Indoor plant care is always tricky. While it's all fine and dandy to take care of them when the summer sun is shining, keeping your plants alive in winter can feel like a whole ’nother story. Being a houseplant enthusiast is akin to having several silent children, all with finicky needs and limited ways of communicating them. If your green thumb is feeling a little yellow or brown these days, fear not! I interviewed several experts to figure out exactly how to keep your plants happy during the colder months. Here’s what they had to say. First Things First: Manage Your Expectations The fact of the matter is, most plants don't look “happy” during winter. Because it's winter. Unless you have a fancy automated hydroponic garden at your disposal, your greatest tools will be patience and attentiveness. Most plants have new growth during the longer days of spring and summer and enter a period of slowness or dormancy during shorter days of autumn and winter. Brian Wheat, professor of horticulture at Trident Technical College, says, “Stop trying so hard and worrying so much” and reminds us that time and patience are crucial (and that maybe we shouldn't anthropomorphize plants). “Perhaps we forget the fact that what may look like a struggling plant today could be thriving in, let's say, three to four weeks, if we give it a chance.” He adds, “Nine times out of 10, your plants are OK and don't really need much from you. In fact, you might be doing them more bad than good by being a hummingbird plant parent (I just made that up, it's kind of like helicopter parenting, but for plants).” Tatiana Anderson, cofounder of Top Tropicals, says not to panic if growth slows or a few leaves drop. “What you want to see is steady color, firm leaves, and no major changes," she says. "A ‘happy’ winter plant often looks calm, not busy.” Water Watering is the bane of my existence, as evinced by the monstera that I accidentally drown every other month. “One of the biggest issues with house plants is overwatering, which can lead to problems like root rot," says Wheat. "This is especially challenging during the winter months,” And it can be even trickier if your plants are outside during the warmer months. Moving them indoors means moving them to an environment that's drier and cooler. “Relative humidity is usually between 30 and 50 percent inside, whereas plants generally prefer a higher humidity,” Wheat says. He points out that the soil or media will dry out faster, especially in heated homes. But that doesn't mean you need to water plants more in winter. Because they aren't growing as actively, they're doing less “plant stuff” such as transpiration and photosynthesis. That means they're using less water. Justin Hancock, Costa Farms horticulturist, says to be wary if you usually water your plants on a schedule. “If you’re used to giving them a fixed amount of water every week, you could inadvertently overwater in winter if they don’t drink that much. If you’re in doubt, it’s almost always better to let houseplants get a little too dry than to keep them consistently too wet.”