Houseplants Crying Out in Winter

Did you know that most foliage plants known as house plants are native to tropical areas? Now look outside your window. Would you describe that as “tropical”? That might explain why they are looking so crappy this time of year. If they could talk, they might cry out the following: “It’s really dry in here. Hey, what happened to all the sunshine? I’m cold. I’m hot. Is my owner ever gonna take a break from feeding their pie hole to feed me instead? No one is paying attention to me. I’m stressing out!” Remind you of anyone you know?

As humans, we can take ourselves out of a bad environment to make ourselves happy. Plants are simply at the mercy of the their environment. Below is a list of tips that I recommend for making your plants healthy and happy no matter what time of year. And now for a little good news– the days are getting longer and that should make everyone very happy.

Tips for Houseplants

• Know what light requirements your plant needs and place in appropriate locations throughout your home:

East exposure will give you intense light in the AM hours and diffused light in the PM hours.

West exposure will give you diffused light in the AM hours and intense light in the PM hours.

South exposure provides direct light ALL day.

North exposure provides low light ALL day.

• Plants don’t like sudden changes, so be sure to acclimate them gradually if you move them to a new location.

• Ideal temperature for indoor plants can vary, but for many 68° daytime and 58° evening is ideal. Night temperatures should decrease about 10° from normal day temperatures.

• Use of a pebble tray or grouping plants together can help increase humidity levels.

• Be sure your containers have drainage holes and never let your plants sit in water. This can damage and rot the roots.

• Softened water is NOT recommended for watering your plants because of high sodium levels.

• Really cold water is not good for your plants. Room temperature or tepid water is the best.

• If you have fertilized plants through the summer months, little or no fertilizer is necessary during the winter.

• New to fertilizing? Visit your local garden center and ask them to recommend a product for your plants. Always READ THE LABEL and follow directions for all product applications.

Winter Rest

Every now and then, my friend Drew takes a break from his commercial photography business to work on personal projects. Lately, he’s been documenting the fall and winter terrain.

The images from his “Winter Rest” series resonate with many different meanings. The atmospheric conditions are so delicately caught that you can almost hear the silence of the day. Drew and I have collaborated on many projects over the years, but I never tire of seeing what is captured during his solitary expeditions.

drewendicott.com | all images copyright drew endicott

It’s official...

I can see no beds or borders! That means I can shift my focus to the great indoors for a while. Thank goodness I have a good little winter elf that handles the shoveling, salting, and snow blowing.

The season’s first snows are always exciting at Sutherland. This shot of the house and front yard was especially nice because the sun was shining.

I admire the neighbor’s crabapple tree from the front porch all year-long. Soon, the fruit on the branches will be all gone. That’s my cue to get the bird feeders filled and hung.

The rail on the balcony is always a good visual indicator of how much snow has fallen.

I love how visible the creek is when there is no foliage on the trees. Although unseen in this photo, there are several sets of tracks from all the wildlife scurrying about.

The main Hosta garden was designed to not be seen until you lowered all the stairs from the upper level. It’s usually hidden from view behind all the branches of the maple tree in the foreground. I added about 20 new plants this fall. Can’t wait to see how they do.