Dr. Grow: Moving plants from outside to inside for winter

A systemic insecticide is used to treat the soil of a potted plant so that its juices will carry it to kill any feeding insects.

Each spring Marilyn, my bride of almost 33 years, takes all of our house plants outside, puts them in the shade and gives them TLC all summer long. She waters them daily and fertilizes them weekly with either 23-18-16 or 9-59-8. She even talks to them. By the end of the summer, these beautiful plants are lush, green and usually twice their original size.

These gorgeous tropical plants create a dilemma each fall. We have to decide what to do with them during the winter. Marilyn wants to take them inside, nurse them all winter, move them out next spring and start the TLC all over again. Because of the size of the plants and the fact that I have had back surgery, I usually want to send then to the burn pile. Herding these plants into the house is quite a struggle.

After much debate (usually I am the one debating, while Marilyn holds her ground), we decide to move them into the house. To prepare for this move, Marilyn takes some steps to ensure the survival of the plants during the winter.

First, she checks to see if the plants need repotting. She doesn't repot automatically. If she can stick her finger into the soil about one inch, the plants are left alone. If she can't force her finger into the soil at all, then she (usually we) repots the plants.

She washes the plants with a mild detergent or insecticidal soap to get rid of the dust that accumulates on the plants. Our house is at the end of a half-mile-long gravel lane. You can see that our plants are usually covered with dust. Dust tends to plug up the pores or stomata, so the plant doesn't breathe properly.

Next, she sprays all of the plants with an insecticide that contains pyrethrines. She wants to get rid of any insects that may be hiding in the dense foliage. She also treats the soil in the pot with a systemic insecticide. When watered in, this insecticide moves into the vascular system of the plant. Any insects that may hatch in the next few weeks will be eliminated when they chew foliage or suck juices out of the foliage.

After spraying, she fertilizes with 9-58-8 and waters heavily. After the excess fertilizer water has drained from the pot, we move the plants into the house. We carefully place them in areas that will receive as much light as possible.

Our tropical plants, grown outside in the shade during the summer, are accustomed to high light levels. When we move them inside, we realize that they are moving into an environment that has a lower light intensity. Quite often, plants adjusting to the different light intensity will lose their leaves and put on new ones. Don't be alarmed about this.

Marilyn also knows that our house plants will need different care when they grow in the house during the winter. She waters them only one to two times a week. Instead of fertilizing once a week, she fertilizes every third week. She continues to talk to them, but she also lets them listen to the TV.

Because our house is fairly dark inside, we know that our tropicals will not grow as well inside during the winter as they do outside during the summer. In fact, our main goal is to keep them alive until spring. Then we can take them outside and start the cycle all over again.

Paul Schnare of Cape Girardeau has been in the lawn-and-garden business for more than 20 years. He is an adjunct professor of horticulture at Southeast Missouri State University.