We made it through the shortest day of the year and so did our plants! But with several months of winter to go, let's take a minute to discuss plant care with attention to not just surviving, but thriving in winter!

Plants need to see the sky from their vantage point in order to receive light. The more sky your plant can "see" throughout the day, the better (in most cases).

Best practice, especially in the winter, is to place plants as close to a window as possible. Do keep in mind cool winter drafts which nobody like including our plants!

What cardinal direction is my window facing?

North: No direct sun. Best for low-light plants.

South: Reliable bright, direct sun. Best for medium to bright, direct or indirect light plants.

East: Gentle, direct light in the morning with bright, indirect light in the early afternoon. Best for low to medium-light plants, and bright, indirect light plants if the window is quite large.

West: Low or indirect light in the morning, and hot, bright and direct sun in the afternoon. Best for medium to bright, indirect light plants and suitable for direct light plants depending on conditions.

What does my plant see?

Direct light is a direct view of the sun in the sky. Your plant is receiving direct light if, throughout the day, it has an unobstructed view of the sun. This is ideal for sun-loving plants such as cacti and succulents but may also be okay for some bright, indirect light plants depending on how direct sun exposure lasts. A couple of hours of direct sun is usually no big deal at this northern latitude, especially in the winter.

Bright, indirect light is the buzzword of the houseplant world and is a great lighting situation for most plants. Bright, indirect light means that a plant has a clear view of the sky but does not necessarily see the sun itself. This could mean that a plant is off to the side of a window and sees light and the sky at more of an angle. This is ideal for almost all plants, apart from those requiring direct sun.

Medium light describes a clear view of the sky with no direct sun. This could be in a north window receiving less intense light, a small distance from a window receiving bright light, or a few feet from a window receiving direct sun.

Low light describes any situation outside of those described above, including any distance outside of about three to four feet from a window or in a shaded window, among other situations. Many houseplants can tolerate these conditions, including ZZ, Snake Plants and Pothos, although these plants will also accept brighter light if available.

If your plants are upset with their light situation, they have several ways to communicate their discomfort. Here’s what to look for when assessing if your plant’s light needs are met.

Signs your plant is receiving too little sun:

• Pale to sage-green or yellow coloration
• Stretched, leggy growth that appears to be growing toward the light
• Soft growth that does not harden off
• New growth that blackens quickly
• Soil that stays too wet for too long
• Leaf drop
• Reversion of variegation back to green

Signs your plant is receiving too much sun:

• Bleached white coloration
• Copper or sun burned splotches
• Brown, crispy leaves or spots
• Leaves curling inward

In the winter, we generally reccommend bumping up your plants up a light level as light quantity and quality is severely diminished during the short days of winter. After the Spring solstice, move back to original location.

Water, along with light, is vital to plant health and survival (knowing this is the easy part). For plants, water fills cells, causing them to become rigid allowing plants to maintain their structure. Water moves nutrients and minerals throughout plant parts and regulates temperature.

Plants should always be watered thoroughly, until water runs through the drain holes and the soil is saturated. It’s easiest to water plants in the sink, then allow to drain. For larger plants, let drain into a saucer, then dump after drainage water collects.

Soil is hydrophobic so if soil is extremely dry, water can't stick. Extra dry soil may pull away from the sides of the container, in which case the water will run off the top, down the sides, straight out the bottom. If this is the case, continue to water your plant until the soil is fully saturated. Aerating your soil can help with this providing more surface area for the water to "stick".

A few considerations...

What does the plant want? Where is its natural environment? If it’s a fern or it came from a rainforest region, it likely needs consistently moist soil (but not soggy). When the soil is dry about an inch down, water through, let drain. If it’s a plant from an arid region such as cacti and succulents, let the soil dry completely between watering, a month may pass before the plant needs water again.

How much light is the plant receiving? Sansevieria in a low light environment may only need to be watered once a month. But Sansevieria can also handle bright light, and may need water more frequently if that is the case. Too little light and too much water is a death sentence for indoor plants.

Is the plant actively growing? Check for watering needs more frequently in spring and summer when the plant is working to put on new growth. Pull back on watering in the fall and winter when plant growth slows. Slow growing plants will require less hydration.

What is the size of your container? Large containers will require more water than small containers. Likewise, plants with a large root ball and low soil volume will require more water than plants with a smaller root ball to soil ratio.

How humid is the environment? Plants growing in the bathroom or near a humidifier will dry out less quickly than plants placed near a heating vent. The exact same type of plant grown in two different locations may have different watering needs.

You can schedule when to check plants for water, but you can't always water your plants on a schedule.

Check plants for moisture by sticking your finger into the soil. For many plants, when the top two inches of soil is dry, it’s time to water.

Water temperature matters. Plants prefer room temperature water. Additionally, some plants can be sensitive to chemicals in city water. Allow to dissipate over night in your watering can to avoid toxicity.

As the days get longer, and the sun gets shinier, it is time to start fertilizing indoor plants.

