Courtesy of Laurie Fearon & Shapoor Hoghooghi

CARING FOR HOUSEPLANTS IN WINTER

Low light, dry air, and plain old forgetfulness are three common causes of a houseplant not making it through winter. Sometimes it feels easier to care for your indoor plant babies when the sun is shining and the weather is warm because they’re just an extension of your outdoor plants. But it’s during the winter that indoor plants need a little extra love and care. Here are four tips for doing just that. • Know which plants go dormant in the winter. If you have a plant that’s typically meant to be outside, it may go dormant when the weather turns. Meanwhile, tropical indoor plants tend to not go into dormancy as long as the conditions they were used to in the summer continue. If you do have plants that go to sleep during the winter, make sure to ease back on the watering. And don’t panic if they stop growing or even lose a few leaves. That’s just nature doing its thing. • Give your plants a shower. Yup – plants need showers too. Especially those with large leaves that collect a lot of dust. Too much dust buildup can actually hamper the plants ability to take in light. If you have plants that are too heavy to move to your tub, periodically wipe their leaves down with a damp cloth. • Move them to a sunnier location. How the sun comes into your home will change during the winter months. Some of your plants may need to be relocated to a sunnier, warmer spot. Be wary of windowsills though. Depending how well your windows keep out the cold, a sunny sill may look welcoming, but if there’s a draft your plant may not like it there. • Keep them away from radiators and air vents. You may think that plants would like it near a nice warm heater, but most of them don’t. The extra air circulation dries them out quicker and the warmth can be too intense for their roots and leaves.

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Courtesy of www.printactivities.com

SOLUTION :

It’s a sun and a tree.

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