5 Ways To Make Your Plants Last This Winter

With the chilly season right around the corner, our snow shovels and warm boots are not the only thing we need to worry about. Our plants always struggle in the wintertime. Yes, even sensitive indoor plants can shy away from a cold winter draft and die. Don’t know where to start in keeping your plants last this cold season? No problem! Here are 5 ways to make your plants last this winter.

This hack is great for tropical plants used to warmer climates.

1. Bringing Outdoor Plants Indoors

While this is the most obvious way to ensure your plant will last the winter, it is not always counter intuitive. Some plants will die in the winter and grow back stronger in the spring. Winter being a part of their natural plant cycle that they need for maximum growth. Yet for some plants that are originating in the tropics such as hibiscus, you’ll have to bring them in. As these plants are not built to bounce back from a cold winter spell. They have not adapted and evolved the same as plants that are native to cold climates. Bringing in your tropical plants ensures they will have a consistent climate that they are used to. This allows you to have maximum growing control over your plants during the cold season without watching them die out in the cold. If you’re looking to make your plants last this cold season, give them a home inside. 

This hack is a must for any successful plant growth.

2. Managing Light Intake

With the sun barley in sight, it can be difficult to keep your plants alive in the minimum light. Tired of watching your plants dry out under the minimal sun and lack of nutrients? Get some lights! Fluorescent lights or LED lights are especially bright and can mimic bright and direct sunlight in cold climates. Keeping your plants indoors where it’s warmer, coupled with the bright lamp light, will trick your plant into thinking that it’s a bright sunny day and will continue to green up and grow exponentially. These lights can come in all shapes and styles that will fit any color or decor scheme inside and out. I’ve learned that the best place to do this is putting your plant in the windowsill and hooking up a little fluorescent light above the windowsill. This allows for some of the remaining outside light to seep into the plant and it’s leaves so that it will have a better chance of growing. If you want to keep your plant bright and happy this cold season, try out this hack. 

This hack is great for plants that are not responding to other saving methods.

3. Adding Nutrients To Your Plant

This hack is for those plants that seem to be dying no matter what you do. If it’s not overwater, mold or sunlight, what could be the issue? It could be that your plant is lacking the necessary nutrients to continue to grow into a happy and healthy plant. But how do you help this? Simple! Add some nutrients back to your plant’s diet. Sometimes our plants need extra help when forming their food and getting the necessary vitamins that would be found in their natural environment. These nutrients for our purposes, usually come in little powder packets that can be dissolved into water that you pour on your plant’s soil. These nutrient packets can be found in any plant or online store. If you have dried out the plant, this will also allow the chlorophyll ( chemical component that gives a plant it’s green pigment) to replenish itself in your plant, allowing it to make nutrients that are necessary for its survival. These nutrient packets are typically cheap and very easy to use. The only downside is if your plant does not need the extra nutrients, it can speed up the process of your plant dying. Too much or too little nutrients can be equally deadly for plants. So if you are going to use this method, make sure you know for a fact that it has nothing to do with water intake, sunlight or soil content before trying this hack out. 

Placing icing cubes in the soil ensures for a happy and healthy plant!

4. Ice Cubes In The Soil

While this hack only works for certain plants such as Orchids, this hack will save you time and a headache. If you have plants that are very fussy about their water intake but don’t know how to help them thrive, try this method out for your plant. By adding two to four ice cubes a week to your plant’s soil, you’re introducing a very slow water system. As the ice cubes melt, they are slowly absorbed in the soil. Yet with this method, your plant isn’t overwhelmed with the amount of water that would typically be introduced in a normal watering method. From my experience, this hack is perfect for smaller plants that are easily over-watered. This prevents your little green friends from dying due to being flooded out of their soil by regular waterings. If your plant is having a hard time processing it’s water, try this method out. 

Pruning is a great way to guarentee your plant’s growth.

5. Regular Pruning

Are you watering your plant, giving it sunlight and loving it? And it’s still not thriving? Pruning could be the problem. Lack of pruning prevents your plant from focusing the nutrients on where it’s supposed to go. For instance, if your plant has a lot of straggling dead leaves or flowers hanging from it, nutrients from the plant are still being poured into these spots in an attempt to save them. Yet by pruning these dead parts off with some kitchen scissors, you are refocusing your plant’s nutrients back into the living spots of itself that are necessary for its survival. It’s like the equivalent of cutting split ends out of your hair. This does not hurt the plant at all and actually helps it maximize it’s growing potential by minimizing the outlets it’s directing its nutrients towards. Note that with some larger plants pruning can be a lot of work but it’s a must if you want to have yourself a happy and healthy plant. Show your plant some love this winter by giving it a haircut. 

With these methods of keeping your plant safe and warm through the winter, your plant will be happy and healthy throughout the cold season. And even better? It might even grow a few inches during the winter!