The Joy of Gardening

[homoe]

Winter is probably the easiest time of year to kill a houseplant. Grueling growing conditions like lower light levels, dry air, shorter days and chilly temperatures put houseplants through the paces.

The most common problem houseplants suffer from in winter is over watering. About 95% of houseplants need soil to dry out almost completely before watering.

[homoe]

Give them ample sunlight



Keep in mind that plants get the nourishment they need to grow from the sun. Do your best to give your potted plants as much light as you can during the winter months. Plants left directly under windows get the most light, but if you need to put it elsewhere in the room, leave it by the back wall of the room. If you leave your plants in places of the room that get enough sunlight, you won’t have to worry about looking into artificial sources of light during the winter. During the winter, your southern-facing windows will get the most sunlight. In order to effectively follow the previous tip, it’s best to keep your plants directly under sunlight from the southern-facing windows.

[homoe]

Don’t Repot until spring, if possible.


Repotting is very tough on plants, and they will need all their strength in the winter. So hold off on repotting window plants until spring...

[homoe]

Fertilize.


This is a time for garden plants to go dormant and rest. Forcing them to start new growth before the ground warms in the spring not only interrupts this period when they are rejuvenating but ice storms and temperatures below freezing or even hard frosts will kill tender new growth.

[homoe]

Think outside the box when it comes to containers..

[Lyte]

If you like color … if you like bulbs … all different kinds of bulbs... I can't recommend these guys enough. I ordered from them a couple of times when I lived in NY.

COLOR BLENDS <-- linky

Then sell bulbs in bulk … so they're pretty economical vs what you'd pay at the Home Depot or Lowes or wherever else... and they're of much better quality. They sell single colors or in some pretty spectacular color combinations. Even if you're in a part of the country that doesn't really get proper "winters" … such as California… they can provide you with insight on how to get bulbs to work in your area. Ohh... they offer a free catalog too!

[homoe]

Originally Posted by Lyte

If you like color … if you like bulbs … all different kinds of bulbs... I can't recommend these guys enough. I ordered from them a couple of times when I lived in NY.

COLOR BLENDS <-- linky

Then sell bulbs in bulk … so they're pretty economical vs what you'd pay at the Home Depot or Lowes or wherever else... and they're of much better quality. They sell single colors or in some pretty spectacular color combinations. Even if you're in a part of the country that doesn't really get proper "winters" … such as California… they can provide you with insight on how to get bulbs to work in your area. Ohh... they offer a free catalog too!

WOW, thanks! I have already spent WAY too much time on their site....