SolveYourProblem Article Series: Gardening
Everyday Gardening Tips & Advice

Indoor Houseplant Hints and Tips
     

While other people who have seasonal hobbies spend there off months enjoying other activities, many gardeners refuse to sit idly by and let months go by without using their “green-thumbs”. Indoor gardening can be as simple as plants used to brighten up a home or workspace, to greenhouses using the sun to keep the plants warm. Indoor gardening invites a whole new world of horticulture into the world of off season gardening.

Benefits of indoor gardening range from just brightening a room to, as we are reminded daily, the purification of our air. Especially on those gray days in winter it is happy to see the bright cheerful bloom of a flower, reminding that while its gray outside, color and the beauty of the green of nature is close at hand.

Most people agree that indoor plants are an integral part of decorating our homes and offices. Even though fake plants are available, there is no replacing the real thing.

Many of the plants that you grow in your outdoor garden can also be grown indoors. Plan early enough in the season what you want to bring in when the temperatures start to fall. If you’re not sure what will survive in a pot, experiment, or contact a local nursery to see if they can offer any other advice climate specific. Its important you look for good soil and containers before the season is over.

In picking the plants you want for houseplants, be sure to think about the conditions indoors. If the plant needs direct sunlight it may be more difficult to bring in rather than a plant that just needs partial light. Think about getting plants that would survive better in a cooler and darker environment of your work or home.

Gardener’s have a saying "kill your plant with kindness". This is even truer for indoor plants than outdoor ones. Because of the change in conditions indoors verses outdoors, many indoor plants grow slowly or even go dormant from fall to early winter. Plants like those need far less attention than you would normally give an outdoor plant.

Most plants kept indoors prefer controlled temperatures; ideally the temperatures should be between 65 and 75 during the day and 60 to 65 at night. Depending on the plant the temperatures can vary a little, but this is the most common range. People think that putting their plants directly in the sunlight is good for them indoors, but actually it can create a huge temperature range and hurt them when the temps swing wildly from hot during the day and cooler at night. Plants really should not be placed under a vent either; the draft will dry them out quickly.

Generally speaking indoor plants need less time in the sun than outdoor ones. Mostly because the selection of indoor plants is more towards the shade, partial shade type of plant.

This does not mean that indoor plants do not need, or could not benefit from occasional sunlight during the day. We will chase the light as it moves from window to window during the winter, following the sunlight. Follow the directions on the tag of the plant as far as sunlight goes, whether leaving it in one window, or having it follow the sun for part of the day. Just watch for signs of light deficiency, at that point its time for you to bring t he plant on your sunlight chase.

Grow lights are also available and are a great purchase if your plant needs more sunlight than you can give it. They are also great to use when starting new plants or when you’re starting your seedlings in the spring.

Tip: Make sure to rotate the container every few days to be sure all the sides of the plant get to enjoy the sunlight.

Wintertime is especially hard on plants as the air is much less humid. To help with the dryness wipe down the leaves of your plants with a damp cloth once every week, or every other week. This also helps in dusting the plants safely and effectively. Misting also helps with keeping the plants happy. Using lukewarm water, gently mist the plants, letting the moisture just land on the plants.

Important: There are plants however, like the African Violets who love the sun, but will be damaged when water ends up on their leaves. For plants like that, they make special plants that water from the bottom up, check with a local nursery to see if they stock them.

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