Give your houseplants some home comforts to cope with the chills of the winter months
If you moved your houseplants outdoors during the summer months, then you should have brought them indoors again by now. Cold temperatures and wet weather are harmful to most houseplants, which need a little bit more cosseting than those plants that we grow in our gardens.
Indoors may be warm enough, but central heating can dry out the atmosphere and cause leaves to turn brown and crispy, so it is a good idea to mist regularly or to stand susceptible plants in saucers filled with damp pebbles.
Another way of keeping houseplants happy is by grouping them together where they will form their own, small microclimates and flourish better as a result.
Some houseplants, including ferns, cope well with shade, but bright light is usually best so circulate plants if possible, in order to give them all a turn in brighter areas, but move them off windowsills at night where they might become chilled.
Most plants need less water during the winter months, but with houseplants it is a case of trial and error to work out what suits each best. The popular phalaenopsis orchid will cope well in the warmest spots and should be watered and allowed to drain once a week rather than being given a daily top-up, while the peace lily needs to be kept slightly moist at all times.
In recent years there has been renewed interest in growing echeverias and other succulents and these thrive on neglect, relishing warm and dry conditions but these still need watering when the soil they are growing in has completely dried out. It is best to grow these in unglazed containers, which are slightly porous, and which help to prevent the roots from becoming waterlogged.
Plants indoors can be susceptible to mealy bug and if signs of these appear, then wipe the leaves and isolate the plant to give it a chance to recover.
If it doesn’t, and you don’t want to use an insecticide, then you may have no choice but to dispose of it, but keeping a close eye on your plants will allow you to take steps to get on top of any outbreaks before they spread through all of your plants.