What do you do to bring your plants in for winter?

Ok, its almost that time when we have to start lugging our houseplants inside. What do you do to clean them up before you bring them in? I just repotted alot this spring...and was going to change the soil in them before I brought them in so I wouldn't bring in bugs...but since I just repotted with new soil, I was hoping there was a better way. Anyone have any tips or techniques for winterizing plants?

Thanks!

Kristie

My plan *was* to thoroughly spray them with a Neem oil solution, soil and all, as I had read that Neem oil is also suitable as a soil drench.
But, I couldn't /can't find Neem oil locally.

So, I'll do as I've been doing, and spray thoroughly with insecticidal soap....I also drench the soil around the rim of the pots with insecticidal soap (I use one of those large pressure sprayers and buy the insecticidal soap in the large jug of concentrate)..then I let them sit for a day or two and bring them in.
Granted, a few bugs still come indoors, but no where near as many as without the spraying/drenching.

I brought a few plants in early this year, but no where near all of them.
Needless to say, I didn't get the others sprayed yet, either, as I was planning to do that this weekend.
There is freeze/frost warning tonight, so they'll all go into the garage where at least they won't freeze, and I'll do my spraying in there.

Never fails, my good intentions of bringing them in early just never 'pan out'!!

One way to keep soil pests out of soil is to add a half inch layer of clean sand on top of the soil in the pots. It definitely works with fungus gnats.

All of our indoor/outdoor plants go into quarantine next to a window in the garage for a few weeks so any pests aren't spread to the rest of indoor plants. Even so, I usually end up battling whiteflies or spidermites at some point during the winter.

Janel

What I do is put mine in the garage and spray withRaid House and garden said it won't harm the plants and so far its been ok I also use it in the house for gnat's I do still see 1 or 2
Kim

Well, down here I don't have to move much inside at all, and if we do have frost predicted I just cover everything out on my deck and my front porch with old sheets, blankets or such! If we have a rare hard freeze predicted I do move some of my more tender houseplants inside ... but usually most things can stay out year round. Oh, except orchids ... when temps get to @ 50 degrees they all go into one of the bathrooms for awhile! I have way too many plants to have them all inside, so I guess I better be glad I live where we don't get long extended periods of cold weather! Still, my dream would be to have a house with a very large room that could just be my indoor garden where plants could live all year round.

My mother swears by the watering-with-soapy-water trick before potted plants come inside. She just uses Ivory dishsoap and waters 2 or 3 times, flushing the soil well. I have about 30+ houseplants outdoors right now, but I will keep them out a few more weeks because I think that once the cooler weather sets in, most of the bugs are dead or dying anyway. My main issue is spiders, so I think I will let them stay out in the cooler temps a little longer, water with the soapy water, and give everyone a good spraying with the insecticidal soap.

Now if it were only so easy to figure out where I am going to put them all!!!

Great idea Bhavana34!! I had a problem with thrips on my huge Gardenia bushes in my yard and asked a nursery guy one time what he recommended as I really hate using toxic chemicals. He said the best thing is soapy water from washing dishes, to just take your dishpan with soapy leftover dishwater and pour it on plants that it would kill most bugs. Of course in this day and age, with dishwashers, most don't have the old time dish pans in the sink to do dishes! I have just mixed up dish soap with water in a spray bottle and use it!

Lin....that's a good idea, too (as long as the dishwater isn't too 'yucky', lol....but be careful if you use the newer dish soaps with antibacterial agents, as many plants are very sensitive to those ingredients!

The best dish soaps to use are Ivory (as Bhavana 34 stated her mom uses) and Dove. I have done this in the past, too, to kill off fungus gnat larvae, Bhavana....it does work!

This message was edited Sep 17, 2007 11:00 AM

Thanks Nan .... I have used Dove dish liquid for years but did switch and tried another brand with the antibacterial agents in it! Whew! I'm glad you told me that before I decided to drench any plants with dish soap! I never even thought about it and it's really good to know!

ooooh - it works for those dang fungus gnats too? That is awesome!

It did for me!

A few years back, I had a few plants that had them really bad.....the gnats were annoying enough, but the larvae were really wreaking havoc with some plants.

What I did was water the plants with the soapy solution, and let the plant sit in the saucer of soapy water for a few hours (I know that's not usually recommended, but I was desperate to get rid of them, and the plants would have died anyway, so I gave it a shot).

