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Home lifeHelp your houseplants through a Finnish winter
Find a useful winter spot and water two familiar houseplants by the soil, not the calendar. Includes a real grow-light option and a Vantaa retailer.
Written by 
Novah Team
4 min read
Quick answer
Keep plants in suitable light, away from cold draughts and radiator heat. Check the soil before watering: pothos and snake plants need different drying intervals.
Choose a good winter spot
When daylight gets short, move your plants where the light actually reaches them. For a pothos, choose bright indirect light. Keep leaves clear of cold window glass and avoid the hot air directly above a radiator.
A room can look bright to us while a plant on a shelf receives little of that light. Try the nearer, suitable spot before buying more plants to replace unhappy ones. The windowsill is valuable winter real estate.
Martat's plant-care guidance (Opens in a new tab) explains the effect of cold draughts and radiator heat. Move the pot to the room side before opening the window for a cold-weather airing. Return it once the nearby air has warmed.
Water these two plants differently
Two familiar plants make the difference clear.
| Plant | When to water | How to do it |
|---|---|---|
| Pothos / kultaköynnös, Epipremnum | Let the top 2 cm of potting mix dry | Water the mix, let the pot drain and empty the outer pot or saucer |
| Snake plant / anopinkieli, Sansevieria | Let the potting mix dry out | Water sparingly from above, avoiding the centre of the leaf rosette, and pour away drained water |
The RHS pothos guide (Opens in a new tab) supports the top-two-centimetre check. Its snake-plant guide (Opens in a new tab) describes a much drier routine, particularly in winter.
Push a finger into the mix and compare its moisture with the plant's needs. Lift the pot gently too: a recently watered pot feels heavier. A dry surface on one plant is not a command to water every pot in the room.
Keep these plants out of reach of children or pets that chew foliage. The RHS identifies snake plants as poisonous; pothos also needs a sensible inaccessible position.
Make draining the pot part of watering
Use an inner pot with drainage holes, inside a decorative outer pot if you like. Take it to the sink or a suitable tray when watering, let excess water run out, then empty the outer pot or saucer before returning it.
RHS's houseplant guide (Opens in a new tab) explains why roots need drainage and should not sit in collected water. Use room-temperature water and a small watering can you can control.
Wipe dusty pothos leaves gently with a damp cloth while supporting the leaf. That instruction comes from the species guide. A soft cloth and plain water keep this small job simple; leaf-shine spray is unnecessary for the routine here.
A real grow light for a dark winter corner
Airam Fiora (Opens in a new tab) is a hanging grow-light fixture. The current model includes a 9.5 W E27 grow lamp, white 3500 K light and a five-metre plug-in cable.
Put the fixture above the plant group using a suitable hanging point, keep the housing and cable clear of foliage and water, and aim the light at the leaves. It connects to an indoor socket with a Europlug; no new fixed wiring is part of this setup. Use its switch for a consistent daytime routine and leave a dark period at night.
BAUHAUS lists the white Fiora (Opens in a new tab). For an in-person option, BAUHAUS Vantaa in Tammisto (Opens in a new tab) is at Tammiston kauppatie 19. Select the store on the product page for its availability.
A hanging model suits a hanging point. If your available space is only a tabletop, choose a fixture made for that arrangement rather than balancing a hanging lamp on the pot.
Do one small check each week
Pick a regular day to look at the plants, not an automatic day to water them. Check soil moisture, the amount of light reaching the leaves and any cold draught near the pot. Water only the plants that need it.
A yellow leaf by itself does not tell you that the plant is thirsty. Look at the soil and position before adding water. Martat's examples (Opens in a new tab) show that unsuitable heat, light and moisture can each create problems.
For a comfortable work corner with room for a plant, try our small-home workspace plan. If outdoor pots are waiting for a winter tidy-up, use the balcony preparation checklist.
The useful winter routine is a suitable spot, the right moisture check and a pot that drains. Your plants can have different needs and still share the same room.
