HOUSEPLANTS CAN SUFFER IN THE COLD TOO! (From St Albans & Harpenden Review)

HOUSEPLANTS CAN SUFFER IN THE COLD TOO!

6:37pm Sunday 19th December 2010

• Print
• Email
• Comments(0)

Snow, snow and even more snow, the outlook appears to be gloomy for most of us in the run up to Christmas. Some consolation is the sheer beauty we see looking out over the winter wonderlands that are our gardens. A friend, who against all his wishes was awake very early on Saturday morning, said that the dawn breaking was spectacular and for just a short while the sky was ablaze with brilliant pink.

But we aren’t the only ones to suffer during these cold, miserable days, we should bear in mind that the winter months can be hard on conservatory and houseplants as well. On the plus side it really only takes just a little extra care to keep them comfortable and healthy. As a general rule the compost should be kept on the dry side. We love our central heating but it does tend to dry the atmosphere and indoor plants may suffer. It helps to stand the pots on trays of water filled with gravel or regularly give them a light misting. Try to keep the leaves clean as the plants need to absorb as much light as possible. Whilst it’s true that most flowering and variegated plants like a well-lit position they do need to be kept out of cold draughts. After you have drawn the curtains at night any plants left on the window sill are particularly at risk. The gap between the closed curtains and windows at night can be extremely cold and not many plants can cope with the sudden drop in temperature.

Readers who submit articles must agree to our terms of use. The content is the sole responsibility of the contributor and is unmoderated. But we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention. If you wish to complain about this article, contact us here

Comments are closed on this article.