It’s not just us who need to take care of our skin and body but plants too need enough care during winter. If you do not take necessary steps to look after your plants, both flowering and fruits/ vegetables, there are chances of them not surviving the season. Horticulturist and entomologist Avinash Salunke believes that a little care here and there can do wonders for the plants.
How to give enough sunlight
“There is no denying that sunlight is less during winter, so shift your plants to the corner where there is enough sunlight,” says Salunke adding, “The reflection from the sunlight is also helpful for plants because they are habitual of consuming the light coming out of the reflected areas. Even the LED light we use at home can prove beneficial.”
He says that there are four kinds of plants — C1, C2, C3 and C4. “C4 plants need light from different corners but C1 or indoor plants like money plant can survive with limited light. It’s always advisable to choose C1 plants for the indoors as they require less light. But in case you have C2, C3 and C4, it is suggested to take them out during morning sunlight on alternate days. You can put the flower pots either on mobile trays or tables on wheels so that you can easily move them around.”
Use less nitrogenous fertilisers
During winter, the usage of nitrogenous fertilisers should be less, advises Salunke. “People can avoid using urea or use it in less quantity. If you are using fertiliser, then give it in complex or nitrate form. Adding just nitrogen in ammonia or urea group will help in the full growth of flowers, leaves and fruits but along with it the soft tissues will also attract insects and pests who would want to suck off their juice. The insects may spread at home and people may get allergic symptoms for which they will blame the plants unnecessarily. To ensure the nitrogen quantity is less, pick calcium nitrate and spray on the plants. When using aerial foliar spray, the plants absorb through air and grow. For good quality flowers, the sexual activity of the plants is also necessary so that the male and female quantity of the flowers are same. Once the fertilisation of the female plant is done, they produce better fruits,” he says.
Taking care of indoor plants
For indoors, we opt for exotic plants but plants like neem or palm have better chances of survival. “They survive in our climatic conditions but exotic plants may or may not be used to the cold. So you have to study what kind of climatic conditions are required or if the plants have any other requirements,” he says.
With cooler weather during winter, plants lose less water during the day, so the frequency of watering should be reduced.
Measure the nutritional values
If plants get enough sunlight, there is hardly any chance of them getting insects or pests. “Winter is a blooming season for flowers and fruits. But they need enough nutrition and if they are giving enough nutrition, nothing will harm them. However, we need to check the nutritional values and what kind of insects or pests will affect them. To ward off pests, we should use neem, moha, sarja, mint which have a strong smell and is used in making essential oils. We should mix them in water and spray them on plants. We need not spray any kind of chemicals on them,” says Salunke.
What grows best in winter
There are several flowering and fruit plants which are good for winter. They complete their life cycle in a limited time and give enough fruits and flowers. Coleus, Zendu, Limbu and Guava are a few of them.
