How To Explode Your Plants Growth This Winter

If your plants look tired and fed up right now, you're not alone. Most people just accept that winter is downtime, like we're all meant to be in some hibernation mode. But you can actually flip that script on its head and keep your plants thriving, even when it's grey and miserable outside. So this video will help you to help your plants explode with growth, even in winter. A video that is sponsored by Squarespace. Let's get the first myth out of the way. The reason your plants suck over the winter compared to spring and summer is not because of the cold. The cold weather outside doesn't have as big an impact on your plant as you might think. Well, that is unless you're stingy and refuse to put the heating on even when there's a blizzard outside. In that case, your plant will turn into the Grinch. Now, our little green friends hail from the lovely, warm, bright sunshine of the tropics, right? Where they get to wear shorts and t-shirts 24-7 year round, the lucky things. Whereas the rest of us have to get on with big furry coats when the temperatures plummet. So the assumption is that they get really grumpy when winter comes around because of the cold weather. The thing is, though, and I know this sounds obvious, so forgive me, but our green friends are living inside our houses. They're not getting exposed to the cold, snowy conditions of the great outdoors, unless you're punishing them for some reason. So really, our homes stay pretty consistent year round, temperature wise. Normally around 18 to 21 degrees Celsius. Of course, this might fluctuate a bit in your home if you're going away for a few days or even at night. But as long as temperatures don't consistently stay below 12 degrees Celsius, your plants should be fine. So if your plants are suffering a serious case of seasonal affective disorder, then something else is at play. Tropical climates are near the equator. And not only do they get consistent warmth year round, they also get equal day and nighttime hours during the whole year. Yep, 12 hours of dark and 12 hours of daylight for every day of the year. This is the main thing they're missing. And that light is strong too. None of that weak nonsense we get here in good old Blighty. And tropical plants absolutely love it. Compared that to Sheffield, which in case you didn't know, is a city in the north of England. And we get about seven and a half hours of weak sunlight during the winter solstice. Go further north and it's even less. I mean, they're getting zero light in some parts of Norway in winter, the poor suckers. And this is the problem. Our tropical friends have been plucked from the consistent light of their homes in the jungle and been told to live somewhere where it's dark for most of the day. I'd kick up a fuss just as much as them, wouldn't you? This is exactly why plants like Alocasias go dormant during the winter. They're not getting enough light to photosynthesize, which sends a signal to the plant to shut down and conserve energy until light returns. So if your Alocasia has lost all its leaves during the winter, don't throw them out. Chances are the bulbs are still fitting healthy in the soil. So wait until spring or even summer to see if he sprouts new leaves. This is exactly what happened to me last year on my Friday. And over the summer, it's been looking great. So if you want your Alocasia or any other plants that tend to look terrible over winter to actually put on a growth spurt, you need to up your light game. So how do we do this? Well, there are a few tricks, but the best solution is to simply get yourself some grow lights. Now, obviously, I know we don't want our homes to be lit up like a football stadium during Monday night football. But having a couple of grow lights dotted around the house with sensitive plants under them can be a real game changer. And by sensitive plants, you know the ones I'm talking about. Alocasia, Califaya, Ferns, Philodendron and even Ficus plants tend to kick up a fuss during winter. So consider getting these guys under grow lights and you will be amazed at how much of a difference it makes. You'll be the hero of your house before long. Now, I like to keep my lights on for 12 hours a day, so it really does mimic their natural environment. But you can definitely get away with 10 hours a day. But have a play and see what works for you. And I know what you're thinking. But Mr Sheffield, it's going to cost an arm and a leg to keep those lights on all day. And yeah, that's a decision for you to make. Luckily for us, though, grow lights now use LEDs, of course. So they're much easier on your wallet than they used to be. Admittedly, I've gone a bit overboard in my living room. You know, I've got at least 10 of them working all day and I've not really noticed any significant pain from my electricity bills. And here's a cheeky plug for me to make some extra pennies from this video so that I can afford to keep all these lights on. Check out the link to Sansi grow lights in the description and use code SHEFFIELD25 for a very juicy 25% discount. If I've not convinced you to part with your hard-earned money, then the name of the game for you, my plant friend, is to maximise the light in your home as much as possible. So what can you do then? You could ask your window cleaner to actually clean your windows rather than just getting them wet. And you can even give them a clean on the inside. I know, barmy, right? But it has been years since you last did it and it might just help your green friends a little. You can also move things around a little by keeping your fussy caliphate zebrina closer to the window, for example. You shouldn't need to worry about scorching the leaves in winter, but just remember to move them back when things start to get more intense, when the bluebells and daffodils start to come out. And for big bushy plants that aren't living on moss poles, it's well worth rotating them so that all stems and leaves have a fighting chance of surviving and thriving. By the way, if you want help for plant problems as