Keeping your houseplants in order

By Tom Gard

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WHEN it's cold, drab and wet outside the green-fingered brigade tend to turn to the houseplants for a little winter solace and colour.

Plants weren't naturally designed to grow inside, so a little extra tender loving care is required to get the best results and avoid disappointment.

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Once inside the house, plants like to settle into their spot and adjust to the conditions. Don't keep shifting them about like household furniture, they are liable to give up on you.

This rule also applies to temperatures. Try to avoid placing your plants anywhere that is subject to drafts and subsequent dips in temperatures.

Perhaps the single biggest cause of plant failure is a lack of light. Poorly lit conditions are not always fatal, but will more often than not result in weak growth and a lack of flowering. Steer clear of dark corners, passageways and hallways.

Humidity, or a lack of it, is also crucial to the health of your plants. Central heating is great for keeping temperatures up, but it also dries out the air, producing humidity levels akin to the Sahara desert. Constant misting with a spray gun helps replace the moisture in the air, but is easy to forget to do. To maintain humidity try group planting or place on a bed of pebbles and keep topped up with water. Don't overwater the plant itself.

Even the most lovingly tended houseplant is susceptible to pests. Most common are whitefly and the tiny red spider mite, both of which suck the sap and cause premature leaf drop. Get in quick if you spot these menaces, spraying with an appropriate systemic treatment or, if the problem is in a conservatory, try introducing a natural predator (nematode).

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More serious is vine weevil, whose grubs live in the compost and devour roots, tubers and bulbs. A granular treatment that is mixed in with the compost is now available from garden centres.

Checklist:

• Brown leaf tips - dry air, too little light
• Leaves curl and fall - overwatering, cold draught
• Wilting leaves - soil dryness or waterlogging or pest damage
• Sudden leaf fall - shock of being moved, dryness
• Yellowing leaves - often natural but can be caused by overwatering or cold draughts
• Spots/patches on leaves - pests, exposure to sunlight.