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Make sure the houseplants are disease and pest free before moving in. (Four Seasons Greenhouse and Nursery)
The weather is finally starting to cool down, and you may be thinking about bringing your houseplants back inside for the winter. It’s a great way to continue enjoying them, but there are some steps you need to take to ensure success.
Most indoor plants are tropical in nature, so they will not survive cold temperatures and harsh winter conditions if they are kept outdoors. Move them indoors near a brightly lit window, in a sunroom, or any other place where they get enough light. Adding grow lights or giving your windows a good cleaning can help if your home is too dimly lit.
Decide if you want to keep it in the same pot or if you want to replant it for the winter. If you don’t want to repot the plants, scraping off the top inch or two of soil from the top of the pot and replacing it with fresh soil will go a long way in removing the eggs that have been planted in it. It was outdoors.
Making sure they are disease and pest free before you bring them in will ensure that you don’t have an infestation and that your other houseplants stay healthy. Once inside, inspect the plant for any pests the rotation may encounter. Sometimes you don’t see that much when you’re outdoors, but once you get into a nice warm environment, eggs hatch and people explode.
After nighttime temperatures begin to dip into the low 50s or high 40s, start growing them by bringing them indoors at night but outside each morning. This allows your plant to gradually adapt to changes in sunlight, humidity, etc. Gradually increase the time at home for several weeks until you get it full time. You may experience some leaf drop, but this is normal as your plant adapts to changing conditions.
Keep the water light after they become full-time indoors because they don’t need as much water as they did when they were outdoors, the amount of light is reduced, and they aren’t exposed to our windy weather. However, if you run a wood stove as your heating source with no other moisture content, they may still need regular watering. The best gardening tool you have is your finger – stick it into the soil to test for moisture. Remember that plants are not like people – they are not like wet feet in winter!
As a general care, remove dead or wilted leaves or flowers to keep plants clean and tidy. You want to continue fertilizing during the winter, but use a third or half strength solution and apply it only once a month. They are basically in a semi-dormant state so they don’t need much.
Taking the time to acclimate and move houseplants for the winter is well worth the effort. Nothing reminds me that spring is coming again like a bright and cheerful flowering houseplant in the middle of winter on the windowsill or on my table.
Gail Vanik can be reached at 970-565-8274 or by email at fourseasons@animas.net.
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