Thanks to some uncommonly cool temperatures in my neck of the woods, I decided to move all the plants from my patio inside for the past few nights so they wouldn’t freeze. Since I am a bit challenged in the window department, I usually have to rearrange the furniture when this time of year rolls around. The current cold snap snuck up on me so I haven’t had a chance to find permanent indoor living spaces for my green babies for the winter. Some of them come to live at my office where they can get more sun.
I have found a few good tips for transitioning plants that have been outdoors. These have worked for me, but my plants are fairly general…not much specialized care is needed.
- Wash foliage with plain water…I try to wipe off the top and bottom of each leaf
- Add a little extra (fresh) soil to each plant or repot entirely if it looks like it has outgrown its current container
- Check for bugs…adding extra soil seems to help with this issue
- Keep a spray bottle handy to mist the plants. The biggest issue of bringing them inside over the winter is the dry air. Keep them a little moist!
- Put every plant on a saucer…you can go totally cheap with those clear plastic ones or repurpose odd plates and bowls
The image above is not mine, but I do have Christmas Cacti like the ones pictured here and I have to say they are the easiest plants I’ve ever grown. I bought two of them for $1 each at a yard sale a couple of years ago. When a piece falls off you can root it in a different pot. I now have about 7 different containers of this lovely plant which will bloom later in the year.
I’m sure y’all have greener thumbs than mine…any tips for keeping things alive through the cooler months?
