Warmth is a killer
Once thriving on neglect outside, a potted Angelina stonecrop brought indoors for winter is slowly dying back, while other plants in the same room seem fine.
This is my second attempt at wintering it inside. The first time, it barely survived, and in spring it took longer than the outdoor plants to come back. Meanwhile, outside, a patch of Angelina emerged as vibrantly green as in spring the moment snow melted after a sudden warm spell.
Belonging to the Wild
Native to rocky mountain areas in central and western Europe, Angelina is a sun lover and cold-hardy plant. It grows happily with full sun exposure on rocky or stony ledges, true to its name, and is not meant for indoor life. It struggles indoors in a warm room with insufficient light.
Why the Warm Room Feels Wrong?
Dormancy needs cold. Angelina enters dormancy when temperatures are below 4 °C. Warm rooms disrupts that pause.
Light intensity matters. On a clear day, the area indoors close sunniest windows give only about 1,000 lux, vs 10,000 lux outdoors. Weak indoor light leads to pale leaves, leggy stems, or dieback. Lux measures how much light falls on a given area.
Energy drain: Indoor plants spend winter energy on weak, stretched stems, leaving little reserve for spring growth.
Why Outdoor Angelina Stays Green in Winter?
It cells are built to survive the cold, and chlorophyll is protected.
Snow is a gentle blanket, but even without it, the plant stays green.
Respecting the Natural Rhythm
Plants have their own rhythm, breaking it can cause stress or slower recovery. Angelina needs cold to pause, to harden, and to store energy for spring, warm room is harmful. It needs full sun exposure to grow, we can’t fully mimic natural light indoors.
Sometimes, we need our own dormancy just like Angelina, a pause to conserve, reset, and come back stronger. Pushing too hard out of season leaves us stretched thin, slow to recover, or burned out.
Reference(s)
I love Angelia, but it's such a weed now, a tiny bit falls off and grows in hardly any soil... honestly, I'm fine with it spreading, but it's amazing where it turns up. Think a bird must have dropped a bit in our gutter, as it was growing fine in there too!