Essential Tips to Keep Your Plants Healthy for Winter

Canadian winters are exciting, but they can become harsh at times which can further affect the plants. Therefore, this guide comes up with some handy tips, which you can follow to protect your plants during winters. Some plants are delicate and can’t handle harsh winter breeze or snowfall. Even indoor plants may have a tough time outliving the winter, especially in Canada.

But need not worry, we have come up with some easy nurturing ideas to protect your indoor plants from the harshness of winters. Thankfully, there are many easy tricks through which you can keep your indoor plants safe, to make it through the winter to the best of their health. And here is all that you need to keep in mind.

Cut Down on the Water

Almost all the indoor plants enter the hibernation zone during winter, which means they do not require much water as compared to any other season. If you keep watering your plants like you do during other seasons such as summer, then, they might develop rotten roots. So, to avoid any further issues, always cut down on the ratio of watering at the start of the winter because your plants can get quite sensitive.

If you have any kind of doubt while watering a plant, then always check if the soil is already moist about an inch below the surface.

Trim and Wash Plants Before Placing Them Inside

It is good if you take your plants inside especially when the weather is freezing outside. But when these plants are staying inside your home then they need extra attention.

• Observe the structure and shape of your plant, if you find any dry foliage, you can use the kitchen scissor to give the branch a cleaner cut.
• If you find any rotted stem at the roots, pull it out to ensure that the soil is dried out, because regular moisture can result in any further plant disease. Also, you must trim dead stems or pinch off dead leaves before taking your plants in for the season.
• After trimming your plant, it’s time to wash them, but make sure you give them a light wash. You can use a spray nozzle or a mist spray bottle to wash your plants.

Do Not Re-pot the Plants Until it is Spring Again

Re-potting is quite tough for plants because they require all their strength to survive the harsh winters. So, give them some time to regain their strength for a successful re-potting.

Avoid Fertilizer or Diluting

Just like you cut down on the water, similar is the case with the dilute and fertilizers. You do not need to over-fertilize your winter plants, instead just skip fertilizing if they are healthy. But if you think your indoor plants require some fertilizer then dilute it with at least 50% of the water before implementing, preferably in the fall season.

Always Clean the Leaves

Cleaning your plants from time to time is important, as the dust often can spread through the air and covers the leaves. The dusty leaves do not allow a plant to absorb sunlight. So, make sure to wipe the dust off the leaves following the below steps:

– Rinse your indoor plants with water

– Use a brush or cloth to clean the fuzzy leaves

– Spray your plants with some diluted soap solution

– Use a feather brush to remove dust from the leaves

Avoid Breezes and Drafts

Keep your winter plants close to the window so they can get enough natural light. But make sure to keep them aloof from drafts or window gaps so that they could shun the chill breeze. Windows are the best source of light for indoor plants in winter but do not keep the plants near the open window. Also, ensure your window insulation status and try to give it a good repair even before the season starts.

Make an Indoor Window Box for Utmost Sunlight

When it’s all snowy out and you are in a mood to welcome the blooming winter flowers to bring the green life to your home. It sounds magical right? Okay, then why delay, let’s make a window box to display all your winter indoor plants where they can get plenty of sunlight.

There are a few plants you can grow in winter which could be some hard species or just simple blossom flowers. Next, you can simply move the window box outside in spring to let them glow with the flow of the seasons.

Use a Humidifier

Winter could be extremely chilling or dry for plants at times, so you can use a humidifier to give your winter plants an additional amount of moisture. This moisture in return might help the delicate leaves of the plant from browning out.

Say No to Excessive Heat

While taking care of your plants at home in the winter, you should also keep a check on overheating too. Thus, avoid putting your winter plants near chimneys, heaters, or fireplaces as the delicate leaves of your plants may dry out. But you can always use a plant stand as protection.

Build a Sun Room

If you are a proud owner of all your deck plants or patio and you bring in all your collection inside the home in winter, then try to make a full sun room enclosed porch for your beloved greens. You can also control the inside temperature of the sun room by ensuring that they get enough light.

Consider a Grow Light or Plant Lights for Winter

In winter, days are usually short and a bit darker, thus, you can consider buying an LED grow light. The grow light will help give your indoor plants some extra energy to survive the chilling winter. But installing an LED light isn’t enough, you need to check on the color of the light as it affects how the plant will grow.

Conclusion

Plants come with multiple benefits but at the same time, they require special attention and care for each season. And winter is the season when you must take good care of your plants, as they lack sunlight which is the most important requirement for their potential growth.

You can keep your plants alive and healthy throughout the winter season simply by following the easy tricks and tips detailed above. You need to be extra careful while following the above-mentioned tips to help your plants survive the chilling Canadian winter.

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