Many of us enjoy Tropicals and other plants indoors over the cooler months, but once patio season begins it can be ever so tempting to bring those plants outside to pretty things up. Before you do, take a quick moment to read on and save yourself some potential heartache!
You might not realize, but bringing indoor plants outside in haste can increase the risk of damage, prevent growth, or in extreme cases, kill the plant altogether! Extend the enjoyment of your plants inside and out by following this simple guide:
• Start by bringing plants outside for an hour or so at a time, slowly increasing the duration over a 2 week period until the plants are out all day long.
• Avoid direct intense sun for the first while, even if the plant requires full sun.
• Avoid extra windy spots which can upset the foliage and dry out the soil.
• Avoid exposing the plants to excessive rain.
• Only leave plants out permanently once the threat of frost has passed.
The same rules can apply to seedlings started indoors. It may seem like a pain, but this practice, known as "hardening off" helps maintain a happy and healthy plant!
If you don't have the commitment, in the very least be sure to bring in the plants at night. We all know how wrong the weatherman can be—even if it doesn't call for frost, you won't want to risk it. That is how I utterly destroyed my geraniums just a few weeks ago!
(Image: Liz Vidyarthi/Adrian and Allison's Loop Loft)
(Re-edited from a post originally published 5.18.11 - CM)
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I previously lived in Michigan and I always put my plants outside for the summer. They loved the sun and always seemed to flourish. I recently moved to Nebraska and when I put my plants outside this year the intense wind dried them out instantly. I hastily took them back inside, and they seem to be surviving but they all took significant damage. Some climates don't seem to allow for keeping indoor plants outside!
Just make sure you remember where your plants are! I had a pair of awesome, unkillable aloe plants. My husband decided they could use some fresh air, then forgot about them and we had a late frost. They're totally destroyed. :(
thanks for posting this - it hurts me to see people bring their indoor plants outside for a full day to 'get some sun'.
indoor light is really much dimmer than our human eyes let us think - the light in a fluorescent-lit cubicle can be quantified at 10 ppfd. a clear sunny summer day can get up to 1800 ppfd depending where you live. putting a plant outdoors is nearly analogous to you thriving while eating 10 calories a day all your life, then suddenly being force-fed 1800 calories one day - oh, the pain!
oops, no wonder my plants are all drying up outside....thanks for the tip.
Important to remember that not all indoor plants like the sun all that much. Many of the plants sold for indoor growing are shade- or semi-shade-thrivers in their natural habitats. Cacti, succulents, and most flowering house plants would likely be happy in full sun, but a lot of the leafier ones would do better in the dappled light of a pergola or a big tree.
Don't be surprised if the existing leaves on your houseplants get sunburned when the plant is brought outdoors. As TOUGHCUPCAKE observed, indoor light, even near a relatively sunny south- or west-facing window, is nowhere near as intense as the direct sunlight out of doors.
One tip: A plant that's been devastated by scale, say, or mealybug or spider mite infestation might well be saved by a summer spent out of doors. It can be next to impossible to get all the insects killed without denuding the plant of leaves entirely and them thoroughly wetting the stems with whatever bug killer you happen to be using. But at that point a few weeks in the bright light and fresh air just may have it coming back stronger than ever. I did this once with a quite large crassula ovata (jade plant) that we had all but given up on. Once we ridded it of bugs and treated it to almost ideal growing conditions, it rocked and rolled.
I agree with GLINDA GOODWITCH. We saved our ficus last year in a similar way. It was completely taken over by scale insect. We did not go as far as to denude it. We, however, sprayed it with Neem oil and left it outdoors on our shaded front stoop. Made sure to water it regularly and it thrived. Left it there until late August and gave it one more Neem treatment before bringing it in. Haven't seen any scales on it so far. Moreover, it seems to be doing better than before it was infested.
I have always read that it is best to wait until the temperature at night is about 60 degrees before putting out houseplants. Our houseplants tend to be of the tropical persuasion. I have a 42 year old shefflera that has summered in Illinois, Maryland, Long Island and northeast Connecticut hills.