How long winter lasts with severe frosts, piercing winds and snowfalls! And sometimes it torments us with slush, gray and dull days. At this time, it is especially pleasant to receive from loved one bouquet. Of course, they are not as bright as in spring or summer, but when the weather is bad outside, they are especially expensive.
roses
It cannot be said that roses are exclusively winter flowers. With their strict and refined beauty, they delight us throughout the year. They are loved and completely young girls, and ladies of mature age. Diverse shades (from white to almost black), exquisite flower shape, delicate aroma - all this can surprise any person. And unusual blue and green rosebuds look especially impressive in winter.
chrysanthemums
On severe frosty days, bright chrysanthemums look especially tender and reverent. Pink and yellow, blue and burgundy - these are the most popular winter flowers today. What plants can complement a bouquet of chrysanthemums? The correct shape of this flower allows you to combine it with roses and greenery.
irises
Another common in last years winter flowers, photos of which often adorn the covers of floriculture publications, are irises. Gray and gloomy everyday life will be painted bright emotions at the sight of these ideal asymmetrical shapes and unusual combinations spectrum of shades. These flowers are amazing. Irises are always relevant, but especially on a cold winter evening.
indoor winter flowers
A gift bouquet can certainly cheer you up. But indoor winter flowers bring special joy. After all, when a blizzard rages outside the window, their delicate petals are an unexpected and slightly exciting sight. When a flower blooms at this time, it seems that the room becomes brighter and happier. What plants can give you such a holiday?
Camellia
Winter flowers in the house are always a holiday. It is considered to be one of the most beautiful in winter - from November to March. Although different varieties this period can be somewhat shifted in one direction or another. Therefore, if you want a camellia to bloom next to the New Year tree, when buying a plant, be interested in its variety and growing characteristics.
Camellia loves light very much, so for active winter flowering, provide the plant with additional lighting.
Orchid
These flowers are impossible to take your eyes off. The orchid is a world-famous beauty and sophistication. These winter flowers bloom (see photo below) for several months. Orchid is a symbol of harmony and grace, charm and luxury. It looks equally appropriate both in the living room and in the bedroom.
Orchids prefer diffused light, so it is better to put them not on the windowsill, but on or on a chest of drawers. These flowers are very easy to care for, although they are quite exotic for us. Many types of orchids bloom in winter time. Stephanotis, cymbidium and phalaenopsis are among them. But, like camellia, this plant needs lighting in winter in order for flower buds to form.
Azalea
Another great winter flowers. They belong to the genus Rhododendrons. AT vivo found in China, India, in the mountains of the Caucasus. This one resembles a miniature tree, which, during flowering, is literally strewn with many magnificent buds from white to deep red.
In China, this plant symbolizes prosperity and long life. Azalea prefers cool, but at the same time sunny place and does not tolerate drafts at all.
Cyclamen
Cyclamen blooms in winter. This plant should be bought in the fall, choosing a specimen with large quantity buds. Cyclamen is quite demanding. In order for it to actively grow and develop, it needs a cool temperature - no higher than + 15 ° C. A higher temperature will serve as a signal for him to prepare for rest.
Cyclamens love bright, but diffused light, the direct rays of the sun are contraindicated for them, since they often cause burns on the leaves. During the formation of buds and flowering, the plant requires regular, moderate watering (no more than twice a week). Since these are tuber-root plants, it is better to water them in a pan to prevent the tuber from rotting. Spraying the flower is not recommended.
Cyclamens bloom from early autumn to late spring, and in summer they rest, shedding their foliage completely.
Bromeliads
These winter flowers are from South America. Naturally, their life cycle is shifted, their buds bloom in winter. They bloom once in a lifetime. Getting the next plant is not easy. Shoots should be separated from the mother flower and grown.
zygocactus
These beautiful winter flowers belong to the cactus family. This plant is more often called in our country a Decembrist, a barbarian color, it is long and plentiful for Christmas (usually until the end of January). For active growth, the zygocactus requires light, but without direct sun rays place. In spring and summer, the plant must be placed in partial shade, and during the formation of buds and flowering - on the southern windowsills. Optimum temperature it is considered from +17 to +30 degrees.
