While it’s hard to believe that it’s November already, I’m not terribly surprised. I find as I get older, time goes faster, sometimes too fast. I suppose there are many reasons for this mystery of life but I think that we – the adults - get so caught up in life’s responsibilities and complexities that we sometimes forget to stop and smell the roses. One day just blends into the next as we hustle ourselves (and our families) through the week. Before you know it, another week, month, and year has gone by and we’ve missed – once again – the coming and going of the roses. We miss the small miracles of life but young kids don’t. Children are different. They’re so incredibly focused on the ‘here and now’, so absorbed by what they’re doing, so curious about their surroundings that waiting for a special event – Christmas, birthday, field trip – or just to be given an opportunity to run out and play seems like an impossibly, agonizingly long time. Time practically stands still for them; they make it stand still with their enthusiasm and ability to live in the moment. So they don’t miss the roses at all. They’d stop and smell all of them - if we’d let them. But we usually don’t. We’re always in too much of a hurry, pushing and dragging them along with us.

Even if I was like my 9-year-old and continuously stopped to smell the roses, along with every other flower, there aren’t any plants out there left to reach for these days. I would love to paint a pretty picture of the fall season here in my fair city this November but I can’t. Some fall seasons are better than others. This fall season hasn’t been very appealing. Most days it’s cold. And gray. And damp. It’s bad enough the days are shorter, depriving us of essential natural light, but in the past two weeks I’ve seen the sun only a handful of times – and not all day long either. Each (sadistically) brief appearance of the sun gives rise to shortness of breath, rapid beating of the heart and an emotional, anxiety-ridden exclamation: “Oh my God! Is that...is that the sun? Could it be? Could it?” And I race to the window to catch a glimpse of the sunlight before the clouds take it hostage once more for another day or three or ten. Sigh.

So it’s cold. Gray. Damp. And dark. And even though the leaves on the trees are transforming into the majestic colors of fall, blanketing the sidewalks and streets with their bright red, gold and yellow tones, there’s no way to enjoy the splash of color when you’re huddled up against the cold and plowing through the rain. About the only thing that’s on your mind - as the leaves that are plastered all over the wet sidewalk stick to your shoes - is the hope that your umbrella does not invert in the wind. This fall season is not beautiful; the weather totally sucks.

As we head towards winter – snowstorms, frostbite weather, winter gear, slush and the flu season – I find myself extremely grateful for all the greenery I have sharing my home with me. With the outdoors becoming barren of vegetation, my indoor plants become that much more important. They are my small (but necessary), preserved connection with nature during the bleakest period of the year. By now you’ve gathered that I’m not a very big fan of fall or winter. So true. I don’t like fall (unless it’s milder and very sunny) and I hate winter. Hate it. My favourite season of the year is spring, when everything comes back to life – including me out of my winter hibernation. My young daughter loves winter and I did too at her age. But she doesn’t have to shovel out the car, hunt down parking spots (an endangered species in winter) between snow banks bigger than me after a storm or stand at the corner in bone-chilling -20°C (-4°F) weather waiting for the school bus to emerge while she waits behind our front door –slightly ajar - for me to call her to come out, bundled up and toasty warm (all part of being a mom).

As you can see, the colder months of the year – at least where I live – can be terribly dreary and depressing with one too many overcast days. If I could, I would hibernate and wake up in March. But since I can’t, I try to bring in a little sunshine into my home with living green. This is the time of year that I most desire (and enjoy) buying new plants; almost as if I’m trying to substitute for the dying back of vegetation in the great outdoors by turning my home into a botanical garden. This is also the time of year when I have to be extra careful when transporting houseplants from the store’s cash register to my home. Because just like me, houseplants hate the cold. Hate it. And it gets cold enough here to cause irreversible damage to a plant within minutes.

When transporting plants, there are actually two types of weather conditions that can severely injure newly-purchased plants as you relocate them to your home – the harsh, freezing temperatures of the colder months and the sweltering, intense heat of the warmer ones. As soon as your new plant is out of the sanctuary of the store, precautions have to be taken to make sure that it gets through the trip home intact – if you want a plant that lasts longer than the ride to your house.

Below are some useful tips that will minimize the potential harm caused by the two unsympathetic extremities – hot and cold – and help get your houseplants home safely.


It’s A Cold World Out There

Last winter I watched as a young couple carried a completely unprotected 6-foot palm to their car in the dead of winter on a day where frostbite happens faster than you can say “sure is cold out there”. It was a day so cold, you hardly have time to put on your gloves before the tingling “pins and needles” sensation of impending frostbite are felt. The temperature was a bone-chilling -20°C (-4°F) accompanied by a piercing wind, which made it even colder. No part of the plant was covered – at all. None. There wasn’t as much as a plastic bag around the pot. Nothing. I was so stunned by this surreal scene that I stopped and watched as the young pair strolled casually through the parking lot without a care in the world, the fronds of the palm swaying from the force of the bitter wind. When they finally reached their car, they set the pot on the ground – the very cold ground – while they unlocked car doors and tried to figure out how they’d fit this huge plant into their small car. Meanwhile, the plant just stood there, completely exposed to the harsh elements of the arctic-like weather, silently screaming: “I’m a tropical plant for crying out loud! Let me in! It’s damn cold out here!”

