures warm up again.
Close-up of a poinsettia decorating a home for the holiday season.
So, do not despair when winter is coming. Buy some poinsettias, decorate your tree, throw a wreath on the front door. Take this time to tend to your indoor green friends, study new plant varieties that interest you, and make outdoor garden plans for the coming spring. Happy house planting.