How to care for your indoor plants in winter

A scattering of indoor plants adds much needed greenery to Alberta's long winters. If they brown up or draw clouds of insects, think twice before throwing them away, said a plant expert from the University of Alberta.

"People will tell me:" I have sticky objects on my fig tree or white objects flying around my poinsettia, so I had to throw them away, "but they should first of all trying to solve the problem.It's sometimes a pretty simple situation, "said Sherrie Benson, senior horticultural and greenhouse manager at the University of Alberta Botanical Garden.

Potted plants deserve to be kept, even if they are sick, for some good reasons.

"It is well known that plant foliage acts, in one capacity, as a cleansing filter for our air," she said, adding that the secret is in the leaves. "The more the foliage has a large surface, the more it becomes an air filter, so it can be a small, large-leaved plant or a large multi-leafed plant." . "

They are also natural mood lifters.

"I saw people walking around our indoor huts in the garden, in a flat atmosphere and when going out, their eyes were shining."

And there is another sentimental reason to save a sick plant, if it has been pbaded on as a kind of living family inheritance, she added.

"If there is a story behind that, they should try to solve the problem before throwing it in. Or at least take a cut of the plant to start a new one.In this way, they always have the original genetics . "

Treat the cause, save the plant

Well-maintained plants can, depending on the species, live for years – but, just like humans, they also have to deal with occasional diseases. Benson advised to ignore the critical factor of insects or sticky sticky substance on the plant, and try to treat the cause instead.

There are two common pests that can cause a stuck plant owner to give up if he does not have a green thumb, she said.

One is the gnat mushrooms, tiny flying insects often mistaken for fruit flies. Too much water, a plant can produce too much soil fungi on which midges grow. Damage to plants includes wilting, poor growth, and yellowing. To keep insects away, reduce watering once a week – most indoor plants, which are tropical, have a dry season anyway in winter, noted Benson.

"We can water much less than we think, so if you water Sunday and Wednesday, for example, water Sunday only." Make sure to water the entire root and let it dry between waterings, she added.

Mealybugs – plump tropical insects, white – are the other most common culprit. Much harder to kill than midges, they are usually brought from the store home. At the beginning of their lives, they live in the ground and are not detected.

"There may have been one in every 500 plants delivered in Alberta that have mealybugs in the soil, which has matured on the sales bench and crawled to the next plant to lay eggs," Benson said.

They pierce and feed on plant tissue, excreting a sticky residue that causes the plant to drop its leaves, yellows and dies if left untreated. Because insects are covered with a waxy coating, they can not be easily removed with proven methods like soap or oil, and they drag in the soil as well as on the plant.

"Unless you get rid of it in both places, you do not have control," said Benson.

The answer is a long-term treatment that disrupts the life cycle of the mealybug and gives the plant a reboot, said Benson. Dip the cotton swabs in alcohol and dab them on the infected areas of the plant every two to three days for a month. Below the ground, shake the roots to get rid of all the soil, water them or, if the treatment is inside in winter, wash them in a diluted mixture of water and soap dishwashers, and replant them in a clean pot.

Although there are no indoor plants particularly suited to the dry and cold winters of Alberta, it is important to stop fertilizing after the equinox of 39. fall, when days are getting shorter and light is decreasing, Benson said.

"Here it means feeding the plant only from the end of May to the end of September, otherwise the salt contained in the fertilizer accumulates in the soil and damages the roots."

Buy for beauty, practicality

When adding indoor plants to the family, Benson suggested buying according to four guidelines: color, tree shape, interesting foliage and low light.

"These help combine beauty and practicality."

Tropical plants like the croton – a medium-sized plant with flashy variegated leaves – bring splashes of red, pink, green and yellow into the house.

"I love the fact that the leaves are thick and leathery, so it's a strong-looking plant.With indirect sunlight and weekly watering, it can live for a long time and even be pbaded on." "said Benson. .

The color is also badociated with more demanding plants such as the hoya, a quiet cultivator that can produce 50 to 100 flowers, or the stephanotis, whose flowers are so beautifully scented that they are prized perfumers.

Shapes of trees such as lounge palms – so named for their prominent place in Victorian lounges – or Buddhist pine are vertical cultivators that are ideally suited to contemporary homes with high ceilings. They provide elegant leaves and lots of greenery.

"In fact, they look great next to a croton," added Benson.

Add a visual touch to fun foliage, like Danish or English ivy. According to Benson, the two rear plants have sharp leaves that seem well suspended in pots.

A dim light – a problem in at least one corner of most homes – can be used to house philodendrons or pothos, two rich green plants with yellow leaves or streaks of white. Pothos, a trolling plant, also likes moisture, so can stay in the bathroom.

Tips for buying an indoor plant

• Consider the "growth port" of a plant, said Sherry Benson, a horticulturist from the Botanical Garden of the University of Alberta. Low hanging plants usually prefer low levels of light. If a plant grows in the sky, it sucks a lot of light.
• Check the underside of leaves and foliage at the bottom of the plant. Keep an eye out for insects, blurry white matter, dusty debris, sticky straps, and raised brown spots. "You do not want to start with these problems."
• If the plant is flickering in its pot, do not buy it. It has probably just been transplanted and will not be well established. Instead, choose a plant that is firmly rooted, even if the pot is smaller. "You'd better start having to transplant – it's better."

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