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Winter care for house plants
Most indoor plants shift gears by the time Halloween arrives. Daylength continues to get shorter, losing an average of three minutes each passing day up to the winter solstice on December 21 when the shortest day of the year occurs. After Christmas, the timetable reverses, as the days get longer. In late February when daylength exceeds 11 hours, indoor plants start growing again.
Watering over winter months takes patience and practice. Get in the habit of finger-testing soils to determine when to water next. Always in the morning, rest a finger atop the soil, not in it. Immediately, your finger will sense any moisture in the top of the soil. Base your watering decision on your finger test.
Here are winter care schedules for the most popular indoor plants:
* African violet. Plants must have optimum exposure to sunlight to flower over the winter. If you have a south-facing window, move your plant there so it basks in the full sun. Obviously, raise the blinds and part the curtains to provide optimum sunlight. Optionally, the plant can be placed under a grow light timed to illuminate for 16 hours everyday. Room temperatures must be above 60 degrees over the winter. As for watering, allow the soil to dry thoroughly (8-10 days) before watering the next time. Use tepid water, always watering from the top, never in the saucer. Before discarding your empty milk cartons, add three ounces of tepid water to the carton, swish it around to pick up any milk residue, then pour this over the top of the pot. Violets without winter flowers should not be fertilized. However, for violets that do, you should apply African Violet Special (12-36-14) plant food by Jack’s Classic from the J.R. Peters Company once a month. Keep a record when you fertilize.
* Agave. Also known as the century plant, agave is one of the best plants for purple thumb gardeners. Bright light in a warm room is a perfect setting for agave, plus there is little maintenance. Watering over the winter is restricted to preventing the foliage from wilting, so you should be watering every 10-12 days until spring. Agave is only fertilized in the spring, so no plant food for the next four months.
* Aloe. The care schedule has changed dramatically from what it was in late summer. Aloe has already entered its dormant cycle, so the care schedule needs to be changed. For the next four months, water only to keep the foliage from wilting, perhaps every two weeks. Room temperatures should be on the cool side, anywhere from 55 to 65 degrees. Ideally, aloe plants are fertilized once a year, generally in late September or early October. If you missed the fertilization, leave well enough alone
* Aluminum Plant. If you have a warm room with southern exposure, move the plant there so it basks in full sun. Come early April, move the plant behind a thin curtain or several feet away from the window. Plan on watering every two weeks over the winter, omitting all plant food until growth resumes in March. Fertilize monthly starting in March.
* Begonia. Fibrous begonias are the only candidates for growing in the home (tuberous begonias having been stored in dry vermiculite for the winter). Provide full, direct sun for the begonia, double-potting so constant humidity can be provided. Picture the coffee cup and saucer. Your potted begonia is the cup, a wide plastic tray is the saucer. Invert a small bowl in the center of the saucer on which the begonia is placed. Set an inch of colored stones (available at garden shops) in the saucer, followed by water below the tops of the stones. Humidity rising from the saucer will surround the begonia so leaves will not drop over the winter. At night, set the plant (and saucer) on the floor where temperatures are much cooler. Omit all plant food over the winter. Use tepid water for wetting the soil once a week over the winter.
* Calathea. After Halloween, the plant should be moved into full, direct sun in a warm room (temperatures 70 or above). Since the plant never goes dormant, keep the soil lightly moist (watering every four or five days), and apply liquid plant food every two weeks year-round.
* Cast-Iron Plant. Any warm room with bright light (even north-facing) accommodates the plant. Room temperatures above 65 are fine for the winter. Soil needs to be lightly moist, so use the finger test to determine if tepid water needs to be added. Omit all plant food until late March.
* Citrus. No matter which plant you have (orange, pineapple, etc.), winter plant care is the same. Provide full, direct sun during the day, but a cool location (40-50 degrees) at night. If only one location is possible, choose a cool room with some indirect light. Allow soil to dry thoroughly between waterings over the winter. In cool rooms, the plant may not need to be watered except every two-plus weeks. Omit plant food for the winter.
