Keep your plants healthy this winter

Whether you're tucking in your outdoor garden before frigid temperatures hit or counting on your indoor plants to satisfy your need for green this winter, you'll need to do a bit of work to keep your leafy friends happy and healthy until spring.

Winter is generally a harsh time for plants - indoors and out - but gardening experts say there are simple ways to bundle up outdoor plants and ways to care for indoor plants so they'll grow and bloom again for years to come.

For indoor plants, don't fertilize or feed them unless they are growing vigorously or flowering. Reduce your watering schedule and let the soil dry out between waterings.

Move plants into sunny areas during the day and away

Gardening

from cold drafts at night. Instead of lugging pots from room to room, invest in a few Down Under plant caddies. The wheeled devices come in several sizes, hold and easily move up to 500 pounds, and lock to keep the caddy securely in place.

Keep indoor temperatures as even as possible. Winter air is dry air, and plants need humidity. Grouping plants together can help increase humidity, as can placing pots on a tray of damp gravel or misting the leaves regularly.

If plants are outdoors, in the ground, give them a layer of compost for food and add several layers of mulch to provide insulation and protection against the cold. Great options for mulch include shredded leaves, grass clippings, wood chips or newspaper.

In areas of the country that fall below freezing, don't leave your stoneware pots outside for the winter; the soil in them can freeze and even empty pots can break. Pots do not provide insulation and, if left outside, the plants inside them will likely die.

In warmer areas of the country that have only cool winters, make sure your plant pots are elevated so they rest on something like a deck or concrete patio. Moisture can become trapped under the containers and damage and stain the surface. Using a plant stand lifts the pot and allows air to circulate under it, preventing this damage.

If you live in a part of the country in which the ground does not freeze, you can plant perennials in the soil where they can be left to bloom when it's warm or re-potted next year. Plant the roots deeply, and water once per week until the first frost.

You can also leave the plants in their pots and move them to a cool, dark place that will stay between 40 and 50 degrees. They should be watered once when you put them away; then they will go dormant. Leave them until the spring when they're ready to bask in the sun again.

For more information about the Down Under plant stand or caddy, visit www.DownUnderPlantStand.com.

(Courtesy of ARAcontent)