Even though it is cold and windy outside, you can start spring/summer activities inside your home like growing plants! Some plants are super easy to start and can grow just as well inside during winter as they can outside during spring. Here are just a few to start your planting process. 

  Jade Plant  Jade plants are fabulous winter plants, they are happy to tolerate warm and colder conditions and they can withstand low light as well. As long as you keep up with watering biweekly, or even monthly these plants will last you to summer time. They work well as kitchen decor and are great if you are decorating around the house with different plants. 

  Oxalis Triangularis  Also known as “purple shamrocks,” oxalis triangularis are very low maintenance plants for those who do not have a lot of time on hand, or the people who forget to water their plants. The leaves are vivid purple and their flowers are bell-shaped. These pretty plants close their blooms and leaves at night and re-open in the morning adding a little sparkle of presence in your home.   

  Aglaonema  Aglaonema, known as Chinese evergreens, are singled out by experts as one of the best winter house plants. This is a rare plant that can thrive easily in your home and can tolerate low light conditions and are very easy to care for. There are different variations of color; they bloom into bright pink or red leaves. So, if you are looking for colorful foliage in your home this plant would be great for you. 

  Christmas Cactus If you are missing the holiday season, this plant will definitely remind you of Christmas time. There are different colors of this plant you can choose from red, white, yellow, orange, purple and pink. This plant needs bright direct or indirect light. It does best with a temperature around 70 degrees and an evening temperature around 65 Fahrenheit. This plant enjoys a more humid environment.  

 Agriculture teacher Megan Stanley said, “As most of us know, summer is the peak season for plant growth, primarily because of the amount of daylight we have during that time. That doesn’t mean though, that we can’t grow plants year round. If you are looking to start plants during the winter season, my main two tips center around light and water. Because we have much less daylight during the winter months, it would be most beneficial to your plants to supplement with some type of grow light. This will allow plants to continue their photosynthetic cycles, produce sugars and grow. My second tip is to not over water! During the winter, you should be able to go 2-3 weeks between watering your established houseplants. Starting new plants, you’ll probably want to water every 2-3 days and gradually stretch that out to about a week to a week and a half between waterings.”

 Growing these plants can be a great early start to your summer activities and can relieve that seasonal depression we all get during this season. Stop by your local green house and start up that plant collection!