January 5, 2005
Woodbury Bulletin
Betsy Halden

Houseplant looking peaked? Problems normal as seasons change?

If your houseplants look a little peaked, don’t fret. They may just have the season change blahs.

Houseplants are tropical plants. They prefer a a growing environment of high humidity and warm, non-fluctuating temperatures. They also prefer even soil moisture. These tropical plants let us know when they are not getting the respect they deserve! Their leaf tips can turn brown, they can develop leaf spots and sometimes their leaves turn yellow.

Here are some conditions that might lead to an unhealthy appearance of a houseplant along with some suggestions for good plant care.

Dry Winter Months:
During colder months, our home hearing systems fluctuate on and off, circulating dry, warm air throughout our home. If plants are located near heating vents, they can develop leaf spots and brown tips. Misting of plants may help alleviate this condition. A better approach is to put many houseplants together on a tray filled with gravel. Fill the tray with water. This tactic provides the humidity the plants are looking for.

Fluctuating te peratures:
If your houseplants are located near a window or an outside door, the surrounding temperature will fall sharply as the door opens and when the heat cycles off. If this is your plant’s problem, consider moving it to another location or experiment to find a plant that is adapted to this location. During cold winter days it is also a good idea to pull your plants away from cold windows. This will help to maintain constant temperatures around the plants.

Uneven soil moisture:
Tropical plants like to have their roots in soil that is evenly moist - not too dry nor too wet. This often is a hard balance to keep. Dry leaf tips and spots will develop when we water once or twice a week “whether the plant needs it or not.” When you water a plant in this manner, you might be watering it when it’s too wet. By the time you water next week, it may be too dry.

A better approach is the “touch test” - feel the soil before watering. Stick your finger a couple of inches into the soil and feel how wet or dry it actually is. You may have to check every couple of days until you are able to feel the moisture. Check the soil regularly as the seasons change. A plant will use water differently in winter than in summer. A houseplant will use water differently when it is inside than it did when it was outside during warm weather. Why do we see these symptoms develop so late in the winter season or sometimes not until early spring?

Plants are slow to show symptoms. It takes a couple of months of dry warm air or fluctuating temperatures before a typical houseplant will let you know it is unhappy. A better understanding of the conditions needed by a particular houseplant will enable you to keep it healthy.

Betsy Halden is a resident of Woodbury. You can reach her at eahalden@comcast.net.