The plant needs high air humidity (constant), so it should be sprayed with warm water. After the appearance of the first buds and until the end of flowering, watering is plentiful, the soil should always be moist, and from April to early autumn it is watered only as the top layer of the earth dries. Since autumn, the plant is kept in cool and dry conditions.
winter care behind indoor plants
With me, when outside the window only White color and besides, it’s cold, we are especially happy about indoor plants, which, with their bright colors, remind us of a warm and comfortable summer.
However, in order for the plants to really please, you need to know the rules for winter care for indoor flowers, because autumn and winter are considered a critical period in their life. It is at this time that many plants stop intensive growth and a state of dormancy sets in. Low temperatures outside the windows, drafts, dry air, lack of light - that's all that worries an amateur grower. How to save indoor flowers in winter?
We equip the window sill
On cold days, the air temperature near the window glass is often +5, and ice can even form on its lower edge. This means that the window sill should be insulated without prejudice to the plant in natural light, which is already scarce.
In severe frosts, use adhesive tape to cover the window with plastic wrap. Under the frame itself, place a roll of several newspapers or a foam roller wrapped in film. Insulate the window sills with foam plates, on which you place the pots in pallets.
Move heat-loving plant species to warmer places, or place them in hanging baskets. Balsams, begonias, saintpaulias, gloxinias, echinanthus do not tolerate cold; ferns, aloe, and euphorbia are also not cold-resistant.
More tolerant of low temperatures are chrysanthemums, geraniums, some bulbous plants wintering Petunias, withstanding cold snaps of up to 5-7 degrees.
To increase the temperature in the room during severe frosts, remove all covers from the central heating radiators, lift the curtains, put reflectors behind the radiators - special foil plates or just a large mirror.
Remove the excessive dryness of the air that occurs in these cases by frequent spraying of the plants, and wipe the leaves on large-sized plants. 
Ventilation and indoor plants
Air ventilation is necessary not only for people, but also for plants. However, the combination of severe frosts outside the window and the open window is very risky. Therefore, place the flowers on the windowsill so that a stream of cold air does not fall on them in any way.
Pots can stand safely on the side of the window if you cover them with a shield of paper or film for the time of ventilation.
If, for some reason, your flower is frozen, then give it a whole cold shower - and it can move away. If the process is irreversible, then cut off the entire plant or its individual frozen parts.
Winter care for indoor plants: 6 rules
How to properly care for indoor flowers in winter? More watering - many housewives think, because in winter the heating works in the apartments and the air becomes dry. But is it true?
Every day, the living conditions for indoor plants are deteriorating, as the days are getting shorter and there is no longer enough sunlight. The nights are getting colder heating appliances completely change the microclimate in the room, due to which the plants lack moisture, and as a result they begin to experience discomfort.
1. Winter watering and spraying
If the plants are in the back of the room, where it is hot, then the soil in the pot dries quickly, you will have to water more often. If they hibernate on the windowsill, where it is cooler, the earth remains damp for a long time and it is necessary to water less frequently.
To prevent stretching and yellowing of the leaves, in winter the plants need to be allowed to rest, suspending their growth. They need to be watered less often, only as a last resort, when the earth begins to dry out. But at the same time, it is necessary to strengthen the spraying, otherwise the tips of the leaves will begin to wither, which over time can lead to death. Also loosen the surface of the earth more often so that air penetrates to the roots. No wonder this method is called “dry watering”.
Some types of plants, such as violets, are not recommended to be sprayed, as the leaves will begin to rot. They should be placed on a pallet containing constantly wet expanded clay or pebbles.
Cacti and other succulents are hardly watered in winter. Ornamental plants in winter still need moderate watering in winter, as the top layer of the earth dries up. In flowering plants, the soil, even in winter, should be kept slightly moist. Only especially moisture-loving plants(azalea, calamus, cyperus) need waterlogging all year round.
