A soft fire crackles on the tv screen as snow falls gently on the ground outside your window. Indoors is cheery, warm, and bright. Outside, your garden is dead. The grass is gray and crunchy, dead flower stalks collect snow, and you can’t. garden. ANYTHING! Winter is a great time for rest from the hustle and bustle that the growing season is made from, but there’s nothing like slushy sidewalks that makes you crave gardening. Though you can’t grow outdoors at this time of the year, your indoor plants could use some TLC! It’s time to give your houseplants some winter cheer with a touch of Purple Cow Organics.
Winter is a great time to repot houseplants and perform some maintenance. With available sunlight and warm temperatures throughout the summer, many houseplants have overgrown their containers and need a new home with fresh soil. For houseplants that can’t get enough water, or those who keep forgetting to water their plants, our Activated Potting Mix is the perfect growing medium. Activated Potting Mix acts like a sponge, keeping water available for plants even with the dry winter air, and provides rich nutrients and microbiology to help strengthen developing root systems.
For plants with more delicate root systems, try growing these houseplants in our All-Purpose Veggie Mix! Don’t let the name fool you, though this soil blend is perfect for supporting flowering and fruiting plants, it’s also an excellent choice for houseplants that need some extra aeration to prevent root rot, and that are hungry for some extra nutrition. Veggie Mix contains a 30-day fertility blend, which can be amended in the spring with our All-Purpose Fertilizer or BioActive Supercharger to provide nutrients that will fuel future plant growth.
Spring is the season where plants come out of winter dormancy and is the ideal time to add fertilizer to boost Spring growth. However, many tropical varieties don’t adjust their growth patterns for specific seasonal changes and need some consistent nutrition throughout the winter months. If repotting your plants, try adding a handful of Activated Compost to your soil media to nourish organic material and wake up the microbiology. Activated Compost is a fantastic amendment to use at any point of the year, whether you need to add nutrients, introduce biology to your houseplants, or even improve the overall quality of your soil!
If your plants seem to be struggling with nutrient deficiency, try adding a slow-release granular fertilizer! Our All-Purpose Fertilizer provides a complete spectrum of nutrients that your houseplants crave. It goes beyond Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium, to deliver micronutrients and microbiology that develops healthier plants and healthier soil. All-Purpose Fertilizer is a slow-release amendment, meaning that it provides lasting nutrition, and allows the plant to take advantage of the inputs it needs.
With days getting shorter as the months get colder, your plants may need some support to power into Spring. There are a few easy ways to increase the amount of light your plants get in the winter. Try moving your houseplants into a south-facing window to increase the number of hours that they have exposure to natural sunlight. The days will still be shorter than your plants were accustomed to during the spring and summer months, but the gradual decrease in sunlight can help your plants get more accustomed to the darker winter months and helps to ease plants into dormancy. Adding a grow light to your space is another great option to give your plants a gentle nudge and can even help you grow plants in low light environments such as a bathroom.
Plants growing through the summer often have older foliage die off in the late summer and fall, so winter is the perfect time to clean up old material. Prune any dead or brown growth, so plants can focus energy on developing new greenery. If leaves seem to be yellowing, they can also be pruned, as leaves are not likely to recover from yellowing unless there is a nutrient deficiency that can be corrected. If you’re repotting a plant and you find dried out and dead roots, clip off the dead material before planting in your new media. Pruning overgrowth and getting rid of dead material allows your houseplants to focus on developing healthy branches and leaves.
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Some gardeners and plant aficionados like to experiment with growing their own houseplants by propagating plant cuttings! Propagating plant cuttings may seem like mad science, but it’s incredibly easy when you have the right tools and the right knowledge. Some plants are easier to propagate than others, but here is an easy guide that works for propagating many plants such as Pothos, Philodendrons, Wandering Dude, and even picky Monsteras. |
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First, you’ll have to take a cutting of your desired plant. Get a pair of gardening shears and wipe them down with rubbing alcohol to prevent transfer of contaminants. Next, find a node along the stem of your plant. Many plants, especially climbing or trailing plants, will have small bumps or ridges along their stems that indicate where roots will easily develop. Cut at a 45-degree angle, approximately ½ inch below the node. Now you have your cutting! |
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Next, take a non-porous container, glass is preferred but plastic will work if you have it, and fill it with non-chlorinated water. Spring water, well water, or dechlorinated water will work, but if you don’t have a non-chlorinated water source available, you can place tap water in a bowl and leave it uncovered for 24-48 hours to allow the chlorine to evaporate. |
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Place your cutting in the container of water, and place it in a sunny location. After a few days, the cutting will develop a callous over the cut site. After that callous has formed, you can add BioActive Supercharger and CX-1 to explode root growth and fuel happy and healthy plants. Once those roots are 3-4 inches long, you can transfer the plant into your preferred soil media, and now you’ve grown your own house plant! |
Though winter isn't the easiest season for growing produce outside, you can brighten up your interior by giving your houseplants some love! Whether refreshing growing media, feeding needy tropical varieties, or even creating your own plants, there's so much you can do to cultivate an indoor growing space. Grow happier houseplants with Purple Cow Organics, and give yourself the gift of greenery this winter!
Interested in learning more about caring for your houseplants during the winter months? Contact us here for the best products for your houseplants!