Why radiators spell disaster for houseplants, according to an expert ...Middle East

Houseplants can suffer in January after weeks of low light levels through the windows and dry, centrally heated air. Stressed plants have yellowing leaves, wilt, shed buds and brown leaf edges. Anxious owners understandably increase watering and feeding – but this can make matters worse.

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Plants can run short of water, of course, so checking the root zone is sensible before doing anything else. Shrunken compost is a sure sign of underwatering. Brown areas within leaves, as opposed to leaf edges, are also associated with underwatering.

If you are still worried, use a finger to feel the moisture content of the potting compost. If largely dry, watering is needed to thoroughly wet the potting compost by soaking in a bowl of water, then allowing it to drain.

Consider why the plant dried – heat sources (typically radiators) and draughts can dry out plants and a better spot will help.

Although houseplants in winter might need no water for days, it is best to look at your houseplants almost every day to monitor pot moisture. Plants that can withstand some dryness include spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum), snake plant (Sansevieria trifasciata) and Jade plant (Crassula ovata, right), though even these won’t survive prolonged neglect.

Feeding is seldom useful, as plants need little nutrition in low wintery light. By April, feeding and repotting where necessary will be effective.

Inadvertent overwatering is unfortunately common. If the finger test comes up wet, cut back on water. A chopstick makes a good probe for deeper pots.

If possible, tip the plant gently from its pot and check the roots – dark, rotted ones are usually dead and removing these, then repotting in fresh potting media, can save plants.

If the roots are sound, drying off the compost with kitchen paper can reduce moisture and allow air in, saving the plant.

There is, unfortunately, no firm rule on when to water houseplants – it all depends on site, plant and room conditions. Allow compost to dry down, but water before it becomes bone-dry – this is why frequent inspection is valuable, to catch plants at the right stage. Wet fully and, when the compost is wet through, leave to drain until no more water seeps out.

Potted plants where the pot sits in a decorative outer container with no drainage holes are at special risk. Leave them to drain fully before replacing in the outer pot. Standing, stagnant water is very damaging.

Yellowing and droopy leaves indicate lack of light. Either move these plants closer to a brighter window or beneath an LED grow light. Our eyes are very good at using limited light, so often a place that looks quite bright is not bright enough for some plants.

Most houseplants do best in cooler rooms, and should not reside too long in well-heated areas. This is particularly true of Christmas houseplants such as cyclamen and azaleas, which will be happier now on cooler window sills.

Hot rooms mean dry air. Plants can fail to extract water fast enough from the potting compost to meet demand from the leaves, which will at first stop photosynthesising, starving the plant, and then “scorch” along leaf edges as they become desiccated.

Good plants for heated rooms include ZZ plant (Zamioculcas zamiifolia), which stores water in its fleshy roots, moth orchid (Phalaenopsis) and bromeliads, particularly ones that store water in the “tank” at the centre of their leaves.

Where it turns chilly by night, consider pothos (Epipremnum aureum) and ivy-leaved philodendron (Philodendron hederaceum var. hederaceum).

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