HousePlants

Most plants (indoor and outdoor) rest for the winter. Preparing a plant for winter depends on where it is going to be during the winter and what kind of plant it is.

If the plant does not really die off but just grows slower/stops you shouldn’t have to do again to it. For Tropical type plants, you might consider wrapping a towel around the pot to keep the roots warm.

If the plant dies off or go dormant (to me it is the same thing) you will want to do a few things. Wait until the plant is completely dormant. I mean brown and dead looking.

Get some wooden skewers or some kind of sticks. Wrap up some plastic bags. You could use some kind of paper. However, plastic bags require less maintenance. Gently place the loosely wrapped plastic bags over the entire surface of the soil (covering the plant). You want it to be covered, but still get air. Put a plastic bag over the pot so the handles are at the bottom of pot. take (at least) three skewers and poke them through the bag so, they go into the soil. Be sure to poke the skewers where they will not harm the roots (around the edge). This will hold the wrapped bags in place. You can poke a few holes in the outer bag if you think it needs them.

To finish it off wrap it with a towel and put it somewhere where it will be warm. Water the wrapped plant when the soil gets dry (it still needs water to live). This will probably once a month unless your home is really dry.

Unwrap the wrapped plant when you see new growth on your another plants that are not wrapped but having their “winter rest”. If you do not have a plant to do that with just unwrap when spring hits on the calendar. However, that goes out the window if you see it growing under the wrapping, if that happens, unwrap it then.

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