and when they come up, then make sure you nab my free troubleshooting handbook that's in the description. Keep it on your phone and whip it out every time something ugly rears its head. Now, I'm sure you're waiting for me to give you a bunch of humidity increasing hacks because that's the thing that plummets in the winter months, right? Before we get into that, if you've been thinking about building a website, whether that's to showcase your work, sell products, or finally get that side project off the ground, then today's video sponsor, Squarespace, is honestly the best place to start. I've been using Squarespace for a couple of years now to run my own website and it's been effortless from day one. You pick a beautiful template, drop in your photos and text, and within minutes it actually looks like you hired a designer. You also get built-in analytics, email tools, and now AI to help you write and design even faster. So everything you need to grow online is right there in one place. Head to squarespace.com to start your free trial and when you're ready to launch, use code SHEFFIELD for 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Now, honestly, I'm not in the humidity hacks game. For my money, they just do nothing apart from waste your time. You're much better off making an effort not to make things worse. Let's start with those pesky radiators that are puffing out warm, dry air into the room every morning and evening. Plants hate them, so don't do anything like this. If you just glanced over to your plant-filled windowsill with a radiator sat snugly underneath it, then don't feel too embarrassed. We've all done it, I'm sure. I'd have a look at moving the fussiest ones to another spot though. I know, it seems like you can't win, doesn't it? You need your plants in a brighter spot, but there's an annoying radiator sat in just that perfect spot. I guess you just have to kind of figure out what the lesson of the two evils is. So earlier, I went on and on about how temperatures make no difference to winter plant care, but this only applies if temperatures don't consistently go below 12 degrees Celsius for long periods of time. This means, if you're lucky enough to go on a winter holiday for a week or two, that you should think about protecting them while you're gone. I know it's probably the last thing you want to think about before jetting off to the Caribbean, but think about the pain of coming back to a crusty old caliphate. Whenever I go away, and no, I can't afford the Caribbean, even with the proceeds from the Sansi affiliate link, I make sure to set a minimum temperature of 12 degrees for the house. Simple as. And this next tip will probably make me sound like some kind of hypochondriac, but have a think about what plants are living behind the curtains. Yeah, a cheeky microclimate of cold attempts is probably being created behind there at night, so probably worth considering what plants you want to keep there. To feed or not to feed, that is the question. The answer is thankfully a lot easier than trying to understand a Shakespeare play. Now I can't tell you the number of times that I've heard that you should stop feeding houseplants in winter, and I'm here to put the record straight. It's a load of old rubbish. If there are signs of life, then you should absolutely continue to feed my plant friend. If it looks like there's no one home, which are probably very few plants by the way, then leave the feed in the cupboard. We're talking mainly cacti and maybe rubber plants. If I've convinced you to get a sandy grow light, then definitely continue to feed like you do in the summer. This is going to be the difference between a plant that is cooking in winter and one that is not. Not literally of course. Even if you give a light dose because you're not sure if the fella is still growing, it's going to help. Your plant won't die of glutton. Now, don't get too flummoxed about watering too. I'll keep it real simple. Water when the soil is dry. It's honestly the only way. I wouldn't go by schedules or listen to apps telling you when to water. The rate the soil dries out in your home will be different to someone else's home. So it's just a case of checking first and then watering when it's dry. Of course, it wouldn't be a Shuffle Made Plants video without a mention of the humble moisture meter. But if you're new here, I bang out about this thing all the time because it really is a game changer. Stick it in the soil and no more guessing. Beautiful. It's at my Amazon store by the way, which is linked below. Now, it's almost impossible to keep your leafy pals in absolute pristine condition over the winter. If you're the exception to this universal rule, then do let us know your secrets in the comments. And what do you do when you've been working on your collection all year and you finally got the chance to show it off to all your friends and family at Christmas because it's your turn to grin and bear it. But the little gits aren't playing ball and developing crispy yellow leaves and brown tips. A struggle I'm all too familiar with. But we do have something up our sleeve. Pruners! Yes, don't be scared to prune during winter. It won't kill the plant. Trust me, it actually helps it. If anything is looking dodgy, then prune away without fear. Worst case, it just means that it won't be replacement growth until the spring. But in the meantime, it keeps up the illusion that you have a perfect collection. And what about repotting? You might be thinking this needs to wait until spring, right? Again, be rest assured that you can repot your plants in winter just as much as during spring. Roots tend to grow all year long as long as temperatures are above 12 degrees Celsius. So if your plant is in a desperate need of a repot, then don't be shy. They'll only continue to get more root bound over winter, so they'll appreciate the extra room and certainly won't keel over on you. I made a video where I go into lots of detail on the plant tasks that you should be doing in winter and you can watch that by clicking here and I'll see you there.