its a plant.. not a child.. it isnt going to starve ...

when in doubt.. just use a very weak solution of an water soluble fert ...

if it says a teaspoon per gallon ... then use 1/4 .... just to make yourself happy ... at such light level.. its not going to juice the plant into great winter growth ...

then come spring.. longer daylight.. etc.. start using the weaker solution once a month or so ... its not rocket science ... and you dont need a lot.. and you surely dont want it to build up in the pot ... thats when you would see salt accumulation on the pot edges ...

the only time you need a lot of fert.. is if you were to flood your pots every watering .. like many greenhouses do.. and you needed to replace that which you flooded out the bottom .. and frankly.. most if not all of us.. dont water our houseplants that way ...

the best thing you can do with houseplants.. is put them outside in summer.. in full shade ... and let them enjoy the increased light.. and make their own food ... shade outside is many times better than indoor winter light .. in most areas ...

ken

Annoyed - for best results, there should be a full compliment of all nutrients plants take up by way of the root pathway, in the soil at all times, available for uptake, and in a ratio as close as possible to the ratio at which the plant actually absorbs the nutrients. If this requires that you fertilize in the winter, that's what you should do, for best results. After all, Mother Nature has no helpers who travel the hemisphere in autumn, removing nutrients from the soil just because winter is coming.

The idea we shouldn't fertilize our houseplants in winter was born from the assumption that growers will be using a water-retentive medium (and most do) that just MUST be watered in small sips when water usage is minimal during the dark months, this, to prevent over-watering. Because this habit ensures all salts (from fertilizer solutions and tapwater) unused by the plant will remain in the soil, building up to toxic levels and creating problems on 2 fronts, the first being the build-up of salts which limits the plant's ability to take up water and nutrients, the second being the fact that watering in sips can cause the ratio of nutrients in the grow medium to become badly skewed. This is especially true when growers are using fertilizers which do not contain all essential nutrients or fertilizers that supply nutrients in a ratio that is not even close to the ratio at which nutrients are used.

If a grower is using a medium that doesn't allow the medium to be flushed as plants are watered for fear of over-watering, it makes much more sense to make changes which allow us to water appropriately and keep up with our nutritional supplementation rather than withhold nutrients essential to the plant's well-being. Plants make their own food (sugar/ carbohydrate) during photosynthesis. Fertilizer is not plant food, but it does contain the chemicals plants use to keep their systems orderly and the building blocks plants use to grow and mature.

To be fair, it's better to withhold fertilizer in winter if you're watering in sips, but it's still the lesser of 2 evils. If we work toward the ability to flush the medium as we water with no valid concerns we might be over-watering, it brings us to a place where we can fertilize regularly throughout the entire growth cycle, and it makes growing things in containers remarkably easier when compared to having to battle our grow medium for control over our plant's vitality.

If you have interest, and are willing to share a little about how large this planting is, what type of grow medium it's in, and a little about how you determine how to water, I can offer some specific options that will help you avoid some of the pitfalls which continually stymie a high % of growers for the entire duration of their growing experience.

Al

Thanks everyone for your help! Much appreciated :D