Houseplants keep you healthy
Ruth looks at how plants and people can help each other
YOUR garden plants aren’t the only ones to enter a period of dormancy in winter – houseplants do much the same. As light levels fall and the days shorten, indoor greenery slows down too. It stops putting on growth and, with the exception of ‘gift’ plants such as moth orchids, African violets and streptocarpus, flowering falls off too.
However, this doesn’t mean you can simply forget about plants indoors. The care they need may be minimum, but it is important to keep it going.
Instead of watering little and often, give them a good drink then wait until the compost is almost dry to the touch before the next one. Stop feeding them unless they are flowering or in bud.
Rooms are darker at this time of year, so move plants closer to windows, but avoid leaving them on windowsills overnight, as closed curtains trap cold air and create a chill pocket. Position plants out of draughts and away from direct sources of heat, such as radiators. Central heating creates a dry atmosphere, which plants hate. Raise humidity levels with bowls of water or by standing plants on a bed of damp gravel. Plants repay your kindness by helping to purify the air, which is especially important in winter when we live in hot homes with closed windows. According to research by the American space agency NASA, the best plants for air purification include peace lilies, spider plants, ivy, moth orchids, indoor palms and the sturdy and architectural Mother-in-Law’s Tongue. As an added bonus, many of these are also resilient to pests and disease.