Horticulture Article
It's Winter, What Can I Do Now?
You might be thinking that winter is a time to take a break from thinking about plants and gardening, but there is still a lot to do. First, you need to think about the plants you have now – the ones in your home. Air in homes can become drier when the heat is on. Relative humidity for a home should be between 30-50%. Many people opt to use humidifiers to add moisture to the air. It’s beneficial for people, but also helpful for your plants. Some humidifiers even have a plant care setting. Tropical plants will especially appreciate extra humidity when the indoor air is dry. Providing adequate humidity can help prevent brown leaf tips.
Can you just mist your plants? Yes and no. Misting doesn’t add moisture to the air that can be extracted by the plant. Misting can also lead to fungus growth and disease if water collects on the plant.
Take time now to clean your plant leaves. Simply washing with water can remove dust and keep the leaves and the whole plant healthy.
Take a look at your plants and see which you can take cuttings from for the plant sale! This timing would give your cuttings enough time to form roots in time for the sale. Plants like pothos and spider plants root easily in water, while other plants like jade plants or holiday cactuses form a better root system when planted directly in soil.
This is also the time to plan your outdoor garden. Seed catalogs can be found online. Johnnys, Fedco, Wild Seed Project, and Native Plant trust all offer straight species native plant seeds and non-GMO vegetable seeds. Of course, you can also request a paper catalog from some sources and curl up with a cup of cocoa and your seed catalogs and dream of Spring.
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