Summertime is a great season for houseplants and people. Both can enjoy warmer days and more hours of sunlight. Just as you do things to protect yourself from the heat and sun, your plants need that type of care too. Here are six summer plant care tips to keep your house plants alive during summer.
1. Make Watering Adjustments
Water is important for the survival of your plants. Like you, they also need more of it during the summer months. So, water your plants weekly and try to do it early in the morning or in the evening when it’s cooler. And if you know that a heat wave is coming, water them well so they won’t dry out. Also, don’t water too fast and make sure they absorb it all.Since water evaporates faster in hot weather, check your soil often. If it feels dry an inch or two down into the dirt, your plant needs water. If you notice dirt pulling away from the sides of the pot, that's a sign too. You can place rocks or mulch on top of the soil to help keep the moisture in.
2. Prevent Exposure To Direct Sunlight
Although bright sunny days are beautiful, too much sun can be harmful to your plants. Direct sunlight, especially midday, can burn their leaves and dry them out. To avoid this, angle window blinds away from your plants. You can use a sheer curtain to cover windows and provide some shade for them. Moving plants away from windowsills and more towards the inner part of the room also helps.
3. Maintain a Stable Environment
For indoor plants to survive, they need a stable environment. Extreme temperature changes are never good for them. Most houseplants originate from tropical areas and thrive in humidity. Be mindful of this while running your air conditioner, especially since they tend to dry the air out. You can combat this and provide the humidity your plants need by placing them near each other, misting them, turning on a humidifier, or placing pebble trays under their pots.
4. Look for Signs of Stress
It’s important to check your houseplants often for early signs of stress. This can show up when leaves wilt or fall off. They may also turn pale, and sunburned leaves will start turning yellow or brown. All these issues could be the result of too much heat, not enough water, or a bug infestation. By noticing these things early, you can correct the problem and protect your plants.
5. Fertilize, Prune, and Repot Carefully
Part of caring for your plants includes fertilizing, pruning, and repotting. But another one of the summer plant care tips is knowing when to do this. You should never fertilize, prune or repot a plant during extreme temperatures since your plant may be experiencing stress from the heat. All these activities can add to that stress, so it’s better to wait until it's cooler and your plant has recovered.
6. Dust Your Leaves Often
As air pollutants increase in the summertime, so does the dust on your leaves. This can decrease the amount of light your plants can absorb and convert to food. Be sure to wipe your plants off every few weeks with a damp rag or wet paper towel.
Take Care of Your Plants
Your houseplants are living things and depend on you. Use these summer plant care tips to give them the care and protection they need.Are you looking for plant supplies or new plants to add to your home? At Red's Home & Garden we can help you find what you need. Come by and visit or call us at (336) 973-5521 and we will help you.