2. Retirement
There are types of green pets that need to retire in the winter, for example, cacti, for this, watering should be gradually reduced, and fertilizers should not be applied at all.
3. Plant nutrition and lighting
All plants that do not show signs of active growth should not be fed at all: minerals are poorly digested - they will saline the soil and can even kill the roots. Those that actively grow all year round (this is especially true for large-sized plants - monstera, ficus, palm trees, hibiscus) can be fertilized, but less often than in spring and summer, about 1 time per month.
Plants in winter are best placed closer to window glass. You can also provide additional lighting with fluorescent lamps. It is recommended to feed the plants from November to February about once a month. The dose indicated on the package is reduced by half in winter.
Houseplants that bloom in autumn or winter should be fed regularly. These plants include eucharis, calla lilies and cyclamens. It is desirable to give preference to granular dressings. You should take care of the lighting, because for the appearance of flowers in flowering plants you need a lot of light. 
4. Pest control
Do not forget about pests, even in the winter months they actively multiply, which is facilitated by too dry air in the apartment. It is advisable to inspect all plants regularly, remove flowers and leaves that have withered.
Pests are primarily fungal and bacterial rot. Favorable for the development of fungi low temperature. If it is cold on the window, the earth in pots dries out for a long time - conditions for fungal microflora arise, the risk of root damage increases. This is especially true for succulents (cacti, mesembryanthemums), doves (stapels) and euphorbia. Control measures:
- do not water plants with wet soil;
- water succulents when the stems or leaves begin to wither - once every 2-3 weeks or less;
- do not water cacti and lithops at all.
5. Comfort and hygiene
Leaves should be wiped regularly if dust has accumulated on them and if the size of the leaves allows this. Small indoor plants are recommended to be washed in the shower, after covering the ground with a film. Remember that all green pets are afraid of sudden drops in temperature and drafts.
6. Transplant
In winter, it is best to avoid it. Plants are at rest - in this phase life cycle attempts at reproduction and transplantation will not meet with "understanding" from them. A transplant for health reasons, when the plant is very sick (for example, the roots have rotted from excessive watering), is necessary in any season.
The end of winter is the most favorable time for active transplantation of indoor plants. Duration increases daylight hours the plants start to grow again. They actively form new roots, so it is during this period that it is easier for them to get used to a new landing site. However, it should be transplanted if the plant has become too crowded in the old pot. Carefully remove the plant from the pot. If there is a strong interlacing of the roots, then a transplant is necessary.
Winter is in full swing with short days, low light, too dry air for indoor plants. In December, a humidifier is especially relevant in order to somehow increase its humidity. It's time to create a New Year's red-green composition of red amaryllis, poinsettias, ardisias and plants with dark green leaves. In mid-December, seeds can be planted exotic fruits (date palm or citrus) in a mini-greenhouse.
Be sure to heat up tap water before watering! If you put pots with plants nearby, then in order for them to be lighter, do not move them close to each other. Let the air between them pass freely. Regularly remove yellowed or dry leaves, cut off overgrown or too weakened shoots so that the plants always remain beautiful.
Once a month, you can shine on dense leaves with a special aerosol. In the middle of the day, ventilate the room by rearranging the plants first so as not to freeze them. Increase the humidity of the air, but do not wet the leaves too much. If flower bulbs have sprouted, place them closer to the light. At night, lower the temperature in the room a little, giving the plants a little respite.
January
At this time, most plants "sleep" in vegetative dormancy. Water them less often, reduce the amount of water for each watering. The earth between two waterings must necessarily dry out, 15 minutes after watering, always pour water out of the pan.
Water cacti and succulents in January every 12-13 days in warm room and every 20 days in cool. It is better to use botanical scissors or a mini pruner to trim dry shoots. Shorten the stems if they are too long due to lack of light.
Cut off dry or brownish ends on the leaves, but do not damage the green part of the leaf - then the plant will begin to deteriorate.
Increase the humidity in the house, spray soft and slightly warm water plant leaves. Place all the pots side by side on a layer of expanded clay placed in a a large number of water. So you reduce the negative impact of central heating. Ventilate the room without leaving the plants in the draft. Fertilize plants that are about to bloom. Spray regularly flowering plants but do not wet the flowers.
