One way to beat the winter doldrums is to continue to garden – indoors. There are so many houseplants available. If you can’t find them in the nurseries, you can always order them online.

This week, I thought I’d share some indoor tips and reminders to get you growing.

Remember that most houseplants slow down during shorter days. Unless you are using an artificial source of light (grow lights or fluorescent bulbs for 16 hours daily), you must reduce the amounts of water and fertilizer you give them until spring. An excess of either in the winter months is likely to cause weak growth.

Make sure your plants are not touching your windows. You’ll want to move some plants, including cacti, jade plants, sedum and other succulents, away from the windows entirely. Just be sure they still receive light from a south- or west-facing window.

And speaking of cacti, many people are under the misconception that they grow in pure sand. Although it may not kill them, cacti do not flourish by sand alone. Planting medium should be one part sand to one part soil with a touch of crushed eggshell or lime added to the mixture.

If you’re planting amaryllis bulbs, which magically produce a dramatic display of huge velvet blooms, there should be no more than one inch of space between the bulb and the pot. If the pot is too large, the bulb may not flower. In addition, make sure to position the bulb so that at least one third is above the soil line.

Especially if you have children, you might enjoy growing grapefruit and orange seeds saved from your breakfast fruit. Plant them in well-drained, sandy soil. Avocado pits and sweet potatoes are fun to grow as well. Insert toothpicks at intervals around the middle of the pit or potato and rest the picks on the top edge of a glass or container filled with water. Watch what happens.

When choosing pots for your plants, make sure to provide adequate drainage. If your choice of pot has no drainage hole, either drill one or put pebbles on the bottom and find a liner pot – with drainage – in which to pot your plant.

Although I hate to mention Christmas in October, if your goal is to have those Christmas cacti blooming by the big day, you may want to move them to a cooler spot (between 50 and 60 degrees) and keep them in darkness for at least 13 hours a day. This will encourage the buds to form that will eventually explode into a dazzling show of color.

And if you have poinsettias left over from last year, put them in the dark at about five in the evening and bring them into the light at about eight in the morning. Keep them at 60 degrees at night and be sure to give them sufficient water and fertilizer. It may be too late to have blooms by Christmas – it can take about 11 weeks – but if you start right away, it could happen.

Remember, houseplants can actually make your house a healthier environment. And studies prove that living and working around plants can make people feel better – two good reasons for growing them in your home.