12 Common Indoor Plants That Need Special Care In The Winter To Thrive

When winter rolls around, having a home filled with thriving plants is a good way to combat the colder, grayer days that the season is known for. Indoor plants add a much-needed burst of green but also offer several other benefits. For example, there are some houseplants that work to improve your mood, while others can improve the air quality in your space. However, in order to reap those benefits, keeping your plants alive is essential. In the winter, this can be tough. Cold or dry air and less light make it harder to keep your plants happy and healthy.

Luckily, tweaking your houseplant care routine for winter is pretty easy. Common indoor plants like certain ferns, Venus flytraps, and fiddle-leaf figs, for example, will benefit from subtle changes, such as being placed near a humidifier. Other plants may need to be moved to a new location to soak up more sun, while others will need less water.

Snake plants (Dracaena trifasciata) are often touted as easy, low-maintenance houseplants, but in the winter, they do need more attention. For starters, you should avoid fertilizing, pruning, or providing too much water. Water your snake plant only when the soil is fully dry (about once per month) to avoid root rot. If your plant is sitting near a drafty window, consider moving it to avoid exposing your plant to temperatures below 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Finally, you'll want to ensure your snake plant receives roughly eight hours of indirect light each day.

As a tropical plant, peace lilies (Spathiphyllum spp.) don't handle cold temperatures very well. During winter, keep your peace lily in an area that's consistently between 65 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit to avoid wilting or yellowing leaves. These lush houseplants enjoy lots of bright, indirect light. If the lighting in your home isn't adequate during the winter, consider adding an artificial grow light. Fertilizing and re-potting should be avoided in winter, but pruning dead foliage is okay. Finally, you'll want to provide enough humidity either with a humidifier, pebble tray, or by placing plants close together.

Spider plants (Chlorophytum comosum) are an easy, pet-friendly houseplant, ideal for beginners, and you can keep spider plants happy all winter long with just a few essential tips. Like most houseplants, they will need less frequent watering during the winter, but the goal should be to keep the soil consistently moist throughout the season. Your plants should be kept away from window sills where they might catch a cold draft. Luckily, spider plants enjoy the shade, so move them anywhere where the temperature is always above 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Add a humidifier if your home is dry.

Monstera (Monstera deliciosa), often referred to as the Swiss cheese plant, will need a little TLC to combat winter's cool temperatures and shorter days. To keep up with the tropical plants' needs, you'll have to provide 12 to 14 hours of light each day, which can be achieved with an artificial grow light. Common tips will also help, such as reducing the amount of water and fertilizer you give it. Winter is a good time for some light pruning if there are yellow or brown leaves on your Monstera plant.

In any season, Boston ferns (Nephrolepis exaltata) can be a little finicky, but in the winter, the lack of light and moist air can cause the foliage to fall off or turn brown quickly. To avoid these issues, give the fern access to bright light and place a humidifier next to the plant to combat the dryness. If your windows are a little drafty, keep the fern as far away from them as possible.

The key to keeping most indoor orchids (Orchidaceae family) happy during the winter is to provide them with consistent warm temperatures, ideally around 60 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Keeping the delicate flowers away from cold, drafty windows or vents in your home is also important. Since orchids need humidity levels between 40% and 60% it's best to have a humidifier nearby.

To keep your parlor palm (Chamaedorea elegans) happy throughout the winter months, you will want to let it dry out completely in between waterings. Dry air is detrimental to these palms, so you'll need to take extra care to protect them in winter to prevent the leaves from turning brown. Use a humidifier or a pebble tray with water to combat any dryness in your home.

Venus flytraps (Dionaea muscipula) are a popular choice among houseplant lovers due to their strange, carnivorous behavior. Part of that strange behavior includes going completely dormant in the winter and losing its leaves. Your plant may appear dead, but there's no need to worry. Simply keep your Venus flytrap in a cool room and cut back on water significantly, only giving enough to prevent the soil from drying out entirely. In the spring, the plant should burst back to life.

To care for your ZZ plants (Zamioculcas zamiifolia) in the winter, cutting back on how much water you give them is key. During the cold season, your plant will only need water about once a month. ZZ plants also enjoy bright, indirect light — to offer this in the winter, consider placing your plant near a south-facing window. If you don't have a south-facing window or your windows are quite drafty, use an artificial grow light instead.

Aloe (Aloe vera) is a great houseplant to have on hand due to its medicinal properties. To keep your aloe plant plump and alive during the winter, you should double the time between waterings. For example, if you water the plant every two to three weeks during the summer, in the winter you would water every four to six weeks instead to ensure you don't drown your aloe.

String of pearls (Senecio rowleyanus) is a beautiful houseplant with tiny, pearl-shaped leaves. Like most indoor plants, string of pearls should be watered far less frequently in the winter months — aim for every three to four weeks. The unique houseplant isn't tolerant of extreme temperatures either, so keep it away from drafty windows, vents, or your front door in the winter.

Fiddle leaf figs (Ficus lyrata) need bright, indirect light for roughly six hours per day. In the winter, placing your plant near a window to meet these light requirements may not work, as the windows can be too cold. If that's the case, consider using an indoor grow light. Fiddle leaf figs also enjoy humidity levels around 30% to 65%. If the humidity in your home is outside of this range due to dry winter air, adding a humidifier will help significantly.