Keeping houseplants thriving

Keep your home greens in the pink this winter, says Ruth Hayes

- Ruth Hayes

WITH most of the garden snoozing under its blanket of winter cold, there’s time to devote to indoor plants. Admittedly there isn’t a great deal of feeding and watering to do for most of them during these dormant days of no growth nor flowering, but anything in bloom that you were given for Christmas is another matter.

These need regular watering and feeding to keep them productive, as well as deadheading when necessary to encouraging longer flowering.

Non-flowering houseplants can become stressed in dry, centrally-heated air and fall foul of pests (see panel, right).

Some plants, such as peace lily, hate being overwatered but quickly get limp and droopy when they don’t get enough, so keep their compost just damp, but not soggy, even through winter.