* Clivia. The plant has already gone dormant. In a cool basement or room (55-60 degrees), set the plant on the floor, turn the pot on its side and the foliage will return its sugar to the tuber as it browns out over the next four weeks. When the fronds have browned, set the plant erect on the floor and prune all dead foliage just above the neck of the bulb. Apply no water of any kind to the pot over the winter. Come late January, new growth will emanate from the tuber, after which the plant is moved into a warm room with bright light to resume growing.
* Coleus. Full, direct sun over the winter intensifies the foliage color, so relocate the plant in a warm room with oceans of direct sun. Soil needs to be kept lightly moist over the winter, probably watering every four-to-six days depending on soil quality. Coleus needs some nutrition in the dark days of winter, so apply Jack’s Classic 20-20-20 plant food at half the label rate every other month over the winter. Resume full-strength applications of plant food in March.
* Devil’s Ivy. Because the plant never goes dormant, the plant needs hands-on care the year-round. Choose a warm for growing over the winter, but not for direct sun. Pothos will perform well in most any light situation except full sun. Allow the soil to go fairly dry between waterings, probably every 8-10 days. Pothos takes 20-20-20 plant food every month year-round.
* Dracaena. While there are many varieties of dracaena, all perform the same way. A warm room with indirect light is perfect. The priority with dracaenas is keeping the soil lightly moist at all times. You need to run the finger-test regularly so the soil never dries out, in which case leaves will fall. Omit all plant food over the winter, resuming fertilizer in March.
* Dieffenbachia. Also known as dumbcane because oil on the foliage is toxic, the plant should not be grown in the presence of young children. The ideal winter home for dieffenbachia is a warm room where the plant can bask in full, direct sun for hours on end. Allow the soil to become moderately dry between waterings (usually 8-10 days). Apply 20-20-20 plant food once in December, then resume monthly feedings in March.
* Episcia. Because the plant is a relative of the African violet, it must have full, direct sun in a warm room over the winter if there is any hope of its flowering. It may flower and it may not. Everything hinges on plant behavior. With healthy plants, the soil needs to be kept lightly moist at all times. However, the winter dropping of foliage isn’t all that unusual. If it happens, prune the runners back by four-to-six inches and cut back severely on the frequency of watering (maybe once every two weeks). Double-pot the episcia (the coffee cup and saucer) so there is good humidity around the plant from then on. Come mid-March, use African Violet Special (12-36-14) by Jack’s Classic (from J.R. Peters) every month through spring, summer and October.
* Ficus. This family includes a host of popular indoor plants, including rubber plant, weeping fig, fiddle-leaf fig and mistletoe fig. All ficus plants perform best in indirect sunlight in warm rooms (65-76 degrees) over the winter. Soils should be allowed to dry thoroughly between waterings, generally every 12-14 days. Always use tepid water, applying at the top of the container. Overwatering will cause a massive dropping of the leaves. Apply a general-purpose liquid plant food when the seasons of the year change (meaning you want to fertilize next month).
* Gardenia. Winter flowering of gardenias is standard practice. Move the plant into full, direct sun in a warm room (65-75) for the winter. Double-pot for best performance. The soil must be kept lightly moist at all times (finger testing is a priority every few days). To induce flowers, move the plant to a cool location where the temperature will lower between 60 and 62 degrees overnight (even if the temperature bottoms out in the mid 50’s). Repeat this for two consecutive nights, then leave the plant intact day and night in a warm room. Fertilize once a week (in place of watering) with Acid Greening Special (17-6-6) by Jack’s Classic of J.R. Peters until the start of flower bud formation, then immediately discontinue plant food. When the first flowers unfold, move gardenia out of direct sun, but continue keeping the soil lightly moist.
* Geranium. With the right environment, potted geraniums will flower sporadically indoors over the winter. Plants need full, direct sun in a warm room during the day, placed on the floor overnight to benefit from cooler temperatures…if flowering, keep the soil barely moist, otherwise allow the soil to dry thoroughly over the winter. Only if the plant blossoms over the winter is there need for fertilizer. Apply 20-20-20 liquid plant food at half the label rate every six-eight weeks if flowers happen.