You’d better believe it. Seriously cold...

Most houseplants come from tropical regions where the weather is warm and cozy all year round. Imagine how stressful it must be to these warm-climate lovers when they are exposed to subzero temperatures - weather they are not equipped to tolerate. It’s lethal. You have to be extra careful and take special precautions if you decide to buy houseplants during the coldest days of the year. Plants are quite resilient but exposure to freezing temperatures can and will kill them. When a plant is moved from a sheltered environment to the sudden chill of the outdoors, the shock can prove deadly.


Ways to protect new plants against the cold:

• Wrap the plant completely before taking it outside. Insist on paper wrapping at the cash register, which is a much better insulator than plastic.

• Put the entire, insulated package (paper-wrapped plant) in a bag. Double-bag if it’s very cold or windy.

• If paper wrapping is not available and you have to buy the plant, bundle it up with a few plastic bags. The padding from plastic bags is not as shielding as paper but it’s better than nothing.

• Inflate the outermost bag by blowing into it, and then tie it shut tightly to trap in the warm air.

• In sub-zero weather, warm up your vehicle before you put your plant inside.

• If you set your plant on a cold floor or chilled seat, put a layer of insulation such as newspaper, cardboard or bag underneath the pot.

• If the ride home is a long one, open up the tightly-sealed bag a little for ventilation.

• Avoid transporting your new plant in the trunk of your car; it’s generally too cold in there.

• Position the plant carefully so the foliage does not touch the windows; the cold of the glass can burn the leaves.

• Make sure that the plant is also secure in its spot. You don’t want it to topple over during a sharp turn, which will break leaves or stems and scatter soil all over your car!

• If you buy a very big plant, consider making alternative plans if your car is too small to accommodate it. Don’t leave part of the plant sticking out the window like you would with a piece of wood from the hardware store.

• Don’t put a plant in the open-top rear cargo area of a pickup truck no matter how well-wrapped and insulated it is.

• Always make your plant purchase your last stop of the day so you don’t leave it sitting in a cold car while you take care of other business.

• If you are taking a plant home by foot or public transportation instead of by car, you run a huge risk of killing it when the weather is freezing. Consider taking a cab, getting a ride from a friend or shopping on a milder day.

• When you finally arrive home, leave your plant in its wrapping (make sure to open it slightly for ventilation) for about 15 minutes. This will allow your plant to gradually adjust to the room temperature of your home.

But if you just have to have that plant, make sure you bundle it up! Brrrr, it’s a cold world out there!


When It’s Hot, Hot, Hot!

Although many people will be quite vigilant with their new plants in the winter, most won’t pay attention to the summer months. It’s easy to put little thought to transporting newly-purchased houseplants during the sunny and warm season when you’re so comfortable. If you’re comfortable, your plant should be comfortable too, no? Not quite. The summer time can be just as deadly because of this lack of vigilance. That’s when people are more reckless.

In the summer time, the temperature inside a car parked in the sun can be fatal, producing enough heat to do in the toughest plant very quickly. But because it’s warm outside, it’s assumed that the new plant is not in any danger of damage. Houseplants are left in a sealed vehicle while the buyer runs errands or attends to other business, sometimes for extended periods. Be just as weary in the summer as you are in the winter. If you leave your new flora in your car’s sizzling temperatures, chances are you’ll come back to a cooked plant!


Transporting Plants Safely in Hot Weather

• Select plants that have been recently watered (the soil should be moist). If the plant is dehydrated, it will be unable to deal with the heat.

• If you are determined to pick up a specific plant but the soil is too dry, ask that it be watered thoroughly before you purchase it. A reputable greenhouse and reasonable store owner will accommodate this valid request.

• Shade the plant from the rays of the sun in your car. Sunlight shining through the glass can burn the foliage. Place the plant on the floor of the car or cover it to keep it from baking.

• Never place your new plant in the trunk of your car; the intense heat can kill it.

• Don’t leave your plant in a parked car while you tend to other business; the temperature will rise to lethal levels and cause devastating results.

• High winds can be extremely harmful. Don’t place a large plant in the back of a pickup truck, standing up, where it’ll be beaten by the blustery weather. Lay it down on its side, cover it to protect it from the sun and secure it to keep it from being tossed around during the drive home.

• Like above, do not allow large plants to stick out your window to avoid wind damage.

• Just as you would in cold weather, consider making alternative plans if your car cannot accommodate a large plant instead of letting foliage stick out the window.

• It’s just as important in the summer to make your plant purchases your last stop of the day so you don’t leave your new houseplants sitting in an overheated car.

Give your new plant the chance to get home safely with you. They’ll reward you with vigorous growth if they’re given the chance at a healthy start.

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