Somewhere I heard that there are no mistakes in gardening, only experiments from which you learn something. This fall and winter will be an experiment, the outcome of which will be revealed in the spring.
For the last two months I have been struggling with the meaning and implementation of ¨wintering.¨ Upon reflection, I think part of the problem was separating the word ¨winter¨ from the temperature, usually referred to as around 50 degrees Fahrenheight. Planta has for some time been advising me to place several of my plants into 50 degrees. Fifty degrees is probably normal for autumn but certainly not for winter, at least not in upstate New York.
Another aspect of the problem was/is the difference between houseplants and garden (outside) plants. Is there a difference in care for a potted plant that lives outside until autumn and one that always lives indoors? I pretty much came to the conclusion that ¨it depends.¨
And finally, does ¨wintering¨ include both winter and autumn? Is it the same as dormancy, as resting? I concluded that the answer is yes.
¨Winter¨ Temperature
So I converted my bedroom into the wintering room. I moved all my plants into the living room and set about lowering the temperture in the bedroom. Given that heat rises, the temperature here on the 10th floor is always about 74 degrees (with the heater turned off of course). I was unable to find any air conditioner that would lower the temperature below 60 but installed a window fan to bring air in from outside. This is a pretty small fan which means there exists an opportunity to improve on the transfer of air! Anyway, it seems to be working!! The temperature in the six feet in front of the window has been below 60, and now, at the end of November, I´m seeing 50 or 48. (And this is while the living room remains at 75!!) The temperature seems to be about 20 degrees higher than outside. So, while this morning it was 25 outside, it was 48 inside or thereabouts. I´ll have to keep my eye on it though because temperatures will hit zero sometimes during the winter--which would probably be too cold for these dormant plants. I´ll be able to control it somewhat by leaving the window open but turning off the fan. This is an ongoing experiment.
¨Winter¨ Watering
Everything I´ve read is consistent: water less but definitely water.
¨Winter¨ Fertilizing
The University of New Hampshire extension writes:
In winter, most houseplants go through a rest period. During these months, growth slows as plants are exposed to lower temperatures and less natural light. As a rule of thumb, only fertilize houseplants when they are actively growing [emphasis mine], because plants only use added nutrients when they are producing new leaves, roots, etc. This means putting away the fertilizer from October until the spring. March is a good time to start fertilizing, and most houseplants will benefit from an application once every 1 – 3 months depending on which formulation is being used.
Thadtś good enough for me, so no fertilizing will occur in the winter room regardless of what Planta advises.
Darkness
Every plant seems to have its own requirements, so this experiment will be specific to what I currently know about my plants.
I believe Flaming Katy requires two weeks of 14 hours dark nights so I have a cardboard box ready to cover them all and will implement the two weeks on January 1.
The other plants in there--Blackeyed Susan, Garden Phlox, and citrus seedlings--just require the normal short days, colder temps of winter.