February
Houseplants are starting to wake up from their winter hibernation. It's time to put them in order, sweep the earth and pots. Use a warm, damp sponge to remove pore-clogging dust from dense large leaves. small leaves rinse under the shower. Brush dust off cacti, succulents, and hairy-leaved plants.
Spray the leaves indoor palms, especially plentiful from the inside out to prevent the Reds from attacking them spider mites. Leaves should dry before dark. Polish the fleshy leaves of ficus rubber, monstera and philodendron.
Prepare in advance for spring planting. Let the necessary tubs or pots, substrates, expanded clay for drainage, supports, pallets and fertilizers be purchased. Manually remove the worms, cut off the dried branches that have suffered from powdery mildew. In February, you can buy azaleas, cyclamens and primroses. They will bloom longer if you move them to a cool room at night.
Reduce the power of heaters at night: this way the plants will feel better. Do not spray the velvet leaves of saintpaulia and begonias. Rotate flower pots for even illumination. Gradually increase watering. The most moisture-loving plants in February should receive water twice a week.
Gradually resume active watering of cacti and succulents. Use non-calcareous water for watering gardenias, azaleas, and ferns.
Divide the bushes during transplantation if they become crowded in a pot. Ventilate the room regularly, but still protect the plants from cold drafts, from a sharp drop in temperature. At climbing plants cut off the bald stems and substitute a support for the longest shoots.
Caring for indoor plants in winter: useful tips
Caring for indoor plants in winter is no less important than in spring - at the time of awakening of the majority green spaces- or in the summer, which accounts for the main time of flowering. In late autumn, plants begin a dormant period, and at this time they need to provide a number of conditions.
Caring for indoor plants: preparing for wintering
Start preparing flowers for winter better in autumn: if some plants do not stop growing, then by the next season they will lose their attractiveness or the ability to bloom.
Before wintering, we treat the plants with fungicides and insecticides from possible infection by fungi or pests. If there is no desire to use pesticides, then wipe the leaves and stems with a cloth dipped in soapy water, while making sure that water does not leak to the roots. The procedure is repeated in a week.
We remove all dry, damaged leaves. Due to the dry air in the room, the green parts often turn yellow and are attacked by pests, so the cleaning procedures will have to be repeated many times.
Some types of plants completely retire, so we stop feeding them, and gradually reduce watering.
With gloxinia, caladium, you can do the following: they stop watering, wait for the leaves to die, after that the tubers are dried, cleaned, placed in moss and stored in a cool place (basement, cellar).
If for some reason it was not possible to move the plants for wintering, they will have to provide them with additional lighting and moisture - that is, to give them the opportunity to go through all the stages of the growing season. Callas, eucharis, cyclamen will also have to be fed, since autumn and winter are the usual time for their flowering.
Houseplant Care: Lighting
Those plants that are not sent to rest are provided with additional light and moisture. Phyto- and fluorescent lamps fixed at a certain height will solve this problem. As a rule, they are installed at right angles.
Turn on artificial lighting just to prolong the day. Flowers usually require 12-14 hours of sun exposure.
Houseplant Care: Moisturizing
During the cold season, most green pets do not need much water. When and how much we determine from the type of plants - for this you can create your own schedule.
How can you tell if a plant needs water? To do this, we examine the soil by touch: if it has dried to a depth of 2-3 centimeters, then we water the flower. For succulents, the soil should dry out completely - only after that they will require a little moisture.
In winter, the soil in pots becomes hard, after watering it immediately dries up. We make sure that the earth does not turn into one big lump near the roots, otherwise the water will pass through, immediately into the pan.
We arrange warm shower: let the soil saturate with life-giving moisture, and clean the leaves from dust. By the way, this procedure will help greens to better absorb sunbathing.
Before we move the plants to their usual place, we will make sure that there is no excess water left, thereby we will prevent the roots from rotting.
