HOW TO TAKE CARE PLANTS DURING WINTER

Winter can be unpredictable at times in India. During winter, plants remain in a dormant stage; metabolism slows down, which means there is not much development, and the leaves start falling and turning yellow.

Indian winters have absolutely no chill, literally. One day you’re reaching for a sweater, the next you’re sweating through it. Your plants are just as confused.

When temperatures drop, most plants enter a dormant stage, metabolism slows, growth stalls, and leaves turn yellow like they’re auditioning for a sad Bollywood scene. Perfectly normal, deeply alarming-looking.

If you’ve been Googling how to take care of plants during winter at 11 pm, you’re not alone. A good plant app in India helps here, because winter care is deeply local, and there’s genuinely no one-size-fits-all answer.

Find a Suitable Place Indoors
We will have to move the plants Indoors before the temperature falls and it gets too cold. Too cold means below 5 degree Celcius. This is why you should first decide on a space where you can keep them and then move them accordingly. The place must have suitable Lighting, Temperature and Humidity.

Lighting:
First things first, consider if you can move the plants. Find a place where they get proper Sunlight. Shift plants accordingly. can not shift flower plants inside the home. If it is too cold and there’s no sunlight at all, you can use Grow Lights, which provide the necessary light to the plants.

Temperature
If you use Heaters, ensure that you don’t keep them anywhere near the plants. As they dry out the air and the temperature might get too Hot for the Plants. Heaters dry up plants and play havoc on humidity

Humidity
Humidity level goes down during winter. So misting your fitonias, begonias, calathias becomes very important. You may place small plants on Bathroom windows or any place you think might have humidity. If there is no place for the plants to have suitable humid conditions, you can buy a Humidifier.

Avoid Fertilising 

Plant metabolism slows down during winter. So avoid fertilising. No need for extra food during winter. Again, please decide according to your weather conditions. Once in a while, you may use onion peel water fertiliser.

As Mr Saurav Saran rightly suggests, “Stop feeding. If you continue it, then due to poor uptake of water by plants, their intake of nutrients is also almost zero. These nutrients lying around roots will form complex salts which may kill your resting plants.”

Huddle plants together

Just like us, plants need warmth, and what is better than keeping them together? Keep plants of different heights together in one place to keep the warmth.

Grouping plants together has another benefit due to their transpiration.  Plants release water due to transpiration, and that helps with humidity.

Take it slow
Plants are already used to the lighting, air and temperature outside, and this is why you should not rush to move the plants in. This can kill the plant because this sudden change might cause a shock to them. You can slowly get indoor conditions familiar to the plants by placing the plants indoors for a couple of hours every day. Place the Sun-loving plants in the shade for a couple of weeks to get accustomed to it.

Watering Requirements

Watering requirements lower during winter. So if you were watering every day, make it thrice a week.

The amount of water Plants need depends on the amount of light they are getting. Therefore, in winter, there’s less light, which is why you must be waterless as well. Overwatering can cause the Roots to decay, slowly killing the plant. Only water if the soil feels dry and in need of water, or else leave them be.

Look out for Pests
It will help if you look out for pests and insects. They should stay away from your green friend. Keep an eye out for pests, particularly if you’ve taken an outdoor plant indoors for the winter. A spider may infect these plants and give them a pleasant wash regularly. Spraying neem water is great to keep the bugs away.

About Author

	Bratati Sen www.gardeningideasandmore.com
A serious plantohlic – loves to explore plants, live plants, loves plants and believes gardening is fun and is a way to relieve stress and connect with nature. Always reachable for plant queries