Properly Wintering Houseplants

Last Update: Jul 6, 2022

A lot of people struggle to keep their houseplants healthy during winter. In this article we'll give you top tips to make sure your plants stay happy and healthy until spring.

Keeping houseplants healthy during winter is no easy feat that a lot of people struggle with. This article covers the most important topics and provides actionable tipps to enable your houseplants a healthy entering into spring.

Reduce Watering

Houseplants generally need less water during winter. As there is less light (the days are shorter and not as sunny), your plants will photosynthesize less, which means the roots will be pulling less water from the soil. Reduce the frequency and the amount of water when watering. By doing this you reduce chances of root rot.

Move Closer to Windows

As there will be less light, reposition your plants so they are closer to windows.

On a dark, cloudy day, plants that are farther away from windows will practically get no light. Put them next to the brightest window – south or west-facing if you are in the Northern hemisphere. North or west-facing if you are in the Southern hemisphere. Wipe off the dust from the leaves weekly, to allow the maximum amount of light to reach the leaves.

Don’t Fertilize

It’s normal for a lot of houseplants to slow down or even completely stop growth during winter. If that is the case, stop fertilizing. If plants are not growing, fertilizer will accumulate in the soil and damage the plant roots over time. However, if your plant continues to grow throughout winter, feel free to fertilize.

Get a Grow Light

Lack of light is the main reason houseplants struggle during winter. Besides positioning your plants closer to windows, think about getting a grow light. A grow light can completely replace natural light for plant growth. Some of the things to think about when choosing a grow light are: Selecting a light that is strong enough to keep your plants alive, maintaining a proper distance from the plant, and having the light on for sufficient number of hours per day.

Healthy houseplants with additional grow lights. Image taken from Soltech Solutions.

Chances are high that you're growing a pothos variety. If you want to learn more about all common pothos varieties we recommend checking out this article on TheHomeTome:

Guest Author

This article was written by Mr. Houseplant. If you’re struggling to choose a good grow light, Mr. Houseplant developed a free tool to find the ideal grow light for your houseplant.

Grow Light Finder