I imagine many of us begin to think of our plants as comrades in the winter months. Like a beloved pet, those not too large come indoors and spend more time with us. The cold is locked outside. The green brings life inside. And when the darkness comes and the drapes get closed the plants in that sunny window get to enjoy the warmth the house provides.
In the land of basements, which does not include my state of Florida, plants can also find a home during the freezing days of winter. My mother-in-law had a small corner window at the ceiling of her basement. That is where the Christmas Cactus hung in baskets. I felt kind of sorry for them, though. No one likes to be in the basement for long, even when it is furnished out like a deep den. I would look at her Christmas Cactus, which did flower nicely in December, and think they might be happier in the kitchen. But I know that Christmas Cactus like cool nights to form their blooms, and so they lived in the cool and shady basement window. Many times the snow was banked against that basement window, but still the muted light of day came through.
If you are planning to bring your plants indoors this winter, and do not have a greenhouse, there are a few common sense tips you may want to remember. First of all, check your plants for pests. Make sure you remove bugs, tree frogs or little lizards that like to live on them. Even birds can come inside if you are not careful. One year I brought in my greenery wreath after the holidays and out flew a wren! It was very panicked and required a good chase around the house before being caught in a towel and let go on the porch.
To give your plants a fresh start indoors for the cold months, it might be a good idea to repot them. A clean pot and new potting soil gives the existing roots more room and will provide the plant with a shot of nutrition. The new pot should be at least two inches larger than the previous pot used for that plant; it should have a drainage hole and a drainage saucer beneath it to catch run-off. You have to consider wood floors and carpets when placing an indoor plant. Even putting them on the hearth can leave watermarks on your brick if you are not careful.
Potted plants coming into the house from the outdoors will need time to acclimate. Studies done in Florida in the 1970’s revealed that tropical plants grown in full sun develop a different leaf structure than plants grown in the shade. Sun leaves have less chlorophyll, making the leaves thicker, smaller and larger in number. Placing these plants suddenly into a shady interior forces them to make new leaves that have a structure compatible to the new environment; this can cause a shock to the plant. Try to find a very sunny and warm place for those plants that are used to lots of bright sunlight. Look for that certain place the plant will feel most at home. I can tell if a plant is happy when it flourishes without much help. My Christmas Cacti love our shady back porch. They bloom in great quantity every year. They can take the cold of this southern state under cover of the porch roof. I hardly water them or pay them any attention, and yet they thrive. It is because I found the right plant for the right spot.
Be sure you have a good potting soil. It should be porous for good aeration and drainage, and yet able to hold enough storage of water and nutrients. Potting mixes with garden loam should be avoided as loam is highly variable from spadeful to spadeful and is not sufficiently pasteurized. Bagged commercial soil is probably the best for indoor pots. Many brands have time released fertilizers, and are more sterile. However, bagged soil with lots of moisture in the bag can bring fungus knats along with it. So take care and choose a good quality potting soil containing at least 1/2 to 2/3 vermiculite and perlite. Remember the key to good potting soil is good drainage capability.
Though I have not done so, potting soil can be made at home, too. Following is a recipe I found. This makes 3 bushels:
1 bushel shredded sphagnum peat moss
1 bushel perlite
1 bushel vermiculite (not construction grade)
1/2 cup finely ground agricultural limestone
1/3 cup 20% superphosphate (0-20-0)
1/2 cup 8-8-8 or similar analysis mixed fertilizer
1 level teaspoon chelated iron
Humidity can be obtained for indoor plants by sitting them in a large tray lined with pebbles and filled with water. The water will evaporate and give moisture to the leaves of the plants in the tray. The right tray with the prettiest pebbles can look really great in a window or on a low table near a light.
Always water dry plants a couple of hours before fertilizing them in order to prevent burning. Keep the plant moist but not soaking wet. Watering plants once a week is enough for most plants, and it is better to let them get a little too dry than to keep them too wet. Go easy on the fertilizer until spring is near and you are getting ready to take them back outdoors. This will help the plant have strong new growth. When the weather warms, don’t be too quick to take your plants back outside. Even a good chill can shock them at that point.
Who knows, that loveless winter wind may come calling one more time!
Wind and Window Flower
Lovers, forget your love,
And list to the love of these,
She a window flower,
And he a winter breeze.
When the frosty window veil
Was melted down at noon,
And the cage’d yellow bird
Hung over her in tune,
He marked her through the pane,
He could not help but mark,
And only passed her by
To come again at dark.
He was a winter wind,
Concerned with ice and snow,
Dead weeds and un-mated birds
And little of love could know.
But he sighed upon the sill,
He gave the sash a shake,
As witness all within
Who lay that night awake.
Perchance he half prevailed
To win her for the flight
From the firelit looking-glass
And warm stove-window light.
But the flower leaned aside
And thought of naught to say,
And morning found the winter breeze
A hundred miles away.
Robert Frost