While we all love to keep plants indoors for many wonderful reasons, our plants do still need sun light. All plant varieties have different needs and require a varying levels of light, however all indoor plants can benefit from some occasional rays.

Winter can be particularly tricky as the day light hours are less frequent. If you’re in Melbourne it can be often overcast and bitterly cold. Try moving your indoor plants around to share the natural light that you get coming into the house. Put your indoor plants near a window sill or somewhere in your space that makes the most of the afternoon sunshine.

As it gets colder we love to crank up our indoor heating to stay warm. Be conscious that while we love the dry heat our plants may not. A large number of indoor plants are from a tropical origin and therefor love the heat but not really dry heat.

Heating can be a real problem for our plants so try keeping them away from the direct flow of regulated air where you can. Move your plants as far away from your indoor heater as you can allow as well as any doors or windows that have a draft coming in and your plants will thank you.

It’s a good idea to leave your plant in its plastic pot, then placing it inside your desired planter. Not only will this help you when it comes to watering and moving it about but it will help to stop your plant from getting chilly in it’s ceramic pot.

 

 

Most indoor plants like the humidity and this can significantly drop in winter due to the cold air outside and heating on inside. We can’t let our plant babies be subject to dry air.

Things you can do to help your potted plant babies is to place you plant on a pebble try with some water in it. This will help humidity levels also keep our plants grouped together and spray mist them regularly.

Pop of bowl of water close to your heater to improve the humidity level in the room. 

 

Your plants will not need as much water in the winter months as they aren’t soaking it up as fast due to the lower light levels. However we do still need to water our indoor plants occasionally, we can’t simply neglect them. It’s a balance to strike and can be especially hard if they’re in a dry, hot room.

A good test to see if your plant needs watering is to push your finger into the soil. General rule of thumb is to give your indoor plant a good drink if the top inch of soil is dry. You can also easily tell if the soil is dry by lift the pot. It will be significantly lighter when the soil is dry and heavier when the pot still has some moisture. 

Once you have given your potted plant a good soak through, make sure to mist spray regularly. Don't water your plant again until your have again checked that the soil is dry.

Never leave the pot plant sitting in a pool of water. Once you have finished watering let all of the water drain out of the bottom and move it back into it’s dry planter.

 

Pest can pose a problem for our plants at any time, but particularly during winter due to dry air encouraging insects. Keep an eye out for these and seek advise if you think you might have a pest problem with your plant.

Your plants will really appreciate an occasional house cleaning. Simply taking a damp cloth and wiping your plants leaves will give them a new lease on life. We already have lower light levels during winter and cleaning the leaves on your plants will get rid of that layer of dust that can gather. Cleaning your plants leaves will remove the dirt, keeping it open to getting the much needed sun ray and photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is how the plant will feed itself and continue to thrive. A simple task that will really go a long way to keeping your plants happy.

 

This is a great time to re pot and prune. Some plants like succulents don’t apply to this however other plants will do well being upsized during this time in preparation for new growth when the warmer months arrive.

Indoor plants especially vining plants can benefit from a trim during this time. Some indoor plants go dormant or rest if you like during winter so this is a good time to give them a make over, clean up any browning or yellowing leaves and give them a fresh start in preparation for new growth.

Our Green Thumb plant gift bundle has everything you need to keep your plants looking there very best all year round. Winter is a great time to clean up your plants, trim back any unwanted dead leaves or branches. Give them a fresh pot while they rest and wait for summer to come again. 

Be winter ready and give your plants some lovin.