Its the end of September which means that fall is officially started and winter isn’t far behind, too. And with fall being here we start to think about finishing out outdoors gardening tasks and moving indoors, which also means that we need to move some of our house plants, that are growing outside, indoors. So to make sure that this transferring goes as smoothly as possible and your plants don’t get overly stressed, here will be a guide how to transfer house plants indoors smoothly and painlessly.
When is time to transfer your plants indoors?
One of the first questions people have when they start inquiring about transferring your plants indoors is when exactly to do it, so it is not too soon and also not too late. The rule of thumb here is to transfer the plants to an indoors space, when the temperatures during the night start dropping to 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius) and lower, since in low temperatures your plants can sustain damage or their growth can significantly stall. If you transfer your plants indoors but the temperatures raise again, that’s okay, because it usually happens for a short period of time and then they permanently drop to 50 and below. The important thing is to not let your plants freeze outside, so really better transfer your plants indoors sooner rather than later.
Which plants can you overwinter indoors?
The other thing that sometimes is not completely clear to people is what plants you can and should transfer indoors. Main plants, that are suitable for overwintering are perennials or plants that live two and more years because that means that they won’t just die after they bloom or produce yield. And even though there are plants that can survive even the coldest of winters, because they are made for these types of climates, warmth loving plants and house plants will definitely need to be brought indoors if you want them to continue growing in the spring.
What is the process of transferring plants indoors?
1.Check the plants
First before you do anything you need to check your plants for any diseases or pests. Pests and different plant diseases tend to thrive in warm conditions, and since once you bring your plants indoors the conditions there will be just that – warm and cozy, if you transfer plants with these problems, you might infect all of your indoors garden. So I would suggest to either threat the plants outdoors and bring them inside only when the disease or pests are gone or to just let that plant go and care for those, who are healthy and pest-free.
2. Acclimate the plants
Once you have determined which plants you will be bringing indoors, you can start to acclimate them to the indoors conditions by putting the plants in a shady spot of your garden a few weeks before you are about to bring them indoors or by bringing them indoors just during the nights for the first few weeks. This way the plants will be used to the indoors conditions and won’t be as stressed when you bring them inside fully, because even if you are supplying the plants indoors with grow lights, they still will feel the difference and can take quite some time to get over the stress of the move.
3. Pot the plants
If you are transferring indoors plants that aren’t already growing in containers, then now will be the time for you to pot these plants. Make sure that the pots have drainage holes and that you use potting mix, since this will help you avoid bringing in diseases or pests with your soil. Once all the plants are in their pots, acclimate them for a few weeks and then bring them indoors and set them up in your indoors garden.
4. Care for the plants
And lastly once your plants are indoors don’t forget that the way you care for them needs to change, too. For example often these plants require less water and probably won’t need any nutrients or fertilizers, since the colder season is a rest period for perennials that are brought indoors, when they rest and build up strength for spring when they will start growing again.
4 Comments
Paz Flores Villazon
Hi Ben. I now live in a dark shaded area where the sun light does not stream in. I want to have house plants and would like to provide light for them. Do you have any attractive lamps I can purchase to give my plants light? Also any cost effective that won’t harm my eyes? Any suggestions? Thank you much, Paz
Ben Thorton
Hi Paz,
As far as T5 grow lights go, they all are pretty standard when it comes to how they look, which is not very attractive. To each his own of coarse, but as far as good looking T5 fixtures go, these Apollo Horticulture lamps and these Sun Blaze fixtures probably are the best looking ones among all T5 grow light fixtures. But I would suggest you to just look through Amazon and maybe you will find T5 lights, that fit in the interior of your home.
If these don’t work and you want really aesthetic grow lights, then I would recommend to look into LED grow lights, for example these LED fixtures or event this LED decor grow light, that is coming soon and might be just what you were looking for.
As for cost efficient lights, both T5 grow lights and LEDs are very cost efficient and won’t harm your eyes, as long as you don’t look straight at the bulbs for long periods of time, so you can go ahead and chose your lights based to which appeal to you appearance-wise.
Regards,
Ben
Mark Ray
Hello, Ben, I’m going to be moving my wife’s outdoor plant “collection” into a 16 x 10 storage building and was trying to figure out what T5 or T8 bulb to use while they are indoors in the winter. I have both fixtures available and was wondering your recommendation for bulb and which type T5 or T8. Thanks, Mark
Ben Thorton
Mark, I would definitely recommend you use T5 bulbs instead of T8s as they emit less heat and consume fewer watts. And as for bulb type, if you are referring to the color temperature of them, I would go for bulbs that are in the range of 4,000 to 6,500 Kelvins, as these will serve your plants the best!