bringing outdoor plants back in

Posted by Megan Nichols on Sep 7th 2020

There are still many beautiful days to enjoy as we move into fall, but cooler temps have arrived. If your indoor plants have been enjoying summer outside, now is the time to think about bringing them back in.

Here’s what you need to know.

  • Before you haul plants indoors, make sure they’re safe for the pets and kiddos in your life. (Check out our blog post on pet friendly plants).
  • Begin reducing the amount of light plants receive each day for 5 days to a week before bringing them indoors. No matter how bright the room, they never receive as much light indoors as out, and they will do much better if gradually acclimated to lower light.
  • If you feel your plant needs to be re-potted go up only one container size, two at most. We recommend washing all soil from the roots to wash away unwanted visitors that might be hiding. Then re-pot with fresh potting soil.
  • Wash and wipe. Hose down the plant first, especially if it has small leaves. Next wipe larger leaves with a damp cloth. To clean cactus and succulents, use an air duster or a small paintbrush. Finally, clean off dust and grime from the exterior of the pot.
  • Treat for pests. Do this especially if you don’t re-pot your plants. Outdoor plants can become home to ants, pill bugs, or other unwanted creepy crawlies. Spray the soil and the plant (leaves, stems, etc.) with insecticidal soap, Captain Jack’s, or Eight a week or so before you invite your plants back inside. Or, if they need to come in now, just spray and park them in the basement shower or laundry room.
  • Style your plants. We recommend growing plants in plastic liners for ease of watering and pest control, then just drop the liner into a decorative container. Be sure there is drainage and remember to reinforce the inside of your container with a plastic saucer to protect your furniture. Curate a collection. Hang, group, combine, mix and match and/or display at different heights.
  • Change the fertilizer schedule. Go for half strength and feed less often. Our favorite is Schultz Plant Food Plus. It’s a liquid fertilizer that is easy to measure and plants absolutely love.
  • Foliage for the win. Easy care plants for indoors are generally the varieties prized for their foliage and that can handle lower light conditions. Basic light classifications are low, medium, and bright. If you’ve used fiddle leaf figs, crotons, pothos, philodendron, sansevieria, ivy, spider plant, monstera, or just about any other variety of plant prized for its leaves in your outdoor containers, re-pot and invite them to stay indoors for a while as a houseplant.
  • For us cold-climate dwellers it can come as a surprise that succulents and cactus can handle a little chill. After all, it does freeze in the desert! These plants can stay outside a little longer to take full advantage of the sunlight. But, be sure to bring them in before they become popsicles, though.

Flowering plants are more challenging. Most require a lot of light, so a sunny window is best.

The ideal temperature for most indoor plants is approximately 50 degrees at night and 65 degrees during the day. Don’t be tempted to jack up the heat just for the plants, though, as warmer air temperatures can lead to leggy growth and insect problems. They don’t like it dry, either, so place a bowl of water among the plants to increase humidity.

If you want to try keeping citrus as a houseplant and maybe even coax a few blooms (success is generally a cross between the right conditions and sheer luck), follow these instructions:

Give them a lot of light and a bit of room, as they can grow quite large. Plan for this in advance. Once you find the right light conditions you don’t want to have to relocate due to too tight a space. Given the right conditions– usually a south-facing window with good airflow, and if necessary, supplementing sun with a grow light during dark winter months– citrus will bloom in fall or early winter (and give off an intoxicatingly delicious scent) and set fruit in winter or early spring. It’s a fun process, but oh-so-slow, so be patient.

Good to Know

Growth and blooms on overwintered tropicals will appear later next spring than a grab-and-go container from the garden center.

Water carefully. Often our heated homes become quite dry, which can cause plants to lose moisture quickly. However, plants aren’t actively growing during the winter months so they don’t require as much water as they do in summer. Test the soil using the tip of your finger. If the top inch is dry go ahead and water. Practice makes perfect.

Watch for pests. Mealy bug, scale, aphids, and others all show up at the strangest times – like January (how do they do that?). Treat with insecticidal soap or neem oil. Read the directions.

Feeling bad about “failure” is not allowed, this isn’t Florida. If a plant fails, it’s not the end, it’s just the beginning of a trip to Tonkadale for new indoor plants.