Windowsill Plants for Winter and Beyond

Look to these diminutive gems to create indoor botanical joy throughout the year

Once it gets cold , our English gardening side reason a lot with our South Texas side . One half thinks gardening is a necessary year - round activity ; the other one-half think going outdoors in anything colder than 50 ° F is hazardous . compromise have to be made .

Creating a garden on our windowsill is the solution . Plants that fit in the windowsill have to be tolerant of lower lightsome condition and low humidity , and , most importantly , they must stay windowsill size . Our windowsills are about 5 inches mystifying . That entail no windowsill fiddleleaf figs ( Ficus lyrataand cvs . ) , not even ‘ Bambino ’ .

A windowsill garden also let us have a few plant that will not grow out of doors in our hot , wet southerly summer or moth-eaten wet winters . The one workweek of spring weather before temperatures leap into the 90s and one week of drop weather before temperature accrue into the forty pass so promptly that we never have time to even move them outside .

Besides that , it can be a fate of sport discovering what grow good in different window . We find the east- and due south - face windows oeuvre considerably as far as light go . North windows often do not have sufficient brightness and can get too cold , and west window bid too much hot sun in the good afternoon . However , there is a plant for every windowpane . Here are some of our favorite windowsill plants .

Air plants (Tillandsiaspp. and cvs.)

Air plants are small bromeliads that have a lot of different foliage variations . Many also produce small but bright coloured flowers . gentle wind industrial plant value bright light but not direct Sunday . Most produce slowly and stay windowsill - size . They are downhearted maintenance — they do n’t really need soil or a pot . They spring up well with the farewell taper up and do demand hebdomadary watering and periodic fertilizer . We place ours in the sink and spray them really well with lukewarm water tap water . Once in a while , we mix a weak solution of fertilizer and deluge them for a few minutes . Air industrial plant can be susceptible to contaminants , so filtered water system might be necessary . In the winter when the heat run a set and the air is particularly dry , it may be good to irrigate them twice a week .

Miniature moth orchids (Phalaenopsisspp. and cvs.)

You would think these diminutive orchids were made just for windowsills . They are perfectly diminutive and wonderful pratfall , with flowers that often last for week and even months . gentle to find , there are pot of dissimilar flower color available . Mini – moth orchid have it away bright light but not direct sunshine . irrigate them each week , and make sealed that the water drains out the bottom of the pot . They often are in a plastic liner rig inside a screen pot . Pull the plant in its plastic liner out of the cover stack to water ; after the excess water has drained by , put it back . fertilise every two weeks with a weak answer of plant food while it is flowering , and then stop and allow it rest for a few workweek before fecundate again .

String of hearts (Ceropegia woodiiand cvs.)

One of our biggest windowsill nonstarter has been drawing string of pearls ( Senecio rowleyanusand cvs . ) plants . They have all died , no matter which windowpane we put them in . So we grow string of kernel . They all thrive , and it does not weigh which window they are in . As a succulent plant , they tolerate neglect . We water them each week with all the other plants , and they also tolerate that . We only inseminate them about twice a year . Once the string get hold of the floor ( or any undesired length ) , you’re able to but trim them off and protrude over . One of the nice things about string of pearls is its rum - front flower , which are very fragrant . The scent reminds me of cinnamon pinko ( Dianthus caryophyllusand cvs . , Zones 7–10 ) .

Peperomia (Peperomia albovittataand cvs.)

There are a lot of peperomias that will grow in sills , but our front-runner is the speciesPeperomia albovittata . Its belittled leaves are heart shaped , despoil , and brilliantly colour , adding a lot to a windowsill . The brighter the light , the hopeful the color , but they calculate better without live sunshine , so deposit with morning sun only . We irrigate them weekly , but they are quite drouth tolerant and usually resuscitate quickly if leave out to the “ Oh no , I killed it ” Department of State .

Vietnamese violet (Deinostigma tamiana)

A congener of African violets , Vietnamese reddish blue makes a overnice flowering windowsill imbed . The small russet scab of heart - shaped leaf produces enceinte prime ( nigh an inch long ) for its sizing . The blooms are blank with purple grading and are held well above the foliage . Even in our neglectful care , it bloom several multiplication a year . It demand burnished sparkle for the in force show , but avoid direct hot Sunday . We irrigate them weekly and fertilize them every two or three weeks with half - strength liquid fertilizer .

These are some of the plants that work well for us . There are so many interesting plants out there , and we try a spate of them . Not all are fit to windowsills , but it is fun finding the ones that work .

— Jason and Shelley Powell own and manage Petals from the yesteryear , a garden middle in Jemison , Alabama .

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