If any of your houseplants have spent the summer outdoors, now is the time to bring them back inside. Once night time temps get down to the upper 40s you are risking damage to more sensitive tropical plants. Before you do, here are a few tips to read before you get started that can help save you headaches down the road and get your plants in tip-top shape.
Bug check plant leaves, especially undersides and stems too. Many insects can be removed with water spray. If you still see insects, wipe away and spray the plant with an insecticide such as Insecticidal Soap or Eight. Be sure to isolate these plants from others for about six weeks to ensure you won’t be infecting healthy plants.
Trim off any dead or damaged leaves.
Clean the outside of the pots for a clean start indoors. Scrub away any moss or dirt on the pots and remove any visible insects.
Dunk em! Lots of critters can hide in the soil – slugs, ants, earwigs, ick! Soak the entire pot and plant in water or remove the plant and soak the rootball in water for 10-15 min. This should force most bugs out of the soil as they look for air.
Repot . If you found a lot of insects you may want to repot. Repotting is also a great idea if your pot is filled with mostly roots and not much soil. To repot in the existing pot, remove ask much soil as you can, scrub interior of pot and repot with fresh soil. Select a pot just an 1-2″ larger than the previous pot if you are moving your plant to a larger pot. Many new pots have arrived in 8″ and smaller indoor plant size. For larger plants, all other pottery and containers are also 30-50% off making now a great time to move your plant up a size if it is needed.
Apply systemic insecticide and bring indoors. Keep an eye on these plants in the coming weeks for sign of insects and treat as needed. Have a questions? Stop in or Ask the Experts.