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    Home » Gardening

    Bringing Plants Indoors: 5 Tips for Winter Care

    by Patti Estep · Sep 9, 2023

    A Meyer lemon tree outside on a table over a group of plants on a porch at the end of the season.

    Learn how to bring plants inside for winter to keep them safe from the cold. Just a few easy tips will ensure they will thrive in your home until next season.

    Front porch plants at the end of summer including scented geraniums, lamium, and bluebells.

    When the nighttime temperatures outdoors are regularly dipping below 60 degrees, it’s time to start thinking about bringing houseplants indoors for the winter.

    Dwarf Meyer lemon plant on a patio table.

    I usually bring in my ferns, begonias, and scented geraniums, and this year, I will be bringing a dwarf Meyer lemon tree that currently has 12 lemons on it. It loves all the light and humidity it gets, as most plants do, during the summer months.

    Tips for Bringing Plants Indoors

    1.  Start by gradually decreasing the amount of light the plant receives over a few days to help lessen stress on the plant. You could even bring them inside at night and back outside during the day. Ideally, you want to start this process a couple of weeks before the first frost date.

    2. Inspect the plant for insects before bringing them indoors and treat accordingly. This can simply be a good spray with a garden hose or something like insecticidal soap or your own homemade insecticide. Cover the stems and the leaves. Also, be sure to check the undersides of the leaves for bugs. Clean the pots of debris and check to see if any pests are living below.

    Leggy rose scented geranium outdoors in a blue pot.

    3.  Prune all leggy plants. Cut off and remove any dead foliage or plant material. This rose scented geranium is very rangy and needs to be pruned.

    4.  Once they are inside for the winter, make sure they get adequate light. A full-spectrum light with a timer set to 16 hours a day is a good way to help plants with lower light conditions.

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    Maidenhair fern in the summer outside.

    5.  Resist the temptation to over water. Indoor plants need less water and in many cases should only be watered once a week. An easy way to check is to stick your finger into the pot a good inch or so, checking to see if the soil is dry.

    Rosemary at the end of the season in the garden.

    In addition to bringing potted plants inside consider digging up tender perennials like this rosemary plant. Unless we have a really warm winter rosemary will not make it in my area so I pot it up and bring it inside. Just make sure that the pot has drainage holes when repotting to avoid root rot.

    You can also take cuttings of some of your annuals and bring them inside to root overwinter. Plants like impatiens, begonias, coleus, and geraniums will thrive with decent lighting and you then won’t have to buy them in the spring.

    Rex Begonia in Dining Room

    On a closing note, even if you don't have a lot of light inside your home you may be able to grow some plants very well. Take a look at this Rex begonia. I bought it a couple of years ago to put on my front porch for the summer. At the end of the summer, I brought it in and it has never left my dining room but continues to thrive even though there is not a lot of light. Last year I even had a few flowers. So, instead of throwing your tender plants in the compost pile try bringing those beauties in. You'll be glad that you did.

    Patti signature

    More Gardening Tips

    • 10 Easy Summer Gardening Tips
    • Helpful Tips for Tackling Weeds
    • 10 Gardening Hacks and Tips
    End of summer plants on a porch.
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    About Patti Estep

    Patti is the creator of Hearth and Vine, a home and garden blog filled with projects to inspire your creative side. She loves crafting, gardening, decorating and entertaining at her home in Pennsylvania. When she is not working on a project at home or searching for treasures at nurseries and thrift stores with her girlfriends, you’ll probably find her with family and friends, at a restaurant, or home party enjoying new and different food adventures.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Lavende & Lemonade

      September 26, 2014 at 6:30 pm

      Thanks for the tips! I've pinned them for everyone to enjoy!

      Reply
    2. Angi @ SchneiderPeeps

      September 10, 2014 at 1:12 am

      Great tips! I've never given much thought to the process of bringing plants in for the winter. I only freeze a few times a year here and I usually realize it when I hear it on the 10 o'clock news. So we just run outside, gather plants up and bring them in for the night.

      How fun to have meyer lemons! They are my favorite lemons in the whole world.

      Reply
    3. Patti

      September 07, 2014 at 8:18 pm

      Hi Kristina
      Depending on the variety they should be ok near a sunny window and may even go dormant. Water sparingly.

      Reply
    4. Kristina @ My Own Home Blog

      September 07, 2014 at 8:11 pm

      Thanks for the tips! I'm really worried about bringing in my cacti and succulents, I'm so worried that my lack of natural light will kill them over the winter. Any tips about these types of plants?

      Reply
    5. Dorothy

      September 04, 2014 at 11:27 pm

      Thanks for the info. What to do if you bring plants in but are gone for the winter?

      Reply
      • Patti

        September 07, 2014 at 2:52 pm

        Most plants will be fine if they are watered once a week. Ask a neighbor or friend to help or hire a pet sitting service. They seem to be everywhere and even if you don't have pets I think they will water your plants for a small fee.
        Thanks for stopping by!
        Patti

        Reply

    Trackbacks

    1. Winter Garden Prep: Tender Plant Care - Empress of Dirt says:
      October 9, 2014 at 8:25 am

      […] Bringing Plants Inside For Winter | Garden […]

      Reply

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