Fertilizer is a synthetic or natural additive used to increase the nutrient profile and fertility of soils, adding to the productivity of plants. Fertilizers contain macro nutrients including Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium (that’s your N-P-K), as well as micro-nutrients such as boron, chlorine, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum and zinc.

Nitrogen is responsible for vegetative growth and the building block for plant proteins.

Phosphorus contributes to root, flower, and fruit development.

Potassium activates enzymes, important to plant resilience and overall plant function.

Fertilizer, when combined with healthy soil, lots of light, and a consistent watering routine will set you up for plant parent success and even set you apart! However, over fertilization can lead to excessive salt build up in your soil which can be damaging to beneficial micro-organisms. Too much fertilizer can also promote excessive, lush green growth on top, leaving an insufficient root system behind.

Simply re-potting plants into fresh soil will increase the nutritional profile available to plants. Over time, soil does break down changing fertilization needed. There are several options available.

Espoma’s Earthworm Castings

A gentle and even way to start fertilizing your plants this spring. Earthworm castings contain over 60 micronutrients and trace minerals and can act as a buffer when pH levels are too high or low. Humus in castings extracts toxins and harmful fungi and bacteria from soil. Use as a top dressing to fertilize indoor plants or as an additive to your everyday soil mix. Simply add about ¼” of worm casting to the surface of your soil and gently mix in.

Schultz All-Purpose Fertilizer

This is our top recommendation for watering most indoor plants. Just add 7 drops to every quart of water or 7 drops to your wine bottle watering device (wink, wink). A fast acting, synthetic liquid formulation.

We the Wild Grow Concentrate & Enrich Formula

We the Wild's Grow Concentrate is a potent blend of 18+ organic elements that are diverted from the landfill, lovingly processed by Australian worms, and brewed for a plant-powering kick! Organic trace nutrients provide broad spectrum nutrition in a safe and harmless form. Mycorrhizal Fungi builds a beneficial relationship between the roots and the soil. NPK ratio: 3:1:4.

Strong roots = a healthy houseplant! We the Wild's Enrich Formula contains beneficial fungi that spring to action, enriching soil and building stronger, more resilient roots. Your houseplants will enjoy improved nutrition and less abiotic stress. 10 groups of beneficial fungi and 3 billion microorganisms release into the soil to help plants better absorb nutrients. Mycorrhizal fungi act as the plants ‘messenger, meaning your plant builds a symbiotic relationship with its soil. Enrich formula transforms your soil into a teeming ecosystem, ripe for growth! What could be better?!

As the days get longer, we experience a welcome increase in sunlight. This signals our plants to wake up and start growing. February and March are a great time to think about re-potting indoor plants!

When repotting plants for the purpose of increasing the root zone, we recommend bumping your plant up one size. Grower pots are generally sized in even numbered inches - 4", 6", 8", 10" etc.

Always choose a pot with a drain hole. Grower or nursery pots, as they are often referred to, are great place to start. These can be easily inserted or "dropped into" decorative containers that do not contain drainage.

If you like to plant directly into decorative containers, that's just fine. Terra cotta pots almost always have a drain hole and corresponding saucer. Also, when you purchase a pot at Tonkadale we are happy to drill a hole for you - just ask at check-out!

Potting soil is the foundation of plant success. A proper potting mix ensures that your plant has everything it needs including micro and macro nutrients, aeration (oxygen), and water retention. All-purpose potting soil will work great for most repotting projects but do take a minute to consider a specialty soil if you are growing orchids, African violets, bonsai plants, cactus, or succulents. We recommend Espoma's All Purpose Potting Soil for basic planting needs and we love Sol Soils' Cactus Gritty Mix for our succulent and cactus friends!

If you want to dig deeper into potting soil, there is always the opportunity to mix your own. We have several custom soil mix recipes on the blog for fine tuning your media including an arid mix, aroid/epiphyte mix, terrestrial mix, maranta mix, and a carnivorous mix.

Light is not always what your eyes perceive. Our eyes adjust to light and we make assumptions about how bright the light really is. So instead of placing your plants in what you think is ideal light, we can measure it!

Get yourself a light meter. The best $34.99 you ever spent on Amazon. We like the Dr. Meter light meter. Add to cart!

Darryl Cheng, author of The New Plant Parent and founder of House Plant Journal, has the most amazing light meter chart in the history of charts. Go there now, then come back!

Low light plants tolerate light levels in the range of 100 fc - 300 fc, but you might not see optimal growth. Bright light plants crave light levels closer to 1,000 fc indoors to thrive. Keep in mind, you may get a light reading of 700 fc candles right next to the window but move a few feet to the interior of the room and that reading can drop 10-fold.

A simple tool can give you the data you need to provide adequate light for plants, especially in the winter!

At Tonkadale, we have a fabulous library of plant care cards, both online and in-store. Please help yourself when you shop, and make sure to check out our A-Z Plant Care page too!