Acclimating Your Plants for the Winter
By Plant Daddies of Atlanta
Many of us house plant lovers enjoy when the summer weather comes around; not only because it means winter is over, but because we get to move our plants outside! When summer comes to an end, however, it’s not as easy to just bring them inside without a few precautions. Let us look at how to acclimate our plants and get them ready for the winter season.
Before you even bring them indoors, you will want to check for pests. Pests such as aphids, mealybugs and spider mites tend to hitchhike on your plant, and you do not want to affect your other plants by bringing them with. Be sure to check over all your plants and use a hose to rinse them off, that will help knock them off. Treating them with neem oil is also a good idea, it can help keep pests away and helps clean your leaves off as well!
If you plant has grown some outside, it may be best to also do a little pruning and/or a repotting. You don’t want to prune too much off as it can cause your plant to go into shock. When repotting, go up at least 2 inches larger than the current size container.
When is it time to acclimate your plants from outdoor to indoor? When temperatures start to dip below 60 degrees F or lower consistently you would begin the process. It is imperative to acclimate your house plants to changes in the environment, especially going from outside to inside. To help with this, you can start by bringing your house plant inside at night then bring it back out in the morning. Gradually, increase the time the plant spends indoors until it is inside full time.
Lastly, with the shorter days and longer nights, plants usually go dormant. They do this because of the lack of full sun days we get in the summer. You will not need to water your plants as much as when they are outside. You will also want to fertilize less in the winter and pick back up in the spring.
We hope these tips will help you start acclimating your plants
to the upcoming winter weather. Always be on the lookout for pests, make sure you slowly move your plants in and slow down on the watering if you feel your plants aren’t getting enough sun to dry out the soil. We all want our plants to stay happy and healthy, even during the winter. 🌱
