It’s not the heat…it’s the humidity. You’ve heard it a thousand times, right? But for plants brought inside for the winter, the saying is especially true.
Most plants thrive in 80% relative humidity. The average home’s winter humidity level is a pretty desert-like 20-60%. So you know plants are suffering. Fortunately, there are some easy ways to raise humidity around your plants.
Humidifiers are wonderful additions to any household, and a benefit to humans as well as plants. There are both cold mist and heating humidifiers, and they work as their name implies: one sends a cool mist into the atmosphere, while the other heats the water and shoots warm vapor into the air…an especially nice treat for both tropical plants and folks suffering with the flu.
One of the most popular methods is to use a pebble tray. Fill a drainage saucer with small pebbles or rocks. Fill the saucer with water to just below the top of the rocks. Put your container on top. Over time, the water will evaporate and increase the humidity around the plant. You can also group plants closely together to build up the humidity in one area.
Two big don’ts: Don’t place plants near outside doors where they will get frequent blasts of chilly air, and don’t place them near furnace output vents, where they will dry out faster than you can say “Mojave Desert.”