Granted, it was rather gross and disgusting, as the larvae were eventually floating in the saucer of soapy water....but they were *dead* larvae...the best kind:)

I suppose there may be some plants that whose roots would be overly sensitive to that...but it worked for those I used it on....sorry I can't recall which ones they were.

Wow, you sure have been busy! Such great ideas....I had read somewhere to submerse the pots in water up to almost the rim if you could...seems to me all the dirt would float out if you did that....any thoughts on that?

How often do you guys change the soil in your pots? Every year....every couple of years....?

Thanks for all the suggestions, guys!

Kristie

I have been soaking the pots in very warm/hot water for a few minutes.
This removes the oxygen from the soil thus bugs will come to the surface or out any holes. I do not like to use insecticides. But a good spray ( like insecticidal soap ) would be to use a cap full of murphys oil soap in a quart of water and spray away!! You must use SOAP not detergent because soap has fatty acids which kill the bugs by smothering them.
You can use also dog shampoo if it has pyrethrums (the oil from chrysthanthemums) in it as it also will kill many insects and is natural.

Murphy's oil soap! Cool! That's what I was looking for...I didn't want to use any chemicals or anything....you say you soak them? Do you mean submerge or just douse them really well? Thanks so much for then tip!

Kristie

I know this will get a good laugh, but it works. I flush all the housplants with warm soapy water, and dry the pots. Then I slip old panty hose under the pots and pull the hose up a few inches. I do this when I set the houseplants out in the spring, and it really does keep the bugs from tunnelling in through the drainage holes. Another good deal from the panty hose, they provide a little extra insulation on cold nights. Cut the legs out for small pots, and use the tummy part for bigger planters. Yes, I know, I did try to color co-ordinate the hose, but ended up with mostly black hose. Oh well, at least the pots will look well dressed and in season.

lol....that's actually a pretty good idea! I may try that next spring. Thanks for the advice!

Kristie

Hello everyone :) I live in Ohio (just moved from Florida) and I was wondering when everyone usually brings houseplants inside ? In Florida I never brought anything in..I would cover it as frost only happens a few times down there.
I also never even thought about bugs in the pots ! Geez..I better get washing !

Thanks a lot :)

Hi Green-in-Ohio....I'm not sure what zone you're in, but I'm in zone 5b and this is around the time we start bringing plants in....I've slowly started to bring in a few at a time. The weather has been much hotter than normal this time of year here. Generally, I watch the weather to see what the weeks ahead are going to look like. If it looks like we're taking a cold plunge I'll start bringing them in. But, I'm new at this, so who knows! Welcome to the midwest!

Kristie

Hey i really like the panty hose idea!! I will definately use it this spring!!

I'm a real newbie so some of the "jargon" here is a bit confusing. What do you mean by "flushing the plant"? Do you take the plant out of the pot, wash the soil off right down to the roots, wash the pot, then put it all back in with new soil? Gosh, I hope not cuz it sounds like a lot of work!

I like the panty hose idea, too. Makes a lot of sense! I just obtained a coffea arabica from a commercial giveaway at my office building today and from what I've read here and elsewhere on the internet, all suggest putting it outside for the summer (I'm in Toronto, Canada). That tip will come in handy then!

Thanks guys! I love this site!!!

Anna

Hello Anna! Flushing means that you completely drench the plant and soil while still in the pot. It's supposed to flush all the salts and mineral build ups out of the soil. You can get these build ups from the water and any fertilizer that you may use. I don't know if you'd want to take a plant out of the pot and completely rinse off the roots, because some plants may have very sensitive roots and might go into shock. But, if you ever overfertilize or the soil gets infested with bugs or mold or fungus or whatever, you may have to do something like that....otherwise, just keep your plant in the pot and douse the soil well...not so it overflows the pot. Depending on the plant, you may have to repot annually or every two years or so. Then you can add new soil to "freshen" it up. You generally repot in the spring.

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/2057/

There's a link to your new house plant. Good luck, and if you have any questions, DG is the place to come!

Thanks Kls! Does the flushing with soapy water work to get rid of spider mites, too? I've got two english ivy plants at the office (actually, all my plants are at the office, I keep killing the ones at home!) and no matter how many times I wash the leaves, the mites keep coming back after a few weeks.

I'm not sure if it does...from what I understand, the reason why soap(not detergent) works is because the fatty oils in it cover the bugs so they can't breath.....I'd guess spider mites should come to an untimely end as well... I'd try it, if it doesn't work, you can try insecticidal soap......I know it says in those thread, but murphy's oil soap or dog shampoo is supposed to work....hope that helps!

Kristie