Pam Bennett: You can help plants weather the winter

By Pam Bennett Updated 7:01 PM Friday, December 25, 2009

Around this time of the year, I start getting questions about houseplants.

Most houseplants are tropical plants and thrive in tropical climates. However, our homes are not tropical or even close when it comes to environmental conditions.

Therefore, houseplants don’t usually thrive indoors in the winter months. However, with the right care, you can keep them alive and stable until warmer summer weather arrives.

The most important thing is to not overwater. At this time, they are not using as much water as they do during the active growing season.

Only water them when they really need it.

It’s not always easy to know when that appropriate time might be. Therefore, familiarize yourself with the plant and the soil.

I have one plant that dries out quickly so it needs water more often. This particular ivy is located in a window where it gets plenty of light and it’s a pretty large plant so it needs a bit more water.

I have another plant that is in a darker room and is a very slow grower and doesn’t dry out very quickly at all. In fact, I have watered it only once since it’s been indoors.

The amount of water plants require depends on the type of plant, the location in the house and the amount of light, the size of the container and the humidity in your home.

Stick your hand down in the soil and feel the amount of soil moisture. Or, if it’s a smaller pot, lift the pot after you water and compare this as it dries out.

A tool that helps take the guesswork out of watering is a moisture meter. This tool has a probe that you stick down into the soil and the gauge reads the amount of moisture.

Make sure that you stick it in the pot in a few different spots in order to get a good average moisture reading. Pots tend to dry out from the outside to the inside and the top to the bottom so be sure to get a good reading of the soil root ball in general.

I let my ivy dry out and will lose some leaves. This is normal. I would rather keep my plants on the dry side and loose a few leaves hear and there than on the wet side.

When roots are saturated and begin to suffocate, they die. They are very slow to regenerate. When roots start to die, the top follows. Eventually the entire plant kicks the bucket, especially if the root damage is severe enough.

If the plant starts looking a bit sad, resist the temptation to fertilize. It’s not a good idea to fertilize stressed plants. If it’s a root problem, the plant can’t use the fertilizer anyway and extra salt from the fertilizer compounds the problem.

In most cases, houseplants tend to survive the winter and come back with a wonderful growth spurt in the spring and summer.

On the other hand, there comes a time when it’s time to put the plant out of it’s misery and start over.

12 | L!FE | DECEMBER 26, 2009 | DAYTON DAILY NEWS

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