Even though it's not spring, summer or fall doesn't mean you have to give up gardening. You can enjoy your green thumb by growing things in the winter as well. Gardening in the winter involves enjoying plants indoors - on window sills and near windows. Some plants do go into a sleep during the colder winter months - their blossoms fall off and their leaves turn brown. There are several things you can do to encourage full green foliage and lush blossoms throughout the winter months. All it takes is a bit of practice and patience.
It's important to remember not to over-water your plants. When plants are in a dormant (a resting period) they need less water, even if they appear brown and dry. Over- watering indoor winter plants result in dropping leaves. When you winter garden, you have to adapt the way you water your plants.
Release some moisture into your home air if at all possible. This will help both your houseplants and you. Ways to accomplish this are with a humidifier, or boiling a pot of water and letting it simmer on the stovetop. Moist air ensures that your plants won't become too dry.
When it comes to winter gardening you may have to realize that there are some plants that simply won't last for a long period of time. These plants include Gloxinia, Chrysanthemum, and Cyclamem. Try to focus your winter gardening efforts on plants other than these three plants. Anytime that you purchase an indoor plant make sure that you find as much information about the plant as you can. Find out how much light and water the particular plant needs so that you don't over water the soil or keep it too dry. If you make sure that the conditions are right for your indoor house plants you increase your chances of seeing bright flowers lining your window sills during the winter months.
Bugs sometimes are more of a nuisance to your plants when you are practicing winter gardening. If you find this to be a problem, study the best way to treat each plant before you use chemicals. Also, try to allow as much light in as possible. The days are shorter in winter, so put the plants who love sun in your windows that get the most of it.
If you find that you are having little luck when it comes to winter gardening and producing the blooms that you want you can always resort to a terrarium. A terrarium will be easy to keep with cacti and other plants such as herbs, ferns, orchids, and other plants with green foliage.
