Bringing outdoor plants inside for the winter

Most common houseplants are native to the tropics and can't tolerate cool temperatures. Peace lily, prayer plant, hoya, spider plant, Boston fern and African violet all need to come in well before the first frost. The time to move them is when night temperatures first drop below 50°F. Some tender perennials, such as cymbidium orchids, geraniums and fuchsias, can stay out until temperatures get close to freezing. Hardy perennials in frost-proof pots can stay outside all winter.

What you need

• A shady spot outdoors, such as a porch or the north side of the house
• A bucket of water big enough to dunk a small plant, or a damp cloth
• Cotton swabs and rubbing alcohol, or insecticidal soap
• A spot indoors with about the light each plant had outside
• A saucer under each pot

Steps

1. 1

   Sort the plants that come in from those that stay out

   Tropical houseplants come in first. Tender perennials can wait until frost is close, and hardy perennials in frost-proof pots stay out.

   10 min

2. 2

   Move the tropical plants into shade

   A week or two before you bring them in, put them in a shady spot outdoors. A sudden drop in light often causes yellowing or dropped leaves. The plant usually survives, but it looks poor for a while.

   15 min

3. 3

   Clean each plant

   Dunk the whole plant in a bucket of water if it fits, or wipe the leaves with a damp cloth to remove insects and eggs.

   10 min

4. 4

   Treat any pests you find

   Dab aphids, mites and scale with a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol, or spray the whole plant with insecticidal soap.

   10 min

5. 5

   Flush the pot

   Run water through the potting mix until it drains freely. Flushing settles air pockets where pests hide.

   5 min

6. 6

   Check the pot for slug eggs

   Look around the rim, the base and inside the drainage hole.

   2 min

7. 7

   Keep the new arrivals apart

   Set them away from your other houseplants until you're sure no pests came in with them.

   5 min

8. 8

   Check the leaves and saucers after a week inside

   Look under the leaves and in each saucer for insects. A few yellow or dropped leaves are normal after the move and seldom fatal.

   2 min

Over the winter

Each plant has its own needs for light and water. Many houseplants do well in indirect light. Sun-loving plants such as citrus trees, bananas and geraniums want as much light as you can give them, so they go in the brightest window you have.

Water each plant only when it needs it, not on a fixed schedule. How much it needs depends on the light and warmth it gets, and soil that stays damp can kill a plant quickly. Most plants grow slowly or not at all in winter, so they usually don't need fertilizer until spring.

Heated air indoors is dry. Ferns, orchids and other plants that need high humidity do better clustered together on a shelf or set on a humidity tray. Small ones can go inside a terrarium. A bathroom, where you can mist them often, also works.

When there isn't room inside

Geraniums and fuchsias can spend the winter dormant instead. Cut a geranium back hard and either repot it in a small container of fast-draining mix or pull it up and store it bare-root. Let a fuchsia dry out somewhat and drop its leaves. Then store it somewhere cool and not too bright, such as an unheated garage or a basement. In spring, move them back into bright light and start watering again.

For cannas and tuberous begonias, let the foliage die back, then dig up the tubers and store them to replant in early spring. Another option is to take cuttings and root them in a sunny window. That works well for geranium, coleus, passionflower and fuchsia, and takes much less room than the whole plant.