We may earn taxation from the intersection usable on this page and take part in affiliate programme . acquire More ›
wad of gardeners place their houseplant outdoors for the summertime and savour them indoors the relief of the year . So why not sample a alike strategy — and save a little money while you ’re at it — by work your favorite insensate - supply ship flora inside when the temperature drip so they ’ll be ready to shine again when summer rolls around ?
Before you bring your outside plants in for the wintertime , you ’ll demand to do a bit of cookery . lead off by inspecting them for pestis and treating , if necessary . Repot if a plant needs it , and cut down on ( or eliminate ) fertilizing . Some works can but be wreak indoors as houseplant , others should be forced into dormancy for a few month of cool storehouse , and still others are best keep going by making rooted cuttings . take on to learn about popular insensate - attendant plants that you may land inside each wintertime and then go on to enjoy outside for many summer to come .
photo: iStock
Potted Palms (Aracaceae family)
Photo : Natalia Gdovskaia via Getty Images
While some palm trees are hardy in the winter of the Deep South , most palms need help to exist winter temperatures , even only to 55 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit . It ’s possible to cover and winterize some palms embed in the priming , but potted palms should come indoors ( rather to a smart , humid maculation ) . Move palms to an indoor localisation that gets hatful of light . Water them regularly to keep the soil moist until spring , and carry them back outdoors after nights warm up back up to at least 50 or 60 degree .
Cacti (Cactaceae family)
exposure : Yurii Pidopryhora / 500px via Getty Images
Leave cacti outdoors as latterly into the season as possible so that the combination of shorter Clarence Shepard Day Jr. and cooler nights stimulates a quiescence response . You ’ll need to keep an optic on the thermometer and know the low - temperature brink for your especial eccentric of cactus . Some species may be able to withstand 20 - level temperatures , but others can not . If unsure , move potted cacti indoors as soon as temperatures devolve to about 45 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit .
block water cacti 3 to 4 weeks before the move so the plants are dry , and check them cautiously for pests like coarse-grained hemipterous insect or mites . In ecumenical , cacti do near in a cool position with minimal piss , as they go dormant . Transition them back outside in early outflow , gradually premise sunlight if the plant life show any sign of burning .
Potted Citrus Trees (Citrus species)
photograph : Busà Photography via Getty Images
Citrus Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree can actively grow and flower , and may also ripen fruit , in winter if they ’re pollinated . Even without winter growth , you may protect citrus plants during moth-eaten weather condition . As the 24-hour interval get short , move potted citrus tree ( typically , these are dwarf varieties ) to an interim outer space outdoors that gets some protection , like a porch with radiant warmth , and tailor back on watering .
Finally , move the citrus tree diagram into a brightly lit room , ideally one between 55 and 70 degree Fahrenheit , before freeze weather arrives . Citrus flora are raw to the dry out effects of aura , so it ’s best to pose them forth from heating vent and cold drafts . Provide supplemental humidity with a pebble tray or even misting .
Tropical Hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis)
Photo : Rosemary Calvert via Getty Images
Move tropical hibiscus plants indoors when nightlong temperature reach the miserable 50 . Place them in a bright lit room , and handle them like regular houseplants . reduce back on watering and fertilizing during these cooler calendar month . seek to head off heat vents and cold drawing , and put the works on a pebble tray to advance the ambient humidity , if necessary . Prune tropicalhibiscusthree time during late declivity and winter ( October , December , and February ) to maintain the plant ’s material body .
Jasmine (Jasminum species)
Photo : Izzet Keribar via Getty Images
Prune jasmine vines by at least 25 per centum before bringing them in for wintertime , rent them aline gradually by bringing them inside at night and slowly lengthen the prison term spent indoors . Be forewarned : Leaves will likely decrease off — maybe all of them — but novel ones will grow again in clock time . Bring jasmine into a sunny room before frosty weather get , and keep it away from drying air vents and drafts . expend a pebble tray to boost humidity to about 30 per centum .
Coleus (Coleus scutellarioides)
pic : iStock
flame nettle plants are grown for their sensational leaf and adaptability to shadow . The flora are yearbook in most regions , though , since they do not wish temperature below 50 degree Fahrenheit and can not come through temperatures below freezing . work the potted flora indoors once night hover near 50 degrees . Repot the plant if it is outgrowing its container . Another option is to propagate flame nettle stems to apply next spring . Cut a 6 - in intelligent bow , remove depressed leaves , and douse the stem in a rooting internal secretion before planting it in a container with moist potting mixing . Cover the container with a formative bag for a few weeks and keep it in a warm and sunny spot ; piss regularly .
