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Plants for Difficult Places House Plants

Plants in a cold house that will survive the winter

2 months ago

Hello, in my apartment I have about 30 plants (mainly philodendrons, alocasias). However, winter is a hard time for them... There is a temperature of about 18-19 degrees Celsius and there is quite little sunshine. Unfortunately I happen to overwater the plants due to which they rot... Also sometimes a bugs appear - like spider mites (tetranychus urticae).

I wonder if you recommend any plants in such conditions? Which ones like low temperatures and are resistant to bugs? I would love to increase my collection, but I am looking for some interesting types of plants that will live well in such conditions.

Featured Answer

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

2 months ago

18-19C is not too cold for most houseplants. I keep my thermostat pretty low (maybe just a few degrees higher.....~68F) and my houseplants are all fine. I think your bigger concerns are lack of light and overwatering.....and both of those can be easily addressed :-) Get a couple of grolites if other light sources are inadequate. And since cooler temps and less light generally signal something other than the primary growing season, you can back off watering (and fertilizing) in winter significantly.

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Comments (6)

HU-593568232
Original Author
2 months ago
I clearly understand, thank you a lot for your reply!

I will look around for additional lighting and try to water even less
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iochroma
2 months ago
Alocasias don't like cold, so if you have a choice of where to put them give them the warmest room. They are also very susceptible to spider mite so keep an eagle eye on them and consider a humidifier.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
last month
in winter.. many plants go into some form of dormancy ...

because of the low light .. low inclination of the sun/light.. and the colder temps.. plants simply SLOW WAY DOWN ..

it is commonly said across all of gardening.. dormant plants dont need a lot of water ... there is no heat to burn it off.. so it just sits in the media.. waiting to rot something as you well know ..

the only thing that might burn off excess water.. would be the furnace running so much that it remove humidity form the whole house ... and you know when that happens when your spark your cat every time you touch itl... lol .. perhaps he deserves it.. since most cats are evil ... lol ..

anyway. if your plants are slowing down.. then you slow down .. dont kill them with too much love..

im sure al will come along with his post on TELLS ... so you can learnt o hold back the love.. and learn how to water properly ...

you will have to get the house down below 40F degrees.. just like outside.... before there should be any tissue damage ... and j\again.. just like outside.. i fall.. the pots dont need a lot of water.. because there wasnt any heat outside to make them thirsty... rules really shouldnt change inside or outside ... its all about all the common variables that attend to watering ...

ken
getgoing100_7b_nj
last month
ZZ plant, snake plant, parlor palm, dracenas, maranta can all live with lower lights. Not watering plants should be easier than overwatering....Unless your pot is facing the heat vent (which it shouldn't) your would probably not need to water for 4 to 6 weeks for most house plants and even less for ZZ and snake plant. I would not get any "interesting" plants (expensive?) in the middle of winter.
petrushka (7b)
last month
last modified: last month
Add Spider plants to the above.

i accidentally left a spider plant once for 3 months in the middle of the kitchen with low light , no watering and it was alive! temps were at 65F.

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