MANITOU SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — Cold floors in historic buildings can be deadly for indoor plants, and one Manitou Springs florist has learned this lesson the hard way.
Jen Barrow, owner of Flowers and the Moon, discovered her building's unique challenge when many of her plants started mysteriously dying during her first winter in business.
"When all of our marantas and calais that were low curled up, I was like, what is happening? Why are they all dying?" Barrow said.
The culprit wasn't just Colorado's harsh winter weather – it was the building itself. Constructed in 1892, the structure has an unusual design feature that creates problems for plant care.
"The back of my shop is actually cantilevered out over the river, so all of the cold air that's coming in right now comes up into the back of my shop," Barrow said.
On cooler days, cold air sneaks up through the floorboards, targeting indoor plants sitting at ground level. Plants like tropical plants are particularly vulnerable to this floor-level freeze.
"They'll start curling up and the cold air can do some really, really big damage to the plants if they stay on the floor on days like today," Barrow said. "They don't do well in our Colorado winters when they're sitting on the floor, so they have to go up a little bit because heat rises. So we raise the plants too."
Moving plants higher doesn't solve every problem. Barrow's large philodendron, nicknamed Audrey, must stay in one specific location due to space constraints.
"What that means though is this time of year we have two heating vents that completely and totally blast her. So unfortunately she gets nicely burned," Barrow said.
The cold air does provide one unexpected benefit. Instead of running expensive cooling equipment, Barrow uses the natural cold air from the creek beneath her building as a cooler for her floral arrangements nine months out of the year.
But another potential problem for Barrow can come from the windows which don't have a lot of isolation. And, she tells News5 that windows with single layers of paint can also have the same effect.
She says it is best to always move the plants around.
"“We're rotating them from down low up high, but also we're rotating them into the light as well. Everybody has to have their day in the sun," said Barrow.
Even on snow days, Barrow makes special trips to check on her plants and ensure they're positioned safely away from the cold floors.
"Photosynthesis is real," Barrow said.
For anyone with indoor plants in historic buildings, Barrow's experience serves as a reminder to consider how old construction features might affect plant health during winter months.
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