Plants

Amazing Tips to Protect your Plants from the Winter Chills 

Plants are an important part of our ecosystem that needs optimum temperature, sunlight, water and other living conditions to thrive properly. If you are unable to provide any of these elements in the proper amount, the health, well-being, and growth of your plants is bound to suffer. It is important to maintain the right temperature for your plants as too much increase or decrease in the external temperature can affect your plant growth and can cause hindrance to its growth. In this informative blog, we are discussing ways to protect your plants from extreme cold climate or winter chills. Take the help of these valuable tips as stated below:

Place your potted plants in indoor environment

The health and growth of your plants can deteriorate in a quick manner if exposed to low temperature for a long time. You need to bring your potted plants or hanging baskets to indoors for offering them a warm temperature. Place your potted plants near windows and align their position depending upon their sunlight requirements. Moreover, you need to avoid placing your plants in front of AC vents and chimney ducts in order to prevent them from drying away.

Apply a layer of mulch to your plants

Mulch is said to be an insulator that can help in trapping the heat and moisture in the soil. It can protect the root systems of the indoor plants from cold temperatures. You need to apply a layer of 2-3 inches thick of mulch that can help in protecting the plants from cold. The mulch is prepared from wheat or pine straw and can protect the plants such as roses and strawberries. Further, you need to rake the mulch again in order to ensure that the heat can be trapped properly during the warm season.

Cover up your plants

For protecting your plants against harsh winter climate, you need to cover them up with an old climate, drop cloth or tarp. It is an effective method to protect your plants from the chilling frost but ensure that your protective covering is not touching any part of the plants such as leaves. Don’t forget to remove this covering during daytime in order to ensure proper passage of sunlight and air to your plants.

Create a cold frame or greenhouse for your plants

You can easily create a simple and temporary cold frame by bending the slender metal rods into loops and then sticking the ends into the ground across a garden row. Afterwards, you need to place a length of row cover fabric over the loops in order to cover up your entire plants. This simple exercise can trap the heat and protect your plants from the impact of frosting.

Water your plants in an appropriate manner

Before a cold or frosty night, you need to water your plants in abundance. This excessive watering up will help in slow evaporation rate which can warm up the surrounding air in an effective manner. It will further help in trapping the heat properly and will retain it for a longer time during the night. However, avoid watering heavily around succulents as they can’t tolerate the moisture levels properly.

Ensure the supply of an effective heat source

In case your plants are experiencing the extremely cold environment, you need to offer them a heat source. For a relatively large area for protection, you can use a space heater in your makeshift greenhouse. Beware of using the heat source directly in contact with your household plants or the flammable material such as a fabric cover. You need to further uncover the plants and turn off your heat source during the daytime in order to facilitate better ventilation and prevent overheating of the plants.

Go for pruning and re-potting techniques

Pruning is an important activity for plants and it depends on the type of plants which are grown. For example, succulents such as cactus and others don’t require pruning. However, there are other home décor plants and vining varieties such as a money plant, lucky bamboo plant and others which require pruning during winters. Further, succulents don’t need repotting but it is recommended for woody plants which go into the dormant phase during colder months.

Select the plants depending upon the nature of your climate

It is rightly said, “Prevention is better than cure”, so choose the plants that are most suitable for your climatic conditions. It will help you in keeping your plants growing effortlessly during winter climate and heavy frosting conditions. However, this may limit your plant selection. For plants other than those suitable for your climate zones, you need to take extra precautions in order to help them survive the harsh winter conditions.

So, take these proactive and helpful steps to protect your indoor plants from harsh winter climate and cold temperature.

 

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