Most houseplants are from tropical locales the place chilly temperatures are uncommon and temperatures common 72°F. Though they do effectively in our yards through the summer season, they may must be moved inside earlier than temperatures attain the 40’s to 50’s at evening.
Ideally, in case your crops are in solar or half solar outdoors, corresponding to Bougainvillea or Tropical Hibiscus, they might profit from being moved to gentle shade for per week or so earlier than transitioning them to the indoors. This can lower down on the stress that causes their leaves to yellow and drop when circumstances change quickly. However, if you’re like me, the chilly climate sneaks up on us and that transitioning is just not potential. Leaves will drop, however with correct placement and care, new leaves will type, and the plant will recuperate.
*Don’t find your crops beneath a warmth vent, as this can dry out the foliage and stress the plant.
Lighting: Attempt to find the plant in one of the best gentle in keeping with their wants. Crops that require excessive gentle ought to do effectively in a south-facing window. East and west-facing home windows are additionally vivid, however the north-facing home windows are finest for crops that don’t require excessive gentle circumstances. Plant lights might also be utilized to supply the wanted gentle and needs to be set on a timer for 16 hours a day.
Watering: Your houseplants would require much less frequent watering after being introduced indoors, because the temperatures indoors will probably be extra reasonable. Whenever you do water, make sure you water THOROUGHLY. Watch our VIDEO on the way to correctly water houseplants HERE.
Verify for Pests: It’s a lot simpler to deal with for pests whereas the crops are nonetheless outdoors. Verify the tops and bottoms of leaves, the stems and leaf axils (the place the leaf attaches to the stem) for indicators of pests. Most soft-bodied pests could also be handled with a Spinosad cleaning soap spray, masking the plant totally. Don’t overlook to test the soil for Fireplace Ants, which typically transfer to pots for extra moisture. A radical drench of Spinosad will rid the pot of ants.
Repot: If a plant has misplaced soil within the prime of the pot, it’s okay so as to add it back-just ensure to not add any soil above the unique soil line. In the event you do add an excessive amount of soil, it would rot the stems.
If a plant is clearly rootbound, it’s best to repot it outdoors earlier than bringing it in for the winter. Don’t “overpot”. Make the leap in pot dimension not more than 6” bigger. Watch our repotting VIDEO HERE.
Pruning: Take away lifeless leaves and branches earlier than bringing the plant inside. If the plant is just too giant to deliver inside, as in a big Bougainvillea, it’s alright to prune it again to an affordable dimension. Simply do not forget that with much less leaves it would require much less frequent watering.
Fertilizing: It isn’t essential to fertilize houseplants within the winter. We fertilize through the rising season which is usually from March to October.
Humidity: Crops which require excessive humidity could also be positioned on a shallow tray stuffed with pebbles and water. The underside of the pots needs to be ABOVE the water. Because the water evaporates it would elevate the humidity across the plant. Maidenhair ferns will particularly profit from this. Remember that warmth vents blowing on crops will dry them out.
Some tropical crops corresponding to Bougainvillea could also be overwintered in a storage that won’t freeze. They could be pruned to accommodate the area, and watering will probably be on an as-needed foundation. The cooler it’s, the much less typically you’ll water. In a light winter, I’ll deliver my citrus and bougainvillea contained in the storage for a tough freeze, or simply cowl with frost material for a lightweight freeze or frost. When the freeze is over, I transfer them again out or uncover them. They do fairly effectively this manner in delicate winters if you’ll be able to transfer them simply. That is one motive why we advocate planting them in a plastic nursery pot and setting it down into the ornamental pot. It’s MUCH simpler to maneuver crops within the lighter pots!
Tropical Hibiscus is delicate to temperatures within the 50’s, so transferring it to a hotter location for the winter is really helpful.
Candy Potato Vines will go dormant at 40°F and could also be overwintered of their pots within the storage. Convey them out within the spring and start watering when temperatures are heat once more.
