When the days grow shorter and nighttime temperatures start to dip, it’s time to begin the annual ritual of preparing houseplants for the end of their summer vacation.
As simple as this task sounds, it’s not as easy as picking up your potted fern and moving it from the backyard to your living room. Remember that the outdoor environment of a sunny summer is very different compared to the heated indoor environment of winter.
Here are a few tips to consider before moving plants indoors for winter that will help them survive the move, stay healthy, and enhance your enjoyment of them all year long:
When to Make the Move
Because the climate varies widely across the country, the time to bring plants indoors in the fall also varies. As a general rule, a good time to make the move is when temperatures regularly dip below 60 degrees F.
Prepare the Plants
The first thing to do is to thoroughly check the outside of the pot. Look for signs of moss or mold on the pots and unwanted pests. Scrub the exterior of dirty pots with a vinegar solution and then hose it off. Next, fill with fresh potting mix and/or repot your plant if it has outgrown its humble abode. Several days before bringing the plant indoors, spray the foliage with an insecticidal soap, which are safe for you, your children, and your pets.
Prepare the Indoor Area
Before moving day, decide where your plants are going to live. Plants that require full sun prefer to live near south-facing windows and plants that only need partial sun prefer an east- or west-facing window. Consider using indoor plant lights if you’re faced with less-than-ideal locations for houseplants.
If you don’t have a humidifier, plan on misting the plants once a day. When possible, put them on humidity trays. These are trays filled with pebbles to which you add water to just below the top of the pebbles. The water evaporates and humidifies the plants. Signs that a plant could use more humidity are dry leaf tips and leaf drop—although some leaf loss is normal after a plant is moved indoors.
Avoid Transplant Shock
The light in many homes is significantly less than your plants will have experienced outdoors. Try to move your plants to the lower light levels of your home in stages to reduce transplant shock. Transplant shock typically shows up as yellowing or dropped leaves. However, as the plant adjusts to the indoor light, it will generally replace the leaves it dropped.
Pots won’t dry out as fast indoors as they did in the summer heat, and plants will grow more slowly indoors than they did under strong light conditions. Therefore, they don’t need as much water in the house as they did in the backyard. Water them only when the top one or two inches of soil has dried out, and when you do, give them a moderate amount of water.
Once your plants have been fully acclimated indoors, lightly spray H-G Plant-Food on plant foliage and soil media every 7-14 days. With H-G Plant Food, your plants will be healthier, less stressed, and demonstrate increased yield, mass, and flowering over the winter months.
If all goes well, you can begin the move back outdoors after danger of frost has passed in the spring!
Read more: How Not to Kill Your Houseplants