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Plant shelf over a radiator.

For some reasons, radiators and windows always seem to go together… and that is most  inconvenient for your houseplants. Winter is when most plants need the brightest light possible and that is usually right in front of a windowl And when the heat is on, the hot, dry air from the radiator parches the poor plants sitting on the narrow window ledge just above.

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Wall brackets make it easy to install a plant shelf.

Fortunately, there’s a simple solution: install a wider shelf at the base of the window. Not only does it give you more surface space on which to grow plants, but it also directs heat toward the center of the room, which is where you want it anyway.

There are dozens of ways of installing a plant shelf, but the easiest is probably just to fix brackets to the wall and install a plank over top as in the illustration to the right.

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Take it one step further and add a humidity tray! Credit: Gro-Pro Humidity Tray.

Because warm air rising in front of the shelf can still dry out your plants, you can go one step further and equip the shelf with a humidity tray. That way your plants will have bright light, great humidity, and still get a bit of warmth from the radiator.20161123A.jpg

Garden writer and blogger, author of 65 gardening books, lecturer and communicator, the Laidback Gardener, Larry Hodgson, passed away in October 2022. Known for his great generosity, his thoroughness and his sense of humor, he reached several generations of amateur and professional gardeners over his 40-year career. Thanks to his son, Mathieu Hodgson, and a team of contributors, laidbackgardener.blog will continue its mission of demystifying gardening and making it more accessible to all.

1 comment on “Growing Houseplants Over a Radiator

  1. Pingback: Keep Plants Away From Heat Sources – Laidback Gardener

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