Repotting House Plants Before Bringing Them Back Indoors
Yesterday I repotted some of my house plants to bring back inside before winter. A few months spent outside makes my plants lush and healthy.
Southwoods was out of potting soil Friday. But I had one sack I hadn’t opened.
So I managed to repot about 4 plants with that. I need at least 1 more sack to repot the remaining plants before bringing them indoors.
So here is my method.
I take the plant out of its pot and put it in a bucket and lightly brush off what soil I can.
Then I get my hose and turn the sprayer to shower. I lightly spray down the plant and the roots. There will still be soil protecting the roots so they aren’t completely visible.
Make sure you wash down the front and back of the leaves because little critters could be hiding there.
Then I set that aside and let it drip water a bit.
Meanwhile I take the pot inside and wash it down with Dawn soap and water. You don’t want to bring bacteria back indoors either.
Dry the pot off and take it back outside. Add some soil to your pot and then gently settle the plant inside it.
Put potting soil all around your house plant and tamp it down a little. Fill soil to about a half inch to an inch below the top of the pot.
Now I have no idea really if this is the right or proper way to do it. It’s just how I do it. You might want to Google to get a more professional opinion.
Charlie and Ivy today:
Ivy has been up on the coffee table sniffing around my terra cotta pots. So far she has not rearranged things.
Charlie is the cutest little pup! I would love to pick him up and squeeze him (gently, of course!) Hope he is doing well. He is certainly lucky to be so well-loved ❤️
Thanks I’m going to do this. I always have a few critters hiding in my plants. Makes Good sense. Thank for info
This is exactly how I do it. I also keep a bag of aquarium pebbles and put a fine layer on the top of the soil after I repot the plant. It looks pretty, and supposedly from what I’ve read, if there is any chance of a something laying an egg in the new soil, something that was missed by the new plants, any microscopic hatchlings can’t make it to life and air beyond the little stones. I also put fruit fly traps on the table near any newly potted plants. And if there’s a plant, of which I have a few succulents that I bring in, in their existing pots, that I put a plastic bag over them for two days and just watch for any little creatures, then un-plastic-bag them and let them sit in whatever rotation they were in the house before I took them outside for the summer. Love your posts, as always.
Thanks for the heads up on the proper way to cleanse my plants before taking them back in for the winter 😊
I’m so excited I finally found two tiny little spider plants some Boston ferns some Jade and I picked up hanging hearts some silver ivy and I’m rescuing an elephant ear and I found a couple of rubber plant in a couple other new plant babies and I had to get some new hanging plant holders I wanted to get the wall hangers but they didn’t have them at the nursery I went to so I have to order them from somewhere else. They don’t have any spider plants around here
What can happen if you dont repot your plant and you bring them inside if you make sure to get the bugs off.Im new at keeping plants and was wondering.
Well you might get lucky and not have any little freeloaders hop on your plant to come indoors. But I say better safe than sorry. It’s really up to you.
They may become too tight in the pot. You don’t have to do this every year.
I learned the hard way one year how important it is to repot when bringing plants back indoors. I had bunches of baby grasshoppers hatching in my bedroom in the dead of winter. The indoor heat threw their timing off.
OMG! I laughed out load when I read this.🤣😂
I love seeing Charlie with his little tongue sticking out to the side. It looks like he’s thinking about some deep, serious problem. When I was little I used to stick my tongue out just a bit as I was tackling my math homework and my Mom used to say it was as my thinking tongue. Just an old memory that came back to me. Ivy is such a beautiful girl. I love her markings and her curiosity. Does she still sleep in her green pod or is that a winter den for her ? Stay safe & well.
I love your method of bringing in your indoor plants, I think I will give that a try.
Happy to see Charlie looking perky
I did have a look at your daughters Flip house, it really is beautiful, she is very talented.
Timely post! Have been working on my plants and repotting them as well.
I lost a beautiful gardenia that I had grown from a tiny, half dead plant from Lowes. I skipped doing anything with it before bringing it back inside one year and halfway through the winter it died from spider mites that went rampant before I figured out what was wrong. Never make that mistake again! I do my repotting the same method except before scrubbing with the dawn, I spray a 1:10 bleach water solution inside the pot and let it sit for a few minutes to kill bacteria. Then I rinse really well and scrub with a brush and Dawn to remove any bleach and dirt left, rinse really well and repot!
Sometimes, I will also spray the plant with insecticidal soap after rinsing with water as further insurance if I think the plant may need it. Going to the nursery today for a few shrubs outside and fall plants for my window boxes.
I am so excited!!! ( can you tell I don’t get out much? I hate this pandemic)
Homewood Nursery sounds like the garden center you have there in Tulsa.
Out doors is like walking through a park looking at all the hundreds of plants, and indoors a huge selection of houseplants and in spring the greenhouse Is full of annuals they grow there. Plant shopping is the only shopping I enjoy. (Hence the bag lady wardrobe) Charlie is so sweet and adorable looking and that Ivy is one curious and ornery cat. Love them both!
Thank you for the tips ladies! I never bring plants inside and this year I want to bring in my ferns but I am afraid of critters. I am going to try this.
I should probably try the bleach.