Daytime temperatures may still be warm, but watch those night temperatures. If the forecast shows temps below 55 degrees, that means it’s time to bring in those houseplants that have enjoyed a summer outdoors. Tropical plant migration is an early fall activity, but if you missed that deadline, don’t wait any further! Mark your calendars for next year as a reminder; otherwise, it may be a repeat of grabbing plants and rushing them indoors before nightfall and frost.
Note: Learn more about how to care for and store your pots for winter.
The First Rule of Plant Migration: Choose What Stays
Decide who gets a precious spot inside for the winter. There are only so many windows to go ’round, right? Here are some guidelines to help you decide:
- Don’t waste time on plants that are inexpensive and grow quickly. Coleus, for example, is a relatively inexpensive plant that grows large in one season. Consider that an annual and purchase it again in the spring.
- Some outdoor plants like Kimberly Queen ferns aren’t cheap, but they grow slowly. If they’re already large, you may want to go through the trouble of moving them into the garage or shed for the winter. If they’re not yet large, it may be a good strategy to simply buy them again in the spring.
- Unhealthy plants aren’t going to perform any better indoors, so rule those out. Don’t be sentimental about your choices. Cull now to save yourself the trouble in January.
How to Move Houseplants Indoors
Cleaning Up: Before anything get moved, a good shower, a soak or some neem oil may be necessary. A summer spent outdoors means exposure to aphids, spider mites, mealybugs, ants, etc. Clean up the plants first by pruning off dead leaves, washing down pots, showering the plants and handpicking bugs. You can even submerge the pot underwater (using a bucket or big garbage bag) in an effort to remove soil infestations of critters. Neem oil has an extra benefit of giving the leaves a glossy shine.
Repot? The best time to repot is in spring at the beginning of active growth. The plant migration itself causes stress and repotting compounds that. And even though the chances are good that your houseplant grew during the summer and may have “tight shoes,” that’s okay so long as roots aren’t coming out of the bottom of the pot, or there’s no odor (due to poor drainage). It isn’t optimal to transplant now, but if necessary go ahead. If you need to repot a plant, here’s how to do it properly.
Fertilize: Not now. Your houseplants do need fertilizer when they’re actively growing or flowering since they’re in a controlled environment, but hold off during dormancy (fall/winter.)
Water: Consistency is critical. You will water less initially and more once the heat comes on, but most importantly is to have a consistent schedule. Do not allow water to stand in the plant tray after watering or as a technique to keep plants hydrated.
Tip: When buying houseplants, don’t transplant them, but leave them in their nursery pots. Instead, drop them into decorative cachepots that have no drainage. Take the nursery pot to the kitchen sink or in the bathtub to water and leave, allowing to drain for 24 hours. Use round cork boards under cachepots to safeguard the furniture. (A cachepot is a French word for a planter, but we use it to describe planters that remain indoors.)
Rule of Thumb: Limp leaves = too much water. Yellow leaves = too little water.
Light: Going from the bright light of outdoors to the lesser light of indoors, can be challenging. Slowly allowing plants to get used to less light is optimal. Try to avoid grabbing the houseplant and putting it in its indoor spot. Move it every couple of weeks, diminishing its light with each move. (Tedious, yes, but good for your plant babies.)
Cold Nights:As you’re transitioning your plants, be sure to protect from nights that reach below 55 degrees. The plant may live in those temperatures, but it does stress the plant. Bringing it indoors is already stressful to the plant, so be sure to keep an eye on the weather.
Pruning: As with our landscape plants, now is not the time to prune, but if it’s necessary (plants have truly outgrown their pots, etc.), when you do prune, do not remove more than a third of the plant’s size. It’s always best to wait until spring when plants are actively growing to prune and root prune your plants.
How to Protect Tender Perennials and Tropicals
These are the plants that aren’t houseplants, but you just can’t bear to part with them. If that’s the case, it doesn’t hurt to do what Cinthia in our landscape division does:
I have space under the house just barely big enough to stand up in. My cordylines, bougainvilleas, bromeliads, and a whole host of others spend their winter hibernating there. I rarely water (maybe once a month), but do add a grow light that hangs over them for the season. The temperature stays around 50 degrees, and over the years, many have lived through the winter, but many have died. It’s trial and error, for sure. In February, I start watering a little more regularly (two times a month), and by mid-March, I have brought them into the garage where the temperature is cool, but warmer than under the house. By the first of April, they’re back in my garden, though many have spent a few nights in my kitchen if we have a spring frost. I don’t stress over these plants. If they make it they make it.
You might try this as well… A closed-off bedroom that gets dim light also works, just make sure the heat vent is shut off, and plants are getting filtered light, not bright or direct sunlight. Water, but don’t drench the plants until February when you start removing them from their winter spot.
Good luck and reach out to the staff here at B.B. Barns if you have any questions or need any advice!