Elephant Ears (Colocasia esculenta)
Elephant ears , or taro , is a tropic plant life that can survive a light-colored frost only ; a true freeze will shoot down the genus Tuber . Simply move potted elephant ears indoors to a cool promising locating . For those grown in the primer coat , carefully delve up the elephant ear tuber when cool conditions approach and the leafage die back ( they wo n’t survive wintertime outdoors in USDA Zone 6 and lower ) . Cut stems down to about 4 to 6 column inch , and gently pass over off excess dirt . Place the tuber in a warm , dark location with good line circulation to dry out out for a few days . envelop the bulbs in newspaper publisher or drop them in a paper bag and store them in a nerveless , teetotal , coloured place . Check them periodically for putrefaction ( throw rotten I away ) and insect scathe ( treat with an insecticide ) . When bringing the plant indoors , mind that well-nigh all its parts are toxic to pets and people if ingest .
Boston Fern (Nephrolepis exaltata ‘Bostoniensis’)
It is technically potential to bringBoston fernsinside the home and winter them in their active commonwealth , but it bewilder very messy very quickly . Instead , let them go to log Z’s . Put them in a cool , moderately calorie-free to dark localization that will not freeze , like an unheated basement or service department . Before bringing in your fern , hose the plant down on a warm ( 60 - degree Fahrenheit ) day to spray off louse and loose leaves . Give it a igniter trim for shape and rock and ruffle the fronds to send packing debris before convey the flora to its indoor spot . wash the soil only when ironical until spring . Do n’t be alert if some get out pale or drop .
Geranium (Pelargonium hybrids)
Geranium is another works that like to sleep the wintertime off . dig up the plants out of the ground before the first freezing , and mildly knock the grease off the root . Allow the plant life to dry in a cool , shady localization for a yoke of days . Place the works upside down in a paper pocketbook and shut the top . Store them in a cool , glowering location that abide between 55 and 60 degrees . About 2 months before the last hoarfrost day of the month , trim the storedgeraniumsand plant them in moist potting soil with two leaf nodes below the ground melodic line . You also can propagate cuttings or bring potted geraniums indoors to a gay window .
Culinary Thyme (Thymus vulgaris)
Thyme is a flavoursome and aromatic perennial herbaceous plant , but a pinnace one in region 5 or lower . Plant culinary thyme in a container in spring , keeping it in a cheery , bright placement with well - draining soil . Bring it indoors for wintertime before the first frost . If the herb ’s ascendent are glint though the bottom of the pot or it looks crowded , repot the thyme when you bring it in . It also can be divided easily . Be trusted to place the container near a cheery windowpane with a western or southern vulnerability in a elbow room that stays between 60 and 70 grade Fahrenheit for most of the day . Prune or pinch off flowers to preserve the herb ’s flavor . pee as needed , letting the container dry out between watering . you may fecundate every week or two with a dilute resolution of Pisces emulsion or fluid seaweed . harvesting sprigs as need for winter dishful .
Banana (Musaceae family)
AlthoughMusa basjoo , Musella lasiocarpa , and a few other banana tree are quite cold-blooded hardy , most will not tolerate elongated freezing temperatures . Pottedbanana plantscan be brought indoors to a bright , sunny room to spend the wintertime in a slowed participating nation . They can take up some space indoors , so you also can aid them log Z’s through winter . As the weather cools , bit by bit reduce watering . Then , before the freezing , make out the plant to 6 in in height and move it to a saturnine , nerveless locating . Keep the soil barely moist until the weather warms in the spring .
Cordyline (Cordyline fruticosa)
The stunning evergreen cordyline is hardy only to the warm growing zones , but potted cordylines can move indoors as before long as temperatures souse into the sixty . Place them in a spot with good ventilation and consistent indoor temperature ; avoid lay them near atmosphere vents or draughty areas . Increase humidity around cordyline by situating it in a humid elbow room or on a dish take with pebbles and water , and avoid fluoride - treated tap water . Although the plant does not need quiescence in wintertime , it does like a rest , so geld water supply some during fall and winter .
Our Best Advice for Beginner Gardeners
We ’ll aid you set up your first garden — whether that ’s a few pots on your terrace , a raised seam , or an in - ground plot of ground out back — and select the correct plant for your grime and realm .
