Tips for caring for houseplants in winter

Winter is the quiet season in the garden because most outdoor plants aren't doing much. It's the same for your indoor garden. Of course, your houseplants don't have to endure snow and chilly winds. Yet, indoor growing conditions do change in several subtle ways during the colder, darker months of the year. Use these tips to ensure your leafy friends continue to fill your home with their natural beauty through the depths of winter.

Cut back on watering

With limited sunlight in winter, plants use less water than they do when they are actively growing in spring and summer, so a plant that you watered every week in summer might now prefer to go two weeks without water.

Instead of following a schedule, it's better to check how the potting mix feels before watering. Poke your finger at least an inch into the soil. If it's dry, water the plant thoroughly. If it's moist, wait a couple more days and check the soil again.

Pay attention to sunlight

You may want to move your plants closer to windows so they can take advantage of as much light as possible. Rotate pots a quarter turn each week to ensure all sides of your plants get sunlight from time to time. If boosting the light levels isn't an option for you, most plants will be just fine.

Don't sweat dropped leaves

It's normal for houseplants that spent the summer outside to drop some leaves as they adjust to lower light levels indoors. Leaf drop as the seasons change is the houseplant's way of preparing for lower light levels and is nothing to worry about.

Avoid temperature extremes

Regular household temperatures that you're comfortable in are fine for most houseplants during the winter. But extreme changes in temperature, even for a short time, can cause problems. Keep plants away from cold drafts, radiators and hot-air vents -- the sudden hot or cold drafts can damage or dry out plants.

Pause the fertilizer

Most houseplants rest in the winter, growing very little, if at all. Because they are not producing new leaves and stems, they don't require fertilizer. Stop fertilizing in fall, and resume again in spring as plants receive more sunlight, spurring them to actively grow again.

Patrol for pests

Winter is prime time for tiny sap-sucking insects such as aphids, scale and spider mites to pop up. Inspect the undersides of plants every time you water. Check along stems too. If you find any pests, try wiping them off with your fingers or an alcohol-soaked cotton ball. For large infestations, insecticidal soap and neem oil are safer options.

Up the humidity

Most houseplants, especially those originally from tropical areas of the world, grow best when humidity levels are between 40% and 50%, but wintertime humidity levels are typically 10% to 20% inside. A simple way to ramp up the humidity around plants is to cluster them together. Water evaporating from the potting soil, as well as water lost naturally through the leaves, will raise the relative humidity right around your plants.

Another easy method to is to place plants on trays filled with pebbles and water, with the bottoms above the water level. As the water evaporates, it creates a more humid microclimate for the plants.