We spray the plants and loosen the ground - this way they perceive moisture better. The exception is . We install them on pallets with wet pebbles.
Flowers cannot be watered with cold water, it should be the same temperature as the room, or a little warmer.
Houseplant Care: Comfort and Temperature
Providing comfort to indoor plants is an important task for amateur flower growers. Wipe the leaves from dust, and arrange a cleansing shower for some green pets - only a small part of the work. Flowers are gentle creatures that are afraid of drafts and sudden changes temperatures.
A window sill, especially a south-facing one, is great for getting enough light, but the presence of radiators and fluctuations in heat and cold (coming from window crevices) will cause plants to wilt. A humidifier, sealed windows will help solve this problem.
The leaves should not come into contact with the glass, and it would be good to arrange the pots in such a way that there is some distance between them - it is better for the plants not to touch each other.
Heat-loving flowers (these are orchids, calatheas, sheffler, a coffee tree) we are looking for a place not on the windowsill - here they will feel bad.
If green pets have begun to fade, then it's time to warm them up. This can be done with a foam pad under the pots. During severe cold snaps, we close the windows with blankets or wooden shields.
Plastic containers are warmer than clay ones. This should be taken into account with some plants. ceramic pots for a while you can wrap in warm cloths.
Houseplant care: top dressing
Plants in winter are very cautious, much rarer than in summer. We feed those that bloom from the appearance of buds to the end of flowering. The rest - once every three to four weeks.
Solutions are made weak. Plants absorb water well, in which meat was washed, milk was found, or beets were boiled.
Sick and recently transplanted flowers do not need to be fertilized.
Houseplant Care: Blooming in Winter
At proper care surprise with your blooming attire there will be orchids, jasmine, roses, fuchsias, primroses.
Cyclamen with its butterfly flowers will delight almost the entire season.
Poinsettia, Decembrist in winter are bestowed with flowering in the coldest time - in the middle of winter.
For Have a good mood at this time of the year it is worth buying an azalea - indoor rhododendron envelops with a luxurious cloud of inflorescences.
In January, they ripen, grown by distillation, - lilies of the valley, hyacinths, tulips and daffodils.
All these plants have a dormant period in the summer. But even in cold weather, they prefer lower temperatures than we like. Only good care for houseplants in winter will be able to give us the opportunity to admire them.
If you are attentive to flowers in winter, create the necessary microclimate for them, you will be able to preserve and increase them. decorative look and prepare for a meeting with the spring.
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The bright palette of autumn colors is rapidly giving way to a dull and monotonous landscape with bare trees and empty flower beds. And so you want to admire the flowers, touch the smooth delicate leaves, watch their development! Indoor plants will help with this. They not only decorate the interior, but also improve the microclimate of an apartment or office, purify and humidify the air. However, the vast majority of domestic plants, having felt the approach of winter, are preparing for a long “vacation”, changing the active development of shoots and flowering to rest. Truth behaving ornamental crops differently.
Photo typepad.com
Everyone is sleeping, except for the “sentinels”
Gloxinia, hippeastrum, achimenes, caladium completely die off at this time. Their nodules and bulbs are usually kept cool. dark place, leaving in a pot or placing in paper bags until spring. Other indoor plants enter a dormant period without dying off the aerial part.
Resistant to lowering and fluctuations in temperature aloe, succulents, chlorophytum, eucalyptus, tradescantia.
Due to the difficulties associated with maintaining the required air humidity, tropical plant species will have to organize a cool wintering. This, in particular, applies to ficus, monstera, dracaena. Set up winter quarters low temperature it is not difficult if there is a glazed and insulated balcony or loggia, where the temperature in the cold season does not fall below 6 degrees Celsius. It is extremely rare to humidify the air there. However, when severe frosts it is necessary to move the plants into the room so that they do not freeze.
But there are species that crave warmth. Cool wintering is not suitable for tropical flowering and decorative leafy houseplants. So, for aroid, aphelandra, begonia, bromeliad, mulberry, dieffenbachia, calathea, orchid, peperomia and others winter temperature it is undesirable to lower below 20 degrees of heat.
