It’s Time to Bring Plants Indoors

Bring houseplants indoors well before crisp, autumn air arrives. They need a gradual transition from the cool, moist outdoor air to the hot, dry indoor air to come.

Plants also must acclimate to lower light levels indoors. Remember, a plant sitting outdoors near the north side of the house gets more light in summer than it does in a sunny room in winter.

Some leaf loss is unavoidable when plants move indoors. In general, the greater the shock a plant experiences, the more leaves it will lose.

If houseplants are tropical in origin, they can experience chilling injury when outdoor temperatures dip below 50 degrees for a period of time.

Such plants include weeping fig, dracaena and philodendron. In contrast, subtropical houseplants such as the miniature orange tree, hibiscus and jade plant can survive at freezing or slightly below. But don’t push your luck.

Before you move plants indoors, give each a thorough inspection. You want only the plants, not insect hitchhikers. Be on the lookout for mealybugs, spider mites and aphids on leaves and stems.

Also, look under the pot for pests quickly as you lift a pot before sowbugs and earthworms crawl or slither out of sight. Earthworms are beneficial in the garden and lawn, but their churning of the soil and burrowing wreaks havoc in the confines of a pot.

Earthworms will exit any potted plant within about 15 minutes after the pot has been immersed in a basin of water made alkaline with limestone. Do not try this method, though, with gardenias, camellias and other plants that hate lime.

Either disinfest pest-ridden plants, or isolate them from other plants.

A few plants should be left outdoors as long as possible. These include clivia and Christmas cactus. Clivias need cool temperatures to give them a rest in preparation for making flower buds. Cool temperatures and short days are needed to stimulate bud growth of Christmas cactus.