Time to Bring in the Houseplants

It is time to bring in your houseplants from their summer vacation outdoors.  This includes any tender plants that you plan to overwinter inside.  Many of our houseplants and tender perennials are from the tropics and get stressed when nighttime temperatures dip lower than 50°.  I used to scramble the night of the first killing frost to bring these plants inside.  It was stressful both for me and my plants. 

I now start moving houseplants and tender perennials to shadier spots in the garden around the beginning to mid-September.  This gives them time to acclimate to the lower light conditions in our homes.   ​

Then I start a process of cleaning to avoid bringing any pests into the house.  They all get a good spray with the hose to get rid of as many bugs as possible and the final step is a dose of insecticidal soap.  I then isolate them in the garage for about a week for one final bug inspection before reintroducing them into the house. 

With the reduced light many of our houseplants will go into a natural dormant stage and require a reduced amount of water.   Don’t be too concerned if they drop a few leaves as they become dormant.  However, yellow foliage is often a sign of too much water. 
 
Good hygiene is necessary for the health of your indoor garden.  According to an article by Daryl Beyers  titled “Houseplant Checkup”  clip any yellow or shabby foliage, it not only looks better but reduces the chance of diseases.  He also writes that “...if you find any white fuzz that suggests mealy bugs, tiny brown ‘helmets’  on stems indicates scale and webs and red dots are signs of spider mites.  Dab away mealybugs with rubbing alcohol-soaked cotton swabs, cut off stems infested with scale, and give plants with spider mites a cold shower.”  Keep your plants well dusted so their pores (stomata) do not get clogged. 
 
Overall houseplants are better off conserving their resources in the winter months.  Too much growth can weaken a plant over the long term.  Reduce or eliminate fertilizer during the fall and winter months.  Let them take the rest they need over the winter.