Does Daylight Saving Time Affect Your Houseplants? — Plant Care Tips and More

It’s that time of year again: the sun’s rays have slowly been diminishing (we’ve lost about five hours of daylight since the summer solstice in June!), and as we “fall back” for Daylight Saving Time, our days will feel even shorter than before. Along with the loss of daylight, the sun’s highest point is also lowering, meaning sunlight is softer and less intense than it was a few months ago.

All these changes affect not only us but also our leafy friends. While our plants might not find the clock shift as disruptive (or debatable) as we do, they definitely note the change of light.

Here are a few things to look out for and keep in mind as you nurture living plants in your home:

Leaf drop might occur. And there’s nothing to worry about! Your plant is just adjusting to less light and possibly beginning to save energy til spring. If the leaf drop feels excessive or persists over several weeks, there might be something else going on.
You’ll need to water less. As plants get less light, they get less thirsty. Adjust your watering routine as needed.
You might need to move things around. Some plants will benefit from a sunnier spot during the winter, or at least getting some extra light here and there a few days a week.
Your plant will most likely grow more slowly. It may even stop growing for a while.
You can reduce fertilizing. Most fertilizers are too strong to use in the winter, but if you’d like to give your plants a little something extra, you can fertilize once a month with Boost Vitaminé, a very gentle liquid plant food, or foliar feed a few times a week with Potion Magique plant mist, or both!