Four Things to Do When Moving Plants Indoors for the Winter

Now is the time to evaluate your houseplants. They help satisfy your green thumb during the fall and winter months, they break up the harsh spaces in our homes and remind us to care about something other than ourselves. Autumn is well underway and it’s time to give our houseplants the love and care they need to truly thrive this winter rather than just survive.

How to choose the best place for indoor plants

Every summer, your plants are brought outside to bask in real sunshine and warm temperatures, just like people flock to Florida beaches. Unfortunately, once the temperature drops below 55 degrees, it’s time to send the puppies back where they came from – inside. Find them a suitable location for sunlight: near a window for full direct sunlight, or slightly out of the way for indirect sun for those plants that may get sunburned.

You should also think about drafts created by windows and whether your plants can handle that cold. You want them somewhere between 65 and 85 degrees. Also consider where they are in relation to your heaters, as you don’t want them to dry out. If you don’t have a suitable window, purchase a grow light to give your plant the UV rays it needs.

Make sure plants are not infested with pests

But before those plants head inside, let’s make sure there aren’t any extra passengers near us. Check plants for signs of pests and consider using the dipping method to get rid of unwanted guests: Dip the plant upside down in a bath of water with neem oil and Castile soap until all the leaves are covered; then place the entire plant—pot and all—in the same bath until no more bubbles appear. This gives the plant good and needed moisture and the neem oil and castile soap will take care of most of the pests.

Upgrade to a larger pot if necessary.

Your plants may have grown a bit over the summer despite all that vitamin D, so maybe now is the time to move them into a bigger pot. Check the roots to make sure they are root bound . This is a sure sign that it’s time to move up. Note that if you prefer the plant to be miniature, you can trim the back roots or divide the plant, but you don’t want to keep a plant that’s too big in a space that’s too small.

Clean them and reduce your food and water intake.

If your plant has dead or diseased leaves, it’s time to cut them off with freshly cleaned scissors. You can cut off leaves that don’t meet the requirements, but you can also cut off unsightly parts of the leaves, like Monstera.

Even if your plant looks fine now, the lack of light it is currently experiencing may cause its leaves to drop, and this is completely normal. You may feel the urge to feed your plants, but low light and cold temperatures slow down your plant’s growth, so fertilizer isn’t needed until spring, nor is over-watering, so cut back on the amount of water you give. their. If you pay attention, you’ll notice that less water still results in the soil around your plant’s roots being moist, but not wet.