* Gold Dust Plant. A graceful foliage plant, it benefits from full, direct sun in a south-facing window, also double-potted to provide constant humidity. Warm daytime temperatures favor the plant, but it should be placed on the floor overnight where temperatures are lower. Keep the soil lightly moist by working the finger test until you have the schedule down pat. Fertilize with 20-20-20 plant food when the seasons change (a December feeding is around the corner).
* Grape Ivy. The plant never goes dormant, so you need to fertilize every month the year-round. The plant acclimates itself to most indoor environments, but never to full sun. Medium or bright indirect light is sufficient for the plant. Let the soil dry moderately between waterings (every 5-6 days). Fertilize monthly the year-round.
* Ivy. Cool, shady rooms make perfect homes for growing ivy of all varieties. A northern room with temperatures in the 50-60 degree range favor ivy. Watering is an art. Run your finger tests regularly to sense when the top layer of soil has started to dry. When it does, add tepid water from the top. Fertilize with liquid plant food (20-20-20) at half the label rate once every month.
* Jade. Choose from full, direct sun or bright indirect sunlight in a warm room for winter growing. By late April, plants must be moved out of full sun and behind a thin curtain. Soil must be allowed to dry thoroughly between waterings (10-12 days). Overwatering will cause leaves to yellow and drop. Use a cactus-type granular fertilizer when seasons of the year change (you will be fertilizing next month).
* Kalanchoe. Plants are flowering now and should continue to blossom well into the spring. Provide full, direct sun in a warm room for optimum flowering. In spite of the urge, allow the soil to dry thoroughly between waterings (8-12 days). If the plant is actively flowering, there is no need for plant food. If there are no blossoms, apply a granular cactus plant food in the next few weeks.
* Norfolk Island Pine. The plant is now starting its winter dormant cycle, so your care program must be changed to accommodate the pine. Find the coolest room and move the plant there as soon as possible. Cool temperatures (40-55) are best because the plant will bask in humidity all winter long. It’s the humidity that stops browning of the lower limbs over the winter. If you don’t have a cool room, expect the bottom limbs to brown out by April. Rely on the finger test to know when to water. The top inch of soil in the container should be allowed to dry between waterings. Omit plant food until early spring.
* Remember to deadhead blossoms of Japanese anemone so you enjoy ongoing flowers.
* The worst dicot grassy weeds are now going to seed: crabgrass, goosegrass and yellow nutsedge. Every crabgrass plant spews some 60 thousand seeds over the next two weeks. Add this to the 40 thousand seeds for every goosegrass weed, and several thousand seeds for nutsedge. Use caution when extracting weeds from the soil. Carry a large paper bag to the garden. Cut below seed-carrying stalks so you can capture all seeds. Place them in the paper bag, then use a weeding tool to dig the rest of the plant from the soil. Look for foxtail (a monocot weed) going to seed, too.
* When watering conifers, evergreens and shrubs with the garden hose in the morning, start with a forceful stream of water exiting the nozzle to dislodge aphids, mites and other insects feeding on the foliage. In most cases, a fire-stream of water will wash pests from plants so you don’t have to use pesticides. Biweekly insecticide sprays through the end of the month should protect plants.
* Keep deadheading dahlias to develop more blossoms over the next five or six weeks. If you want to display dahlias indoors, capture blossoms when they have fully opened, immersing stems immediately in a container of water brought to the garden. Indoors, fill a vase with cold water, then add one pinch of potassium nitrate (saltpeter) available from the nursery. Place a dab of petroleum jelly at the base of the dahlia stem while it’s immersed in water. Pinch away any leaves in the water at this time. Move the vase onto the floor in the coolest room of the house (basement or closet on the north side of the house) overnight, then into a comfortable room with indirect light the next morning. Cut flowers will survive up to a week.
* Blueberry plants are now starting to produce flower buds for next summer’s harvest. Soil should be kept acid, so mulching with pine needles is a good idea. If you check the pH and it’s not between 4 and 5.5, dissolve a teaspoon of wettable sulfur in a quart of water and sprinkle atop the soil just beyond the tips of the outer branches.
* Indoor ferns are fertilized this week for the last time this year. Use Jack’s Classic 20-20-20 at half the label rate. Ferns won’t be fertilized again until the first week of February.
