The combination of dim lighting, varying temperatures due to central heating, and lower humidity levels can put significant stress on houseplants. This stress often manifests in various ways, such as leaves turning yellow, buds dropping, and soil becoming dry and compacted. If these conditions persist, they can lead to severe consequences, including the potential loss of the plant altogether.
Keep Your Houseplants Happy This Winter
To prevent these issues, it’s crucial to recognise the signs of distress early and make minor adjustments to the care and placement of your houseplants. The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has provided a few valuable insights into the early warning signs to monitor and offers practical solutions to help your plants thrive until spring arrives:
Yellowing Leaves:
Check on moisture levels by poking your finger into the pot. Water if over half of the compost is dry. Move plants nearer to the window for extra light.
Shrunken Compost:
Too dry. Move away from heat sources and soak pot in water for an hour to rehydrate compost.
Bud or Leaf Drop:
Low humidity. Group plants together or stand individual pots on a waterfilled tray of pebbles.
Wilting:
Too wet or dry. Check on moisture levels with your finger. If compost is soggy allow it to dry out.
Grey Fuzz / Mould:
Remove affected leaves and stop watering. If growing point is affected it’s too late to save.
January is a particularly busy time for the RHS advisory team, as they reportedly receive a surge of inquiries—85% more than in the previous months regarding houseplant health. This uptick often occurs when it may be too late to salvage struggling plants.
Additionally, the beginning of the year sees a spike in plant purchases, as many people look to refresh their indoor gardens. To ensure new plants thrive, the RHS recommends selecting healthy specimens without any signs of damage and allowing them to acclimatise in a cooler room before introducing them to warmer areas of the home.
If despite best efforts houseplants are looking unwell, good replacements for the winter months include moth orchids, which are happy in warmer rooms, ZZ plant (Zamioculcas zamiifolia) and spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum) both of which are resistant to forgetful watering and low light levels, as well as rabbit’s foot fern (Davallia solida var. fejeensis) which unlike most ferns can tolerate some dryness, and is easy to water the spreading surface rhizomes that soak up water when misted.
Guy Barter, RHS Chief Horticulturist, said: “Houseplants are increasingly popular, particularly with people starting out on their gardening journey or for whom outside space is at a premium and with so much time spent indoors in winter many rely on them to provide some welcome greenery and the resulting mood boost.
In May, houseplant advice sought by members centres around what to grow and where, in August, when temperatures peak, it turns to care and maintenance, while in January it tends to be how to remedy plants that have wilted, turned brown or are otherwise looking suspect. Getting in early and diagnosing problems is important in giving them the best chance of entering the new year in peak health as there’s still some way to go before spring.”