Meanwhile, for Schlumberger, Kalanchoe, Poinsettia and Azalea, it is the short winter days that are the time of wakefulness, moreover, of growth and flowering. This is a kind of "sentinel" in the world of indoor plants.
On a starvation diet
When the flowers are dormant, their watering is significantly reduced, and succulents and cacti are not watered at all. But if it was not possible to organize a cool wintering for the plants, with hot heating, the flowers still need to be watered using settled water at room temperature.
Plants do not fertilize, an exception is made only for those that are under artificial lighting and continue to actively grow and bloom. At the same time, decorative leafy houseplants are fed once a month, but the recommended dose is halved.
Adverse factors
Short overcast days and warm, dry rooms do not in the best way affect the well-being of green pets. In the autumn-winter period, they suffer most from a lack of light and high dryness of the air, and if the room is warm, the plants are very stretched and affected by diseases and pests. To prevent this from happening, in winter the flowers need to rest and stop growing.
Most indoor plants come from those regions where the length of daylight hours is almost the same throughout the year. Therefore, in our latitudes, we must try to give them in the winter more light. Keep window panes clean, as dirty ones “steal” 10% of the light. And also, if possible, rearrange the flowerpots on the windowsills of windows facing south and east. They should be placed closer to the window, but so that the leaves do not touch the glass. Turn on artificial lighting for a few hours. But as soon as it gets very cold, it is necessary to rearrange the flowerpots deep into the room, providing them with additional lighting - at least 12 hours a day.
AND PESTS DO NOT SLEEPThe drought is canceledThe crowded content of plants in winter and dry air often lead to the weakening of plants, they are easily affected by various pests. Washing and regular inspection indoor flowers allows you to timely identify traces of attacks by various enemies.
In winter, in order not to undermine the strength of weakened plants, you can resort to folk remedies protection - infusions of garlic or onions, soapy water, alcohol. In extreme cases, apply chemicals, but after processing, the rooms should be well ventilated.
When the batteries are scalded, the humidity in the apartment drops to 30%, and for most tropical plants, 65-70% is considered optimal. Excessive dryness of the air will be indicated by the dried tips of the leaves, the fall of the buds and leaves.
Not only household electric humidifiers will help to correct the situation, but also a large number of plants in the apartment, as well as an aquarium. You can also do this: arrange a lot of wide bowls of water or hang a damp towel on the radiator and moisten it periodically.
Please take a shower
Spraying with water and a shower will help keep moisture in the plants. However, spray irrigation of the leaves gives a short-term effect. And for Saintpaulia, for example, it is not at all suitable, because it often leads to rotting of the leaves. Another thing is washing the leaves in the shower with the water temperature slightly above room temperature. In this case, it is possible to increase the humidity for a longer period, while at the same time taking care of the hygiene of the plants. But you have to protect the surface of the soil in the pot from erosion. And if you put pots with plants in a tray filled with wet expanded clay or decorative pebbles, the effect of such moisture will be even more noticeable. For this purpose, you can use cat trays with a mesh, the main thing is that moisture does not enter the pots through the drainage hole.
Replant or wait for spring?
Any transplant is a strong stress for plants, so it is highly undesirable to do it in poor light and low air humidity. Fresh soil can provoke active growth of flowers, resulting in thin and elongated shoots.
However, sometimes, due to severe waterlogging of the soil, it is necessary to carry out a forced transplant of a plant whose roots have begun to rot. Then it is removed from the pot, cut off all the black rotten roots, and then planted in fresh soil. The transplanted plant is not watered for a week and kept under a plastic bag.
From the end of December until the end of winter, houseplants from seeds begin to propagate. Various varieties and hybrids of pelargoniums, gloxinias and cyclamen are sown in the middle of winter in order to get flowering plants by summer. An important condition for such reproduction is additional illumination and high temperature. Vegetative propagation houseplants are best produced in the spring.
