Winter Care for Tropical Plants

Shorter days, dry radiator air and cold windowsills: how to see your tropicals through to spring. Most of it comes down to paying attention: a plant tells you what it needs well before it is in trouble.

Check the soil, not the calendar

A plant drinks according to its light, its pot and the season, not the day of the week. Push a finger into the soil: if the top few centimetres are dry, water; if not, wait. It is the one habit that saves more houseplants than any other.

Turn it now and then

Plants lean towards the light. A quarter turn each time you water keeps the growth even and stops one side from going bare.

Have a plant that is puzzling you? Write and tell us about it -- the best questions become the next guide in the care library.