Stop Overfeeding Your Houseplants This Winter (I Learned This the Hard Way)

Published November 5, 2025

So here's something I wish someone had told me years ago: that feeding schedule that worked great all summer? Yeah, it's gonna wreck your plants in winter.

I learned this the expensive way—by killing a bunch of perfectly good plants because I kept fertilizing them every two weeks like clockwork, even when they clearly weren't growing.

Turns out, winter changes literally everything about what your plants need. And the hardest part? Accepting that the best thing you can do is back off and let them rest.

Why Your Plants Are Different Right Now

When it gets cold and dark outside, your plants know. Even though they're sitting in your climate-controlled house, they can tell the days are shorter and the light is weaker.

So they do what makes sense—they slow way down. Most houseplants go into what's basically a long nap. Not dead, not even really sleeping, just... on pause.

Their roots barely grow. New leaves stop coming. Everything just downshifts.

It's like if summer is them training for a marathon, winter is their off-season. They're alive, they're maintaining, but they're definitely not trying to set any records.

The Mistake Everyone Makes (Including Me)

I used to think I was being a really good plant parent by staying on schedule with fertilizing. Every two weeks, just like I did in July. Consistency is good, right?

Wrong.

When your plants aren't growing, they can't use that fertilizer. So where does it go? It just sits in the soil, building up as salt. And those salts burn the roots and kill off all the good bacteria and fungi that keep your soil healthy.

I lost a beautiful fiddle leaf fig this way. Kept feeding it "because it looked like it needed help" when really, it just needed me to leave it alone for a while.

What You Should Actually Do Instead

Feed Way Less Often

For most plants, you're looking at once every 6-8 weeks during winter. Some plants? They don't want any food at all until spring.

Here's a rough guide:

Your tropical plants—like pothos, philodendrons, monsteras—can maybe handle a light feeding once a month if they're in a warm, bright spot. But honestly? They're fine without it.

Succulents and cacti? Don't even think about feeding them until spring. They're fully checked out from November through February and they want you to respect that.

The weird ones that bloom in winter—orchids, Christmas cacti, some begonias—actually need some food because they're actively growing flowers. They're the exception.

Water It Down

When you do feed them, cut it in half. Or even to a quarter strength.

This isn't about being cheap with your fertilizer. It's about not overwhelming roots that are barely working right now.

I use Plant Juice at quarter strength for most of my plants in winter. The cool thing about it is the beneficial microbes keep doing their thing underground even when the plant isn't visibly growing—they're like little soil janitors keeping everything healthy down there.

Winter Feeding That Actually Makes Sense

Plant Juice is what I reach for in winter—the microbes keep working even when growth stops, and you can dilute it way down without losing the benefits.

Shop Plant Juice

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Think About the Soil, Not the Leaves

Winter is when you stop obsessing over new growth and start caring about what's happening underground.

The good bacteria and fungi in healthy soil? They keep working year-round. They're breaking stuff down, protecting roots, getting nutrients ready for spring.

This is why I switched to organic, microbe-rich stuff. It supports that whole underground ecosystem without trying to force your plant to grow when it's not ready.

How to Know If You're Doing It Right

Your plants will tell you. You just gotta pay attention.

Signs They Could Use a Light Feeding

Older leaves slowly going pale? The whole plant looks kinda dull even though it's getting decent light? Any new growth looks weak and spindly? Okay, maybe give them a little something.

Signs You're Doing Too Much

Brown crispy tips on the leaves? White crusty buildup on the soil or around the rim of the pot? A bunch of leaves suddenly turning yellow? The plant wilting even though the soil isn't dry?

That's salt damage from too much fertilizer. Stop feeding immediately and maybe even flush the soil with plain water a few times.

Different Plants Need Different Things

The Unkillable Ones

ZZ plants, snake plants, pothos—these guys basically thrive on neglect. In winter? Just leave them alone. No fertilizer from November through March and they'll be totally happy.

The Light-Obsessed Ones

Tropical plants that love bright light have the hardest time in winter. If you've got grow lights and you're keeping things warm, they can handle a little feeding. But if they're sitting in a cold, dark corner? They need nothing.

The Backwards Ones That Bloom Now

Some plants are wired to bloom when it's cold—orchids, Christmas cacti, certain begonias. These are actually growing right now, so they benefit from feeding. Something with extra phosphorus like Bloom Juice helps support all that flower production.

Desert Plants

Cacti and succulents from dry climates shut down completely in winter. No fertilizer from October through March. Period. They can't use it and you'll just stress them out.

Why Microbes Are Your Secret Weapon

Traditional chemical fertilizers dump a bunch of nutrients into your soil all at once. In summer when plants are growing like crazy, fine. They can use it.

But in winter? All those nutrients just sit there, building up, potentially burning roots.

Organic fertilizers with beneficial microbes work completely differently. The microbes control the release of nutrients naturally—they only make stuff available as your plant actually needs it.

So in winter, this means the microbes slowly process nutrients over time instead of dumping them all at once. The good bacteria protect your plant's roots from bad stuff that loves cool, damp conditions. The soil stays healthier. And by spring, nutrients are ready and waiting.

The Other Stuff That Matters

Feeding schedule is just one piece of winter plant care:

Light is the biggest factor. A plant by a bright south window needs more food than one stuck in a bathroom with no windows, even in winter.

Temperature matters. Plants in cool rooms are way more dormant than ones in warm rooms.

Dry air from heating systems stresses plants out and messes with how they take up nutrients.

You're probably watering less naturally because they're not using much water. Less watering means less nutrient uptake—another reason to feed less.

When to Start Feeding Normally Again

You'll know they're waking up when:

New leaves or shoots start popping up. They're drinking water faster—you're watering more often. The whole plant looks perkier. Days are getting noticeably longer.

For most houseplants, this happens late February or March. That's when you gradually bump up feeding frequency and strength again.

By April, you can usually get back to your normal spring and summer schedule.

The Thing Nobody Tells You About Winter Plant Care

After years of doing this, I've realized winter plant care is mostly about getting comfortable with doing less.

It feels wrong at first. You spent all summer nurturing and feeding and watching things grow, and now you're supposed to just... back off? Leave them alone?

Yeah. Exactly that.

Respecting your plants' natural rhythms—letting them rest when they need to—is honestly what separates beginners from people who've been doing this a while.

When you reduce feeding, dilute what you do give them, and focus on keeping the soil healthy instead of forcing growth, you're setting them up for an amazing spring.

Those well-rested plants with healthy root systems? When warm weather hits and they wake up? They absolutely explode with growth.

Plants have been handling winter for millions of years without us fussing over them. Your job isn't to fight their natural cycle—it's to support them through it.

This winter, try doing less. I promise your plants will be better for it.