Written by Administrator | 01 November 2005

As temperatures begin to cool with the change of the season, you may notice changes in your houseplants. Here are a few tips on what is happening with your plants at this time of year.

Your plants may be losing more leaves than usual. This is quite common during any season change. Just as people take time to adjust to the climate change, so do plants.

As the temperatures drop, you will likely need to water less. You should notice some difference in how quickly or slowly the soil dries out. Most plants need to dry out somewhat in between watering, so always check the soil.  If the temperatures have significantly cooled and you are using the heater, you may actually need to increase watering. Here in the desert however, temperatures usually don’t cool enough for regular heat usage until the winter months.

There will also be fewer daylight hours as fall approaches. This will become more significant in the winter, but be sure to keep this in mind.  A common houseplant which reacts to this are ficus trees. You are likely to see dramatic leaf drop in them during fall and winter. Plants are susceptible to insect infestations during season changes as well, so this could be another factor in leaf drop.  Examine the leaves closely for any signs of this.

Plants should not be fertilized through the winter months, so now is the time to do any last minute fertilizing.