If your houseplants have gone wild while outside on summer vacation, it’s time to tame them before bringing them inside for the winter. Pull out any weeds that are growing in the pot and look carefully at the plant’s leaves for bug eggs or spiders. Trim off dead flowers, branches or leaves and clean all dead matter from the top of the soil. Submerge the pot in the bathtub or bucket of water for 20 minutes to run out any bugs, especially scorpions. Apply a light application of houseplant fertilizer now but scale back regular feedings for the winter season unless you use a solid time-release fertilizer.
The darker the leaves of your plant the more shade it can tolerate. Plants with variegated foliage need more light and flowering plants should go in the brightest areas of the home. Only Cacti and succulents should go in direct light.
Don’t put your houseplants by a door where chilly drafts will hit them or on top of heat producing appliances like the TV. A good way to create humidity for your plants is to put your pot in a saucer with some small rocks in it and keep a little water on the rocks so they will retain moisture and create a moist microclimate. When the weather is fair, open the windows so your plants can get some fresh air.
Boston ferns and ficus trees need a bright window. Turn them every week so they will grow evenly in the limited light. A ficus or weeping fig can be trimmed back at any time although spring is best. To slow ficus leaf drop, stay on a regular watering schedule, but expect to lose half the foliage over the winter. If you have a young ficus tree with lots of unruly branches around the base, try winding the pliable branches around each other and tying with thick jute or cotton twine where the branches touch. Thin or fiberglass string will cut through the branches. The branches will eventually grow together and the twine can be removed. You can even wrap the limbs around a colorful glass ball or bottle for an extra touch. With careful pruning and attention to detail you can create a great conversation piece as well as living art within a few years.
If you are plagued with little black fungus gnats swarming out of your houseplants they can be controlled with Bacillus Thuringiensis (bt) or an insecticide containing Pyrethrin. They come from little maggots that feed on decaying matter in the soil. They thrive in the damp top one-third of the soil. A good way to water is to set your potted plants in an inch of water in the sink. Once that soaks up, pull the plug and let them drain. This keeps the top part of the soil relatively dry and helps control the pesky fungus gnat.
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If your houseplants have gone wild while outside on summer vacation, it’s time to tame them before bringing them inside for the winter. Pull out any weeds that are growing in the pot and look carefully at the plant’s leaves for bug eggs or spiders. Trim off dead flowers, branches or leaves and clean all dead matter from the top of the soil. Submerge the pot in the bathtub or bucket of water for 20 minutes to run out any bugs, especially scorpions. Apply a light application of houseplant fertilizer now but scale back regular feedings for the winter season unless you use a solid time-release fertilizer.
