Buying plants in winter without killing them on the way home

Most houseplants are tropical. Below roughly 50°F they are stressed, and near freezing the cell walls rupture. The damage often does not show for a few days, then appears as blackened, translucent or mushy patches that will not recover.

The plant does not need to be outside for long. A short walk to the car on a freezing day, or fifteen minutes in a cold boot, is enough.

Ask the shop to sleeve or bag the plant — most will do it without being asked in winter, and a paper sleeve traps enough warm air for a short walk.

Make the plant the last stop of the trip, warm the car first, and put it in the cabin rather than the boot. Never leave it in a parked car while you do something else.

At home, unwrap it straight away. Leaving it bagged in a warm room invites fungal problems.

Two things change at once. Light drops sharply — a north window in January delivers a fraction of its summer light — so growth slows or stops. And central heating drops humidity hard, which is what causes crispy leaf edges.

Because growth has slowed, water use drops with it. Cut watering substantially and check by weight rather than by routine. Winter over-watering, on a schedule set in summer, is the classic January plant death.

Leaves touching a freezing window pane get damaged directly, and a plant sitting in the blast of a heating vent dries out faster than you can water it. A foot of clearance from both solves most winter placement problems.

No fertilising, no repotting, no major pruning until light returns in spring. A plant that is not growing cannot use any of it. Dust the leaves occasionally so they catch what light there is, and wait.

Independent shops are at their least busy between January and March, which means the person behind the counter has time to actually talk to you. If you are new and want advice rather than a transaction, it is the best time of year to walk in.