By UConn Extension Service.
Provide houseplants with increased humidity; mist often or place plants over a tray of moist pebbles.
When buying houseplants in winter, be sure to wrap them well for the trip home and, if below freezing, warm up the car. This prevents the foliage from freezing and protects tropicals from drafts.
Continue to clean leaves of large and smooth leaved houseplants like dracaena, philodendron, ficus, etc.
Clean clay pots by soaking overnight in a solution of 1-gallon water and 1 cup of vinegar. Scrub to remove deposits. Repeat if necessary.
Check your stored plants such as fuchsias and geraniums. Usually, they need a light watering once a week depending on their storage temperature.
If you potted bulbs for forcing last fall, check their progress. Soil should be barely moist. If tips have sprouted and have a few inches of growth, bring the pot into a cool, bright room (50 to 60 degrees F). Gradually expose the plant to increasing warmth, indirect sunlight, and increased watering. Feed once a week with half-strength houseplant fertilizer. To help the stems grow straight, turn the pot every day.
Cut back geraniums, hibiscus, and other houseplants for repotting next month.
Begin fertilizing houseplants with a water-soluble fertilizer as they resume active growth.
Keep pinching over-wintering coleus as they tolerate major cutting back and routine pinching to encourage bushy growth. New plant can be propagated with the cuttings.
Plants like these arborvitaes may need to be screened or fenced off to keep deer from browsing on them. Hardware wire can be fastened around smaller plants to protect from small animal damage.
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