{"id":49250,"date":"2023-01-30T06:00:13","date_gmt":"2023-01-30T12:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/platthillnursery.com\/?p=49250"},"modified":"2023-02-24T14:21:37","modified_gmt":"2023-02-24T20:21:37","slug":"how-to-tell-if-your-houseplant-is-stressed-chicago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/platthillnursery.com\/how-to-tell-if-your-houseplant-is-stressed-chicago\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Tell if Your Houseplant is Stressed"},"content":{"rendered":"

Winter can be a stressful time for houseplants\u2013cold drafts, furnaces, lack of light, and dry air can be taxing on tropical plants that are accustomed to steady climates. While they may not be able to voice concerns, they can still give us many signs that they\u2019re in need of an adjustment. If we know how to identify the signs, we can help them before any issues turn into a major problem!\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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How Do You Tell If Your Plant is Stressed?\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

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\"Etiolation
\nSigns of Lack of Light\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

While the sun is shining on the southern hemisphere, us northerners get to enjoy longer starry nights during the winter. Unfortunately, that leaves our tropical houseplants wondering where the sun went. If you see them leaning towards the window or getting leggy, it means they\u2019re lacking light. Pale green, white, or yellowing leaves also indicate stress from low light.<\/span><\/p>\n

Solution: <\/b>Move your houseplants to a sunnier window, such as a south-facing or west-facing exposure. Move them closer to a window; just make sure they\u2019re not touching cold glass. Rotate them 1\/4 every time you water, so all parts of the plant receive rays. And finally, dust\/wipe the leaves more often so they can absorb more sunlight.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"plant
\nSigns of Lack of Humidity\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

Low humidity is one of the biggest stresses in our home environment during the winter, both for our skin <\/span>and <\/span><\/i>our houseplants. With the furnace on, the humidity can drop well below 50%, leaving our tropical companions gasping for moisture. Common signs of low humidity include brown edges on leaves, curling, crisping, or wilting. If your watering routine is still on the mark, your houseplant may be asking for more humidity!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Solution:<\/b> Set up a tray of pebbles with water in it and place the plant pots on top. Group your <\/span>houseplants<\/span><\/a><\/span> together to create a humid microclimate. Move affected plants to a more humid room, like the kitchen or bathroom\u2013or buy a humidifier for specific rooms. Note, while misting your plants with a spray bottle does help temporarily, it must be done regularly, e.g. a few times per day, to have a lasting effect.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"underwatered
\nSigns of Underwatering\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

Surprisingly, underwatering is less common during the <\/span>winter<\/span><\/a><\/span>,<\/span> even though the conditions are drier. That\u2019s because many houseplants go dormant, or simply grow less with less sunlight. Nevertheless, a fireplace or furnace vent can do fast work at drying out a <\/span>houseplant<\/span><\/a><\/span> if it hits the right spot. Drooping leaves, light and crispy leaves, and soil pulling away from the edge of the pot are stress signs of too little water.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Solution: <\/b>Research your houseplant to know how much water it requires. Check the soil to ensure that it\u2019s dry. If so, water your plant thoroughly to allow it to recover, and water it again in the next few days when the top of the soil dries out. Then, resume a proper watering routine after that.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"yellowing
\nSigns of Overwatering\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

Overwatering is easy to do during the winter, simply because a dormant houseplant\u2019s water needs are less. If we keep up the same routine that we had during the summer, we could be unknowingly stressing them with too much H2O! Drooping yellow leaves and soft and limp leaves are signs of overwatering. Some plants, like succulents, may drop leaves to try to get rid of excess moisture. Moldy, soft, or rotting stems are another sign.<\/span><\/p>\n

Solution: <\/b>Research how much water your houseplant needs during the winter. <\/span>Cacti<\/span><\/a><\/span> and succulents, for example, don\u2019t need much at all. Probe the soil surface with your finger. Even though the surface looks dry, it still could be wet underneath. Once you confirm that overwatering is the problem, stop watering until the right amount of soil is dry, e.g., the top inch, depending on your specific plant\u2019s needs. Adjust your watering routine after that to ensure it receives the correct amount.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Know Your Specific Plant\u2019s Needs<\/b><\/h3>\n

Sometimes it\u2019s not easy to read a plant\u2019s stress signs. For example, yellowing leaves could indicate a lack of light, too much water, or too little. Plus, different plants may exhibit symptoms differently. To get a proper diagnosis, it\u2019s important to research your houseplant and investigate each problem thoroughly before you take action. Check the moisture in the soil, check for pests, and look at all the signs before you reach a conclusion.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Houseplant<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Fast breathing, sweaty palms, and a churning stomach are all common signs of a human in distress, but houseplants are more subtle. They\u2019re not going to get angry, but they\u2019ll still give us clear signs of a problem in their environment. If you need help figuring out a solution to<\/a> <\/span><\/span>houseplant stress<\/span><\/a><\/span>, feel free to contact our garden centers, or drop by to talk to an expert in person!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Platt Hill Nursery is Chicago\u2019s premier garden center and nursery.<\/span><\/i><\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Winter can be a stressful time for houseplants\u2013cold drafts, furnaces, lack of light, and dry air can be taxing on tropical plants that are accustomed to steady climates. While they may not be able to voice concerns, they can still give us many signs that they\u2019re in need of an adjustment. If we know how […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":348,"featured_media":49255,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[102,971,1180],"tags":[108,1779,1831,109,1829,1828,1832,1835,1826,1226,1386,1833,1834,1825,1830,1827],"class_list":["post-49250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-houseplants","category-how-to","category-newbie-gardener","tag-bloomingdale-garden-center","tag-bloomingdale-houseplants","tag-browning-leaves-on-houseplant","tag-carpentersville-garden-center","tag-help-my-houseplant","tag-houseplant-sos","tag-houseplant-troubleshooting","tag-how-much-humidity-houseplant","tag-is-my-houseplant-stressed","tag-platt-hill-nursery","tag-platt-hill-nursery-chicago","tag-signs-of-overwatering","tag-signs-of-underwatering-plant","tag-stressed-houseplant","tag-what-is-wrong-with-my-houseplant","tag-yellowing-leaves-on-houseplant"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/platthillnursery.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/platthillnursery.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/platthillnursery.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platthillnursery.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/348"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platthillnursery.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49250"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/platthillnursery.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49250\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platthillnursery.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/platthillnursery.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platthillnursery.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platthillnursery.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}