Beautiful winter houseplants and how to care for them
Banish the winter blues and bring home some seasonal cheer by growing houseplants to brighten dark days
As the nights draw in, bringing colour and variety into our homes with houseplants can add a touch of seasonal interest and joy. Houseplants come in all shapes and sizes, many with architecturally stunning foliage, and others with beautiful blooms in every colour – there’s something for everyone. Discover our choice selection of winter interest houseplants to suit your home or indoor space.
Amaryllis
Hippeastrum are also known as amaryllis
These flowers come in a wide range of colours
How to care for houseplants over winter
To keep your favourite winter-interest houseplants in top condition through the colder months they’ll need occasional watering and little to no feeding. A few tricks of the trade will help you to get the best from your plants – see our top tips on caring for indoor houseplants
Top tips from the RHS Gardening Advisors
1. Don’t overwater! With lower light levels and lower temperatures, plants will be growing less – so they will need less water. In particular, watch out for plants sitting in water. If you’re using pot covers (i.e. decorative clay or metal pots that hide the plastic pots the plants are growing in), revisit your plants 10 minutes after watering and tip away any excess.
2. Consider humidity. Central heating can dry out the air indoors, which makes life tough for some plants. Ferns and many thin-leaved foliage plants such as calatheas and marantas, along with orchids, will appreciate being stood on a wide tray of pebbles topped up with water. Also, group plants for shared humidity.
3. Let there be light! While it’s good to keep most houseplants away from harsh summer sunlight, in winter the light levels are much lower so it can be worth bringing plants out of dark corners for a ‘holiday’ somewhere brighter and help them get through the darker months.
4. Feel the heat: winter presents a double set of challenges for houseplants. Being too near radiators or fires can crisp delicate leaves and being left in the cold on windowsills and behind curtains can damage some plants. Orchids are particularly vulnerable: if they get too cold, the flower buds will fall off. If you can, place your houseplants away from any extremes of temperature and avoid draughts, too.
My favourite winter houseplant is the Schlumbergera as I like the combination of succulent foliage and abundance of flower. They are also nice and easy to propagate from leaf sections in spring.