* If you have room, make the first of three plantings of carrots in the backyard garden, sowing seed two weeks apart. Plant seeds for short, stubby carrots if you have clay soil, otherwise long, slender carrots in clay-loam soil.
]* If you’d like fresh herbs for culinary dishes over the fall and winter, consider taking 4 or 5-inch softwood cuttings from healthy plants, like basil, lavender, rosemary, sage, scented geraniums and thyme, etc. Take cuttings around noon, immersing in a container of water brought to the herb garden. Pinch away foliage on the bottom half of the cutting while they are immersed in water. Also, place a dab of petroleum jelly on your finger and dab some on the base of each cutting while immersed in water. Pot up cuttings in pre-wet vermiculite as you have done with house plant cuttings in the past few weeks, rooting them on the roof of the car in an enclosed garage. Follow the same care program as you did for houseplant cuttings. If you routinely use chives and parsley over the late fall and winter, you can pot up a few plants of each, keep them barely moist on the floor of the basement with some indirect light (or under grow lights for 8-10 hours a day. Around Thanksgiving, move plants upstairs near a south-facing window, keep the soil moist, and you have all the chives and parsley possible for winter cooking.
* Chrysanthemums continue to set flower buds, so one more application of liquid fertilizer will help. Use Jack’s Classic 10-30-20 Blossom Booster at the label rate.
* Now’s the time to transplant some cosmos to window boxes to plants aren’t subject to frost around Halloween pr the first week of November. Cosmos will continue blooming to Halloween and beyond.
* After the last petals fall, prune climbing and rambling roses, probably the first week of October.
* Bleeding heart is totally dormant now, so plants may be divided and returned to the soil. Take advantage of the resting cycle to incorporate bone meal (0-5-0 or 0-10-0) into the soil as you backfill each plant, watering afterward. Apply chunky mulch atop the soil to guard against frost heave over the winter.
* Stake tall plants like chrysanthemums, gladiolas, delphiniums, and hardy asters to prevent damage in hail and windstorms later this month.
* If you’ve moved to a new home, plan ahead for growing vegetables next year. Consider sowing seed for a “cover crop” to put nitrogen back into the soil before planting next April. Cover crops protect the soil against soil erosion and the leaching of nutrients over the late fall and winter. Your best choices for cover crops that absorb nitrogen in the air and place it in the soil are crimson clover (one ounce of seed over 200 square feet), winter vetch (one ounce to 60 square feet) Winter rye is also a good choice. It fixes nitrogen in the soil and will grow all fall and winter, to be plowed under the last week of March before planting your crops.
* This is the only time of year to plant daffodils. The sooner bulbs are planted, the greater will be your April blossoms next year. Check your independent nursery to see if their late summer supply of daffodil bulbs has arrived. Make your selections this week, planting before next weekend. Include “bulb starter” in your planting regimen. Bulbs must absorb copious amounts of water to flower well next spring, so weekly soaking of the soil is imperative. Use chunky mulch to cover the soil and reduce weed populations.
* Ajuga, also known as bugleweed, has gone haywire this summer, thanks to non-stop rains up and down the east coast. If you want to propagate ajuga, now’s the time to prune a few rhizomes (sub-soil roots), then set young plants where you have partial sun during the day. Keep the soil moist for the next few weeks so roots move into the adjoining soil.
* Consider another seeding of leaf lettuce and spinach, covering seeds with only a quarter-inch of soil. With tropical temperatures over for the year, seed according to instructions on the seed packet.
* Record precipitation has been recorded this summer in most eastern states, principally Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. If you’re renovating your lawn, chances are you may have little or no watering for the next few weeks. Delaware recorded 16 inches of precip over the summer.
* Last chance to stop scale from decimating your euonymus (burning bush) next year. Having just mated for the last time this year, female euonymus scale will now start laying eggs on the woody tissue of euonymus. If this happens, euonymus will have more scales next year. Eggs deposited now will hatch the first two weeks of June next year. Adult scale is most active in the morning, so target your spray in the next few days around 10 a.m. as long as no rain is in the offing. Spray liberally with liquid Cygon or Malathion. One spray will suffice.