STAY IN TOUCHLidia VISHNEVETSKA, biologistIf the apartment wooden frames, then on the windowsill it will be very cool root system colors. Less affected by this plant in plastic pots, but in clay ones - more. You can protect green pets from a cold window sill by placing them on a stand made of wood or foam.
If the flowers are frozen, you need to cut off all the affected parts to living tissue. After that, treat the plant with growth stimulants such as "Epin" or "Zircon".
Plant care in winter different from summer. It was during the autumn-winter period that plants first leaves are falling, they wither and die for various reasons.
Many growers lose their plants during this period. We will analyze the reasons why plants die in winter and autumn.
With the onset of cold weather, you need to be especially attentive to indoor plants. Already in the fall, the conditions of detention for them change. It gets colder at home, the days are shorter, the plants get less light. Some flowers move from open air(from the street) home and therefore for them the climate changes globally at once. Then in the winter they turn on the heating and the hot air can finally destroy them.
How to save plants in winter? There are many nuances here. Of course, depending on the type of plant, it needs its own conditions, but there are general rules, without which plants can easily die during this period of the year.
Watering
With the onset of cooler weather, watering should be monitored; in the fall, it is usually reduced. If you continue to water the plants as usual, then the clod of earth will not have time to dry out, which will cause the death of the root system, and hence the death of the plant itself. It is very dangerous to water plants in the autumn-winter period if upper layer the ground is still damp. This is not summer, when the water can quickly evaporate in a day and the soil dry out under the rays of the sun.
Moreover, plants wither equally from overflow and from drying out of the soil, and with the inclusion of heating devices in winter, the second is very likely. And this means that with the connection of heat, the irrigation mode is changed again.
The soil of plants can be different, lighter or heavier, and it dries out in different ways. This must also be taken into account when watering. In general, we monitor the uniformity of watering and water the plants as the earthen coma dries out.
Water for irrigation should be at room temperature, as cold water can also cause root rot. Is that azalea and cyclamen love ice water.
Cold and hot air
Both of these are bad. You need to prepare in advance for the onset of frost, I'm talking about windows. It is necessary to close the gaps and close the windows.
Maybe even build structures that redirect cold air when airing past the flowers. Or rearrange the flowers to other windows where the windows will not open.
If the windows are plastic, then you should not be deceived that a small gap in micro-ventilation will not harm the plants.
Flowers will immediately tell you that this is not so, or rather they will die from the frosty air, hanging frozen leaves. Or the earth in pots will freeze and the roots of plants will rot. sub-zero temperatures and houseplants are not compatible.
When turn on central heating is another test for houseplants, many of which come from the tropics and need moist air. Some measures will help to slightly change the atmosphere of the "desert" and create humidity. You can set the plants on pallets with wet moss, or fill the pallets with pebbles, expanded clay, fill with water so that the bottom of the pot does not touch the water. Alternatively, install water containers between plants. Evaporating water will increase the humidity around the plants. The easiest way is to spray the plants. Spraying is carried out regularly. It is desirable in the daytime, so that the leaves of plants by the evening, when it becomes colder on the windows, have already dried out. To prevent hot dry air from falling directly on the plants, you can fit a wide cardboard box on the battery, which will shift the flow of heat rising up away from the plants. Hot dry air also contributes to the activation of pests, so it is possible that you will need to treat the plants with appropriate preparations twice a winter.
Temperature and rest period
Many plants have a dormant period in winter. They slow down and completely stop growing. Such plants need a lower air temperature for wintering, usually 16-18 ° C and very limited watering. Therefore, they put such plants as close to the glass as possible, and maybe even fence off from warm room film. If the window sill is warm, then such plants are isolated from it by putting cardboard or foam. They also ventilate the room more often, excluding, of course, the ingress of cold air directly onto the plants.
Some bulbous and tuberous plants go dormant altogether. Watering them is gradually reduced, and then with the death of the leaves they stop completely. These are, for example, hippeastrums, gloxinia.
Certain plants are deciduous, such as fuchsia, hydrangea, figs. After they have leaves are falling they are watered very moderately, one might say occasionally, and resume normal watering with the beginning of the growth of new leaves and shoots.
