There is nothing difficult in growing indoor palms, but only if you carefully study the features of the selected plant. One of the most important points for any indoor palm is wintering. Palm trees can still adapt to the conditions of home keeping from spring to autumn, but wintering with poor lighting and heating systems can be a real challenge for these legendary plants. To help palm trees survive the winter, lighting, temperatures and care need to be adjusted correctly and on time.
Features of caring for indoor palm trees in winter
The most popular of the large indoor plants – palm trees – are special not only in appearance, but also in nature. Despite the fact that they are several dozen times inferior in size to their natural counterparts, palm trees do not change their habits in the rooms. They not only create a bright tropical atmosphere around themselves and transform interiors, but also require the recreation of their usual microclimate.
All palms, without exception, belong to crops that require strict selection of conditions of maintenance and scrupulous care – careful adherence to the rules of cultivation recommended for them.
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Different palms have different wintering temperatures
Depending on the origin – subtropical or tropical – not only the possibilities of choosing a comfortable place during the period of active growth change, but also what kind of palm trees need wintering. Subtropical palms require coolness, moderate temperatures, tropical palms winter in warm or moderately warm conditions.
To the number of palms that are all year round prefer stable temperatures and do not tolerate cold snaps below 15-18 degrees, even for a short time, belong to yellowish dipypsis, coconut, livistona round-leaved, geonoma, ropalostilis. And Forster’s hovea, areca catechu, lithocarium, Weddel’s microcellum, lontaroid patching, licuala, acanthophenix, Robelini date, edible eutherpe and soft cariota, and they like to winter at temperatures not lower than 18 degrees.
In moderate warmth, at a temperature of 10 to 15 degrees, such types of indoor palms as hamedorea graceful, sabal, brachea prefer to winter.
But washingtonia is stringy, hamerops stocky, date Canary, trachycarpus Fortune and tall rape can even winter at temperatures below 10 degrees (but not lower than 3-4 degrees Celsius, the optimal value is from 5 to 8 degrees).
Palm trees are one of the most sensitive plants to soil temperature. It is worth making sure that the risk of uneven cooling of the substrate, violation of the stability of the temperature of the root ball is minimized. Containers should not be placed on cold surfaces (even if palms are grown in wooden tubs).
For the winter, floor plants are installed on substrates or stands (if the house has a heated floor, such a measure will protect against overheating of the roots), and the plants on the windowsills are removed from the glass or removed from the window onto stands.
If the air temperature constantly fluctuates in the room, it is worth considering additional protection of the pots to protect the roots – from installation in an external temporary container to wrapping in insulation materials. Moreover, additional “clothes” can also be used as a touch in the seasonal interior decoration.
Howea Forsteriana, like other tropical palms, prefers consistently warm temperatures in winter. Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com gardenplants
Correction of watering for palm trees for the winter
Without exception, all palms require a slow reduction in watering in the fall. The correct adaptation period to the winter humidity regime is the basis for maintaining attractive leaves, because less stress means less risk.
Watering is reduced depending on the rate of soil drying and conditions:
- for palms hibernating in the warmth, they continue to check the drying out of the soil, drying the substrate only a few centimeters more;
- for palms wintering in light coolness, watering is reduced, drying the soil several times stronger – up to a third or a half;
- for cold palms, watering is minimized to preserve roots and greenery.
In this case, it is worth following the recommendations for each individual species. Waterlogging is extremely dangerous for any palm tree.
Watering with warm water is the most important condition and measure that prevents many problems in the development of palm trees. And you should not forget about it in winter, but only if “warm” means water, the temperature of which is several degrees higher than the air temperature.
For all palms that are thermophilic so much that they prefer wintering at 18 degrees and above, it is better to leave the water temperature at the usual level of 30 degrees, even in the height of winter. For other species, they are guided by specific conditions.
In winter, regardless of the temperature of the palm trees, after watering, the water from the pallets must be drained immediately, without even waiting for the standard 5 minutes. If there are indications that the lower part of the substrate is still waterlogged in the palm trees, you can replace the regular pallet with a container filled with moisture-absorbing materials (perlite, fine expanded clay, and even sand).
By partially submerging the pots in such a base, you can help distribute moisture more efficiently and prevent dampness in the lower third of the substrate in your containers. The same technique can be used in case of accidental overflow in winter, insufficient drainage holes and compacted soil, especially when kept at temperatures below 12 degrees Celsius.
Read also our article 5 of the most unpretentious indoor palms.
Watering with warm water is the most important condition and measure that prevents many problems with the development of palm trees in winter.
Maintaining air humidity
Air humidity is a critical condition for the normal maintenance of palm leaves during the winter. Palm trees already find it difficult to adapt to all the disadvantages of winter maintenance. And very dry air at this time of the year leads to the appearance of dry tips, yellow spots on luxurious fronds, not to mention the accelerated drying of old leaves.
Spraying is the best method of preventing the loss of decorativeness of a palm tree. Winter spraying is carried out, if necessary, even for palms wintering in coolness – gently, with warm water, sometimes replacing watering by spraying.
Fresh air, but no drafts
In winter, drafts are very dangerous for all palm trees. At the same time, all palms, regardless of origin, require regular ventilation and access to fresh air in winter, and do not tolerate its stagnation.
Free air circulation is important during a cool winter, no less than during a warm one. The protection of plants should be given increased attention by covering the palms from the currents of cold air, moving or carrying them to other rooms. Any sudden changes in temperature and cold drafts will affect the condition of the plants.
If there is an opportunity to take palm trees out of the premises, it is better to use it by returning the plants back when the temperature stabilizes.
No clipping!
If the leaves of a palm tree are injured, spots appear on them, or they dry out, requiring pruning, do not give in to the temptation. In winter, any pruning on palms, even when it comes to dry wai tips, is strictly prohibited.
All areas affected during the winter can be cut off only before the very beginning of growth – in early spring. At the same time, the rules for pruning remain standard: it is in winter that the leaves that are affected are cut off in the same way as the leaves that dry out at any other time of the year – leaving a strip of dry tissue, and not along the living and healthy areas. The frond can be completely cut off only after the entire leaf plate and the cutting are dry.
In winter, you need to especially carefully monitor the purity of the leaves of the indoor palm. Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com crocus
In winter, you need to especially carefully monitor the purity of the leaves. Gently rubbing with a soft sponge or brushing away dust is an important measure to prevent the spread of pests and disrupt effective photosynthesis.
Washing and showering even compact palms in winter is very dangerous. Water procedures should be carried out only as a last resort, with severe pollution, using warm water and letting the plant dry in a warm room for several days before transferring it to a familiar environment.