* Keep deadheading dahlias to develop more blossoms over the next three weeks. If you want to exhibit dahlias indoors, capture blossoms when they have fully opened, immersing stems immediately in a container of water brought to the garden. Indoors, fill a vase with cold water, and then add one pinch of potassium nitrate (saltpeter) available from the nursery. Place a dab of petroleum jelly at the base of the dahlia stem while it’s immersed in water. Pinch away any leaves in the water at this time. Move the vase onto the floor in the coolest room of the house (basement or closet on the north side of the house) overnight, then into a comfortable room with indirect light the next morning. Cut flowers will survive up to a week.
* Blueberry plants continue to make flower buds for next summer’s harvest. Soil should be kept acid, so mulching with pine needles is a good idea. If you check the pH and it’s not between 4 and 5.5, dissolve a teaspoon of wettable sulfur in a quart of water and sprinkle atop the soil just beyond the tips of the outer branches.
* Fertilize indoor ferns this week for the last time this year. Use Jack’s Classic Acid Greening Special at half the label rate. Ferns won’t be fertilized again until early February next year.
* If you have room, plant carrots, sowing seed now and again in two weeks. Sow seeds for short, stubby carrots if you have clay soil, otherwise long, slender carrots in clay-loam soil.
* If you use herbs for culinary dishes over the fall and winter, consider taking four or five-inch softwood cuttings from healthy herbs, like basil, lavender, rosemary, sage, scented geraniums and thyme, etc. Take cuttings around noon, immersing in a container of water brought to the herb garden. Pinch away foliage on the bottom half of the cutting while they are immersed in water. Also, place a dab of petroleum jelly on your finger and dab some on the base of each cutting while immersed in water. Pot up cuttings in pre-wet vermiculite as you have done with house plant cuttings in the past few weeks, rooting them on the roof of the car in an enclosed garage. Follow the same care program as you did for houseplant cuttings. If you routinely use chives and parsley over the late fall and winter, you can pot up a few plants of each, keep them barely moist on the floor of the basement with some indirect light (or under grow lights for 8-10 hours a day. Around Thanksgiving, move plants upstairs near a south-facing window, keep the soil moist, and you have all the chives and parsley possible for winter cooking.
* Good idea to transplant some cosmos to window boxes so plants aren’t destroyed by an early frost in October. With window boxes well above the ground, cosmos will escape frosts for several weeks and can be expected to flower well into November.
* After the last petals fall, prune climbing and rambling roses, probably the last week of the September.
* Bleeding heart is totally dormant now, so plants may be divided and returned to the soil. Take advantage of the resting cycle to incorporate bone meal (0-5-0 or 0-10-0) and charcoal ashes from the barbeque into the soil as you backfill each plant, watering afterward. Apply chunky mulch atop the soil to guard against frost heave over the winter.
* Stake tall plants like gladiolas, delphiniums and hardy asters to prevent damage in hail and severe windstorms later this month.
* If you’re in a new home and planning to grow vegetables next year, consider sowing seed for a “cover crop” to put nitrogen back into the soil before planting next April. Cover crops protect the soil against soil erosion and the leaching of nutrients over the late fall and winter. Your best choices for cover crops that absorb nitrogen in the air and place it in the soil are crimson clover (one ounce of seed over 200 square feet), winter vetch (one ounce to 60 square feet) Winter rye is also a good choice. It fixes nitrogen in the soil and will grow all fall and winter, to be plowed under the last week of March before planting your crops.
* Ajuga, also known as bugle-weed, has gone haywire this summer, thanks to non-stop rains up and down the east coast. If you want to propagate ajuga, now’s the time to prune a few rhizomes (sub-soil roots), then set young plants where you have partial sun during the day. Keep the soil moist for the next few weeks so roots move into the adjoining soil.
* Bald cypress should be moved in after the plant goes dormant. Wait until the foliage yellows, and then make your move. Soil pH should be below 5.5, so run a soil test before transplanting. Work powdered sulfur into the planting hole, plus lots of peat humus.
* Despite the late hour, cuttings from healthy fuchsias can still be taken now. Seedling plants are grown indoors over late fall and winter in bright indirect light in a warm room.
