Bringing Houseplants Back Indoors for Winter

Don’t say goodbye to your beautiful tropical annuals like begonias and caladiums once the summer is over. You can keep them as houseplants through winter and continue to enjoy their beauty for many more years!

 

Many of our houseplants can benefit from much-needed sunshine and fresh air during the summer months. That said, there are also plenty of tender annual plants unable to handle the climate conditions of our Pennsylvania winters. So, once summer ends, we start bringing those plants indoors to spend the winter with the rest of our houseplant collection! To avoid damaging your houseplants, however, you should follow these necessary steps.

 

Protect Your Houseplants! Follow These Steps for Bringing Plants Indoors for Winter

If you don’t work carefully, you can stress out your outdoor plants and pose a threat to your indoor houseplants when transplanting them indoors and outdoors; this is why learning to transition plants outdoors to indoors is absolutely worth it. You can also take a look into dark indoor plants.

Don’t say goodbye to your beautiful tropical annuals like begonias and caladiums once the summer is over. You can keep them as houseplants through winter and continue to enjoy their beauty for many more years!

 

Step One: Debug Your Plants With Natural Insecticide

There are all sorts of little pests that crawl around the garden, but they have many natural predators like birds and ladybugs that can keep them under control. Indoors, however, their populations can multiply rapidly and spread through the rest of your houseplants. Especially those tiny, hard-to-spot pests like spider mites. 

Coating your houseplants with a natural insecticide will help kill the bugs without harming the good guys—bees, butterflies, dragonflies, and other beneficial insects. Plus, you won’t end up bringing a bunch of harsh chemicals indoors. We recommend using neem oil or insecticidal soap—they are entirely natural and easy to find at our garden center in Pennsylvania!

Thoroughly coat the tops and bottoms of your plant’s leaves, the stems, and the soil surface. Repeat this process every seven to fourteen days as you gradually transition your plants indoors. 

Disclaimer: If you’re looking for a long-term preventative, you can use Bonide systemic. Although this is not a natural method, it proves to be affective in the prevention of future indoor pests throughout the winter months.

Step 2: Trim Off Any Damaged Plant Material

When a houseplant contains dead, damaged, or diseased leaves, it will still spend energy trying to keep those parts alive and well. This process is a waste of energy, as it could be directing it towards new, fresh growth, or it can store that energy as it goes dormant in winter. That way, its spring growth spurt will be better than ever!

Use sanitized shears to clip off any severely discolored or visibly damaged pieces. If there are any signs of disease, sanitize your blades with isopropyl alcohol between each cut; this will prevent the disease from spreading through your other houseplants. 

 

Step 3: Transition Gradually Over Two Weeks

A drastic environmental change can stress out your plants, resulting in leaf drop, discoloration, and other issues you’d rather avoid. Get your plants’ used to their new home indoors by bringing them inside for a little longer each day! 

A simple way to do this is to bring your plant in for one hour on the first day, two on the second, and so forth. By day 14, you can leave your plants indoors for the rest of the winter with no issue. Remember to keep reapplying insecticide every few days as you bring your plants in and out! Some critters could still sneak in and make a new home in your houseplant collection.

 

Step 4: Keep Them Away from Your Houseplants at First

Even though you used insecticide, there’s still a tiny chance some bugs could be lurking in the leaves of your houseplants. Find a separate room with a door where you can quarantine your outdoor plants during your two-week transition phase and for another week or two afterward. After that, you can place your plants anywhere you’d like, provided they receive enough sunlight and are far away from vents and cold winter drafts.  

 

It’s almost time to transition your houseplants indoors for winter in Pennsylvania. Visit Primex Garden Center to pick up some natural insecticide and while you’re at it, grab a few new houseplants to perk up your space during those gray winter days!