Is the Climate Inside Your Home Killing Your Plants?

If you find yourself getting jealous of your friends who boast lush, alive plants in their home because all of your green friends seem to die, it might be time to change tactics. If after adjusting your watering habits and switching the soil, you’re still faced with withering, dying plants, consider changing your focus to the thermostat.

Replicating Ideal Natural Environments

Depending on the types of plants you have, they need different kinds of care. While some plants thrive with very little water, like succulents, others need to be watered several times a week. Similarly, your plants may have different environmental needs, and adjusting your home’s climate accordingly could be the factor that helps them thrive.

First, identify whether your plants are common house plants, tropical plants, or cool-season plants. 

• Common house plants

• • • Thrive in standard home temperatures around 60-75º F

• Tropical plants

• • • Thrive in warmer (up to 85º F), humid environments making bathrooms and near kitchen sinks great placement options

• Cool-season plants

• • • Thrive in cooler temperatures around 60º F, so drafty areas of your home or rooms that generally run cooler are smart placement options

Regardless of the type of plant, all houseplants appreciate and benefit from about a 10º F drop in temperature overnight, since this shift mimics outdoor environments.

Decoding Plant Health

There are a handful of common problems plants can face that directly correlate with the climate they’re in. If your plant has:

• Yellowing leaves

• • • It could be caused by over or under-watering. However, if you’ve got the watering under control, the other large possibility is that your plant faced a sudden, drastic drop in temperature. 

• Curling and browning leaves

• • • This symptom is usually caused by too much warmth via direct sunlight. If your plant is on a windowsill, it might be a good idea to move it somewhere with less direct sunlight or adjust your thermostat to a cooler indoor temperature to balance out the heat from the sun. 

• Dying flowers

• • • Dying flowers are often caused by excess warmth, so if your plant is near your radiator, that’s a clear indication of the problem. The heat from radiators makes the environment too hot for plants to thrive while also drying out the air. If you keep your radiator or heater on for prolonged periods of time, make sure to give your plants some extra moisture by spritzing or misting them throughout the week.

We might not be plant experts, but we hope this guide helps keep your green friends alive and thriving. We are, however, HVAC experts, so make sure to give your local TemperaturePro a call if you need maintenance, repair work, or a replacement on any of your HVAC equipment.