* Garlic is ready for harvesting when the green color disappears from stalks and stems when plants are bent over. For another crop a year from now, look for garlic cloves at the supermarket, remove the paper-thin covering, separate cloves and plant them right side up, a half-inch deep in the soil and five inches apart. Water after planting, then once a week through the first week of December. You’ll enjoy a bumper crop of garlic this time next year,
* Calla lilies potted up indoors this first week of September will flower in time for Thanksgiving.
* Remember to deadhead all flowers on Japanese anemone in the next two weeks.
* If you haven’t pruned old hollyhocks to the ground, make this a priority this week.
* Delphinium and heliotrope should be blooming right now. If they’re not, sprinkle some 20-20-20
onto the soil now, repeating it a week later.
* If you had crabgrass on the lawn and didn’t destroy it in the past few weeks, it’s now going to seed. Every crabgrass weed spews forth some 60 thousand seeds here in late summer, goosegrass with 40 thousand. If seeds are blowing, sunny lawns and gardens are virtually assured of having oceans of crabgrass and goosegrass next year.
* You can move holiday cactus outdoors to a shady location now that overnight temperatures have returned to normal. Remember to water plants once a week because dry soil retards growth, even if you are fertilizing.
* June-bearing strawberry plants should not be allowed to dry out. Water the soil at least once a week so the nitrate of soda fertilizer you applied weeks ago is available to the roots. Strawberry plants are the last plants in the garden to manufacture dormant flower buds, this happening through the month of November. All buds will be in place before Thanksgiving.
* Scatter barbecue ashes around asters, cosmos and phlox where they will do the most good.
* Prune red raspberry canes to the ground, those that fruited over the past month. What are left on the plant are first-year canes, some of which may have produced fruit at the tips. If they did, prune these canes about five inches behind are area of fruiting. Otherwise, leave the new canes intact so they mature through the fall.
* After this holiday weekend, it will be next to impossible to find citronella oil to banish boxelder bugs from the wall of the house in late October. If you’ve encountered boxelder bugs before, stock up on citronella oil while the supply continues.
* Privet, taxus and other hedges have finished hardening off the new growth this summer, so cosmetic pruning may be tackled now.
* Time for the late summer cleanup around trees, especially around flowering fruit trees, hackberry, hickory, locust, maple, oak, pecan, sweetgum and walnut. Pencil-thin twigs on the ground are the work of a beetle, the twig pruner, that burrows into branches in late April and May, laying eggs in tunnels and severing branches so they fall to the ground. Add cut-up twigs to recycle bags for pickup by the sanitation crew.
* Deadhead phlox blossoms so the plant doesn’t go to seed.
* Silvermound artemisia probably shows evidence of rust disease (dark brown spots on foliage) as a result of humidity and precipitation through August. Remove infected leaves, spray plants with Daconil.
* If you have to order soil, it’s generally measured in terms of cubic yards. A cubic yard equals 27 cubic feet, or soil 10 feet long, 10 feet wide, and three inches thick.
* Thunderstorms and blockbuster rains can destroy gladiolas, hardy asters, delphiniums and lilies, so stake them before they’re toppled.
* Continue feeding chrysanthemums every week or so with Jack’s Classic Blossom Booster for an avalanche of flowers starting a month from now. Blossom buds open within 72 hours when night is longer than the day.
* Black spot (diplocarpon roseae) is still a problem for roses, so monitor plants closely and spray with powdered Bayleton in mid-morning as needed.
* If you haven’t discovered Liquid Fence Plus for repelling deer, do so now so you’re prepared to protect shrubs and young trees over the winter. Available in 40-ounce plastic containers, Liquid Fence Plus is mixed with water (10 ounces to a gallon), and then sprinkled over plants. Browsing deer will avoid plants for a month following application. Keep records when you spray so you’ll know when to spray the next time.
* Delay transplanting peonies or planting new ones until later this month. Peonies do best with morning sun and afternoon shade, in well-drained soil, and with a pH around 7 or above. Old peonies will be pruned to the ground the first days of October to stop botrytis disease on the lowest leaves of the plant from infecting flower buds next year.
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Refer to these reminders regularly as well as those at the end of most of the weekly columns!
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