Tips to Keep Your Plants Alive During Winter

 

As freezing temperatures approach, many of you will be wondering how to keep your plants alive during winter. This B&M guide will help you ensure that outdoor and indoor plants thrive until the warmer months. We recommend you:

• Increase your home's humidity
• Dust your plants
• Keep insects and bugs away
• Ensure they have plenty of light
• Water them less

It’s important to attentively care for your plants during winter to help them survive the cold weather. Here, the team at B&M explain how to keep your plants alive during winter by both adjusting the indoor environment and carefully tending to your outdoor species.

Increase Your Home’s Humidity

You’re likely to have the heating on in your home more often throughout the winter months. Most indoor plants prefer humidity levels of 40-60%, and central heating, fires and stoves will affect this.

If higher humidity levels are required, your plants’ leaves will go yellow or brown around the edges and feel dry and crispy. The plants themselves may begin to wilt too.

To resolve this, keep your plants away from immediate sources of heat such as heating vents. You could get yourself a humidifier, or spray them lightly with water.

Different plants grow best at different temperatures - for example, tropical plants prefer it warm and humid. Research your breeds online and use a thermometer to check whether the surrounding environment is too hot, too cold or just right.

B&M Top Tip: You can keep outdoor plants warm with frost fleece roll - or get one step ahead of early spring weeds with specialist fabric roll. 

Dust Your Plants

You need to keep indoor potted plants clean in much the same way as you’d dust the rest of your house. Dirt on their leaves can prevent natural light from entering their system, meaning they won’t be able to properly photosynthesize and may die as a result.

B&M Top Tip: Dusting can also help to clean off any insects or their eggs that may feed on your plant.

Keep Insects and Bugs Away

Creepy crawlies look for safe havens in freezing temperatures. Stop them from feeding off your plants by using repellent plug-ins or - for outdoor plants - safe insecticides.

This will make it far more likely that your plants will survive any potential insect attacks.

Ensure they have plenty of light

To improve your plant’s chances even more, ensure they are placed facing a window so they can get more vitamins from the sunlight. If you don’t have a suitable spot, you could invest in a grow light instead.

Water them less

During the earliest and latest months of the year, your plants will need less water than in the warmer months. Watering plants too much in winter can lead to root rot.

You should also be aware of when frost is likely, as watering your outdoor plants just prior to sub-zero temperatures can see them freeze and die.

B&M Top Tip: Root rot is less likely in a planter or pot with good drainage. Try to find frost-resistant pots for year-round protection outdoors.

To care for your plants during winter, simply keep on top of temperature, humidity and light, reduce watering, clean the leaves and repel the bugs!

Find more protective materials and accessories in our Garden Care and Growing section.

Do you have any genius life hacks or tips on how to keep your plants alive during winter? Share them with the B&M Community via Twitter, Facebook or Instagram!