How To Keep Plants Warm in Winter Months? Fighting the Frost

How to keep plants warm in winter is something every gardener and plant enthusiast needs to know to ensure their garden’s good health and longevity. Like other living things, plants also get affected by the cold winter, no matter what stage they are in their life cycle.

Therefore, you need to learn the best ways to keep your plants warm in cold weather, whether you keep them indoors or outdoors. In the sections below, we will discuss the different methods of warming up your plants so they can thrive in the cold season!

How Can I Keep My Plants Warm in the Winter? Proven Techniques

You can keep your plants warm in the winter by watering and fertilizing them less than you usually would, locating them somewhere warm, providing them with artificial light, creating wind barriers, and covering and insulating them. If you can, also bring the plants indoors for warmth.

1. Lessening the Frequency of Watering

If you want to maintain your indoor and outdoor plants’ temperature in the wintery weather, one way to achieve this is by carefully managing your watering schedule. In the winter, most plants will not be very active, and since they will be dormant throughout the season, it is wise to cut back on watering.

It is all right for some plants to cut out watering thoroughly since it becomes unnecessary. For other types of foliage, consider reducing the frequency and volume of watering to at least half of what it is in warmer weather.

2. Reduced Fertilizing

You might be surprised to learn that fertilizing your plants in winter is far from a good idea. While fertilizers are a big help in the growth of the leaves and flowers on your plants, they result in the birth of delicate foliage.

In the severe winter weather, the new leaves that will be born will die swiftly because they are too sensitive to stand the cold. Therefore, if you want to protect your plants in the winter, consider reducing the amount of plant food you utilize.

3. Warm Location for Plants

If you want to protect plants in the winter, it is essential to locate your plants somewhere where it is warm. Your home is the friendliest place to keep your plants in the cold winter. You can put your plants in your living room or any other warm room.

Your plants will, then, stay warm. However, you must ensure that any intense temperature change does not harm your plants. To do so, you must keep your plants away from any heating radiator or fireplace.

4. Providing Artificial Light for the Plants

Another method you can apply is providing your plants with artificial lighting. For this, you can use fluorescent lamps that come with plenty of benefits. One of the benefits is that they provide your pants with sufficient light from a distance of 15 to 20 centimeters away. They also do not damage the plant with too much light and this helps in keeping plants warm.

It is important to remember not to use lamps that give out glowing light. These lamps shine dimly and dry out the air around them and the plants. Fluorescent lamps enable you to switch on the light for around two to three hours more. These few hours will just be extra.

5. Covering Your Plants

You can also cover your plants if you want to keep them warm. To protect them, you must take any old plastic sheet or cloth. After that, you can softly cover the plants with the item.

By covering them, they will stay safe even when the temperature gets low at night. When you cover them, they will trap all the heat around them.

Then, when the cold wind blows during the night, they prevent them from getting damaged. However, it is necessary to remove the cloth or plastic sheets from the plants during the daytime.

6. Insulating

Insulating the plant to keep it warm is also helpful. When protecting the plants, you have to keep them in small or medium-sized pots. If you put them in a larger pot, it is essential to cover up the space left in the pot.

To cover the leftover space in the large pot, you can also fill it with foam or old newspapers. If not, you can also use leaves or dry grass in your garden. You will have to take your leaves and carefully put them on the bottom of your pot.

Doing this will keep the heat that is already in the pot from staying for longer. On the other hand, it will also give your container an aesthetic look. If you want to make your jar look more appealing, wrap it up in fabric. Lastly, you can tie ribbons all around it.

7. Grouping Plants in Clusters

Another technique you can use to keep your plants warm is by grouping the plants. The heat and humidity will be preserved for longer by putting them in clusters. The shelter and the leaves of the plants will hold more air and heat with each other without releasing it. They will also keep a lot of moisturizers inside.

8. Maintaining Your Indoor Plants

If your plants are located indoors, it is essential to maintain them so they can stay warm throughout the winter. To do so, you must remember to keep your plants a reasonable distance away from the winter.

You must ensure that if you place your indoor plants by the window, they should not brush past it. The second thing you must keep in mind is that your plants should be located in a room where there is no change in temperature.

The third thing you should know is to keep your plants from any place where they will receive sudden heat. Keep the plants away from your heating vent, fireplace, or any radiator that can damage it. The fourth thing that is crucial to know is that whenever you ventilate your room, it is best to keep the plants away from your window. You must also keep in mind to add organic matter to your soil if you want to conserve and trap heat.

If you do not want to keep your plants indoors, it is necessary to maintain them outside. To retain them, firstly, you have to cover them with a blanket or cloth, so they do not freeze. If you are growing any plant with delicate leaves or if you are growing a young tree, then it is best to cover them with plastic or burlap nets. When you wrap the tree trunks with the net, it is good to use frames.

On the other hand, plants like roses, pansies, and hibiscus are planted in plastic jars to maintain warmth. It is also important to remember not to bury the unglazed pots and mud since they are prone to crack in the winter.

9. Bringing Your Plants Indoors

To keep your plants warm, bringing them inside your living area is also suitable. As you must know, tropical plants usually behave like annuals when the climate is subtropical or temperate. Therefore, if you keep your plants in your home during the cold winter, the plants will stay green for the entire winter.

A suitable place to place your potted plants would be somewhere near a bright window. You can also locate them near glass doors. However, it is crucial to keep in mind that tropical plants should be kept away from any heat. This is because the heat could damage the plants.

10. Wrapping up the Tree Trunk

You can use a blanket or a tree wrap to wrap the outdoor plants such as the trees. If you don’t have either one, you can use a plastic guard or burlap nets, and it is also suitable to use any old, empty sacks of potatoes. Using these items will help to protect your tree from being damaged by frost and cold wind at all times.

11. Tucking in Tree Canopies

If you tuck your plants in the tree covering, it would also keep your plant warm. It is best if you keep the leafless and green canopies for the trees that are still young. Do this for one to two winters before you decide on plants.

To do so, you must cover the entire top with plastic to keep them warm during winter. The plastic will help to protect the plant from freeze burn. You can also use such materials if you wish to wrap the branches of your tree.

12. Creating Barriers Against the Winter Wind

It is essential to create barriers to protect the plants from the cold wind. This should keep the plant quite warm.

However, you have to ensure that the material you use, such as burlap, is actually helping you out and protecting the plant against the wind. If the cold air manages to get to your plants to get to your plant, then it could damage the plant or blow them away.

13. Covering Roots

You can also cover plant roots for some additional protection of the plant. The roots of the plants are one of the main organs and must remain warm and cozy. To do so, you have to take a heap of shredded back or bubble wrap.

After that, you have to put it over the surface of the tree. You have to ensure that you leave a few inches of space away from the main trunk until you reach the canopy level.

Conclusion

As you will have derived from the extensive post above, the importance of keeping your plants in the cold winter weather is undeniable. While we have gone through everything you can do for your plants in that season, you can revise the most critical points in the list given here:

• Whether you have seedlings, flowering plants, or even trees, it is vital to keep them warm in the winter.
• This can be achieved by lessening the frequency of fertilizing and water.
• You should also change their location to inside your house and ensure they are covered and insulated.
• If you can’t bring certain plants inside, consider wrapping them in a blanket and creating a wind barrier for them.

If plants are not appropriately protected during the harsh winter, it could damage them and even kill the weaker ones. Since you know how to take care of them and keep them warm through the points in our guide, this will not happen to your plants, and they will thrive through the season!