Time to move houseplants back inside

Many of us take our houseplants outside for the summer. Your plants benefit from being outside in the fresh air and natural light. Now we’re into September. The nighttime temperatures are dropping into the fifties, a sign it’s time to bring our houseplants back indoors.  There are two steps to help make the move back inside more successful. Step One: check for insects and disease. Being outside puts your plants at a higher risk for insect and disease problems, so the first thing to do is to look your plants over carefully. Many problems will be obvious right away; others won’t.  Sticky leaves and stems could mean mealy bug or scale. White powder on leaves could be powdery mildew. Discolored leaves could be from too much direct sunlight or watering issues. Spidery webbing could be spider mites. It’s easier to deal with these problems now before you bring your plants inside. If you’re not sure what the problem is, bring us a sample leaf. We determine the problem and recommend a solution.  Start by simply washing your plants off with a gentle spray of water from the hose. This will get rid of a lot the insects and will help clean up the plant leaves.

 Let the plant dry and then spray with Safer 3-in-1. Safer 3-in-1 is organic and contains an insecticidal soap to control insects and mites, as well as sulfur, to get rid of any disease issues.  Once your plants are clean, you’re ready for Step Two; the process of preparing your plants to transition back indoors. It’s important to take your time moving the plants inside. Try to avoid bringing your plants in at the last minute, just before a frost warning.  Over the course of the next four or five days, move your plants to increasingly shadier locations. This will help them adjust to the lower light levels indoors. Ater the fifth day in the shade, move them indoors. Your plants may still drop some leaves when they get inside, but the transplant shock will be less if you take time to acclimate them to lower light levels. Wait to feed your plants until they’ve been inside for a couple of weeks. Then, use a houseplant fertilizer such as Shultz 10-15-10. 

Another trick is to supplement your regular fertilizer program with Super Thrive every two weeks. Super Thrive will help your plant by providing additional vitamins to your plant. Doing these things now will prepare your houseplants make the move from outside to inside with less stress and ready for the season ahead.