Managing Dormancy in Winter
Northern hemisphere winters are hard on tropical houseplants. Reduced light, dry heating air, and temperature swings between day and night stress plants that evolved in stable equatorial conditions. The right response is to reduce intervention, not increase it.
Most indoor tropicals should be watered 40-60% less frequently in winter. The soil takes longer to dry out due to lower light and reduced transpiration. Fertilising should stop entirely from November through February — plants aren't growing, so nutrients accumulate as salt in the soil.
The exception is anything that genuinely goes dormant: corms (caladiums, elephant ears), some bulbs, and deciduous tropical trees like the desert rose. These need to be dried out almost completely and kept cool (10-15°C if possible) until spring. Fighting dormancy by watering through it usually causes rot.
BudBloom's winter mode cuts watering reminders by 50% automatically from December 1, and adds a note to reduce fertiliser. You can override per-plant if you live somewhere sunny year-round.