While houseplants in the winter are generally more low-maintenance as they require “little to no feeding,” that doesn’t mean they should be completely left alone.
Leigh Hunt, principal horticulture advisor at the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) released a video with important information about houseplant care.
The RHS is the UK’s leading gardening charity that works to encourage and improve science, art and practice of horticulture.
The gardening expert has shared an important warning that will help keep them alive during winter.
Mr Hunt said it is vital for houseplants to get enough water. Dry plants can lead to wilting, stunted growth and death.
Leigh Hunt said: “Like all houseplants one of the key things is getting the watering right, and I tend to use my water-indicating tool and my water indicating tool is just my finger.”
All you need, according to Leigh, is to feel whether the soil is moist – if it is then the plant doesn’t need any water, but if it feels dry it needs to be taken out and, of course, watered.
The simple way of doing this is using some sort of container or bowl to collect up all the plants which feel dry, once all the plants are popped in the bowl, the expert says to just “take that to the kitchen and put 5cm of water in the bottom,” and then the trick is to let the water soak in the compost for around 30 minutes.
It it still feels dry after 30 minutes, then it is recommended to leave it in “a bit longer”.
He continued by advising that the plants should be looked over for dead leaves and that any brown leaves should be “plucked or cut away;” depending on how easily they come off.
You will be able to tell whether houseplants with clear roots require more watering by their colour. Green roots mean they’re all good, but if they do need more water, it’s suggested to take the plant to the tap and let water soak into the compost for about 20 to 30 seconds before placing it back into the pot.