One of the problems winter maintenance plants is the temperature contrast of the aboveground and underground parts of the plant, if it is simpler - their deciduous and root parts. In natural subtropical conditions, native to many plants, the temperature of the soil and the outside air is almost the same. What happens with us in the winter? Often the plant stands on a cold windowsill, and too much water is supplied to the top of the plant. warm air from appliances of the heating system, which is 8-10 degrees higher than normal room temperature. With such a contrast, the plant is very difficult, it does not know "how to behave." At high temperature air, the plant needs more moisture and nutrients, which it must take from the soil. But our land is cold, the root system not only does not develop, but is also unable to provide the required nutrients to the plant in the right amount, since the absorption of water by the roots in cold soil decreases. Thus, by watering the plant, we do not get the desired effect, additional watering in this case will not only not help the plant, but also aggravate the situation, it will simply lead to rotting of the roots in cold soil, the plant will wither and die.
If you have a similar situation, then you need to try to equalize the temperatures, for this, if possible, isolate the plant from both excessive cold and excess heat. To reduce the cold, as mentioned earlier, you need to insulate the windows, plug and seal all the cracks if your windows are wooden. Then isolate the pots with plants from the cold window sill by laying an insulating layer (these can be boards, foam plastic, cardboard, foam rubber, in extreme cases, thick rugs and newspapers, or maybe special plastic shelves, in general, you can show your ingenuity). The hot air of the batteries can also be protected in several ways. Move the plant away from the edge of the window sill, redirect the air from the battery towards the room away from the window, or make a fence out of polyethylene film 2/3 of the height of the plant. But since it will still not be possible to completely equalize the temperatures of the soil and air, it will still help to reduce the intensity of watering in the winter and spray the plant from above more often, this will help it.
Plant nutrition in winter
A mistake can be transplanting plants before winter and intensive fertilization of indoor plants in winter. Since many plants slow down their growth in winter and go dormant, their need for nutrients is reduced, which means they do not need additional nutrient soil for growth, and even more so feeding. By continuing to intensively feed the plants, we simply accumulate fertilizers in the soil, which can adversely affect the plant. Either the plant will try to grow and bloom in unfavorable, non-seasonal conditions for the flowering of this plant, it will weaken, and in the spring-summer period it will not be able to fully develop and bloom. Let the plants rest.
For plants that are able to grow and bloom all year round, they simply feed much less often (for example, instead of 2-3 times a month, 1 time per month) and make lighter solutions of fertilizers, lower concentrations.
Well, for those plants that bloom in the winter, of course, you need abundant, regular watering, spraying and full feeding. To different plants in winter fit individually.
lack of light
plant lighting
In winter, the days are much shorter and the plants suffer from a lack of light. For those plants that are resting during this period, placing closer to the glass, to daylight will be quite sufficient.
Plants that are not so demanding on light in the summer will calmly survive this period, for example, aglaonema, fern, monstera, etc.
For those plants that love light, it would be useful to add at least 1-2 hours of illumination in the morning and evening, extending the daylight hours to at least 10-12 hours.
For flowering plants at this time, it is necessary to provide daylight hours for at least 12 hours a day. For example, for the full flowering of violets, a 14-hour daylight hours are required. They can grow very well on special racks with fluorescent lamps located at a distance of 20 cm above the plants, especially since a cold window sill will not suit them at all.
There are recommendations for helping plants with special preparations. This is natural stimulant formation of chlorophyll with a lack of sunlight - HB-101. There is also a bio-fertilizer "Siyaniye-9" and "Siyaniye-10", which promotes the growth of beneficial microflora in the soil and prevents its salinization with minerals.
To each his own
Observing the general rules for creating more favorable conditions for plants in the winter and helping them survive, do not forget about the individual approach to each type of plant, each requires its own temperature, required amount light, certain watering plants. And for this, study the conditions for keeping each of your pets (considering the characteristics of your apartments, they are also very different), follow them and the plants will thank you, delighting you with the beauty of healthy leaves and subsequent lush flowering.
Love your plants. Good luck to you.
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