Like most of us, houseplants enjoy a rest and a change of scene once in a while. That is, most of them do.
A few are just plain stay-at-homes and resent even an outdoor picnic. However, there are not too many plant sissies.
Your house plants have been through a long winter and are anxious to get outdoors in fresh air and sunlight.
Don’t be in a hurry, though, for undoubtedly, there will be more cold days and nights coming before the weather is dependably warm.
A late freeze is likely to sneak up unannounced and cause trouble. Even a whiff of frost is deadly to many house plants.
You should take advantage of warm sunny days to give your plants as much indoor ventilation as possible.
If you are fortunate enough to own a garden or a piece of outdoors where you can “summer” the house plants, by all means, do so, with exceptions that will be mentioned later.
Reminders For Setting Finicky Plants Outside
Here are some things to remember when you put your sometimes-finicky tenants outside:
- Don’t do it until the weather is definitely warm and permanently that way.
- Place the plants in a position where high winds or violent storms won’t destroy leaves or wash soil out of the pot.
- Never take plants out of containers.
- Dig a hole, place a shovel full of coal ashes or gravel in the bottom, then bury the pot, allowing 1″ inch of the pot to remain above the soil.
This provides good drainage and discourages earthworms from sneaking up through the vent.
It also discourages ambitious roots from creeping out of the bottom hole and anchoring themselves in the ground with a determined grip.
When house plants are removed from their containers and planted directly in the garden, the root systems usually attain a size that necessitates either the use of a washtub for replanting or such severe root-pruning that the shock prevents flowering for the coming season.
Don’t do it.
Returning Plants To The House
When returning your plants to the house, do so 6 or 8 weeks before the usual appearance of frost.
This gives them ample time to acclimate themselves to house conditions again.
Provide lots of fresh air and place the vacationers in a cool place rather than the hottest spot in the house.
Before bringing plants indoors, inspect each carefully to see if there is any indication of the following:
- Red spider mite
- Aphids
- Mealybug
- Any other insect infestation.
Also, check for fungus disease. It is good to spray each individual anyway to forestall possible migration of trouble to other plants.
Repotting Plants
Certain plants need repotting from time to time. However, just before they are returned to the house is as good a period as any.
Most experts will tell you that repotting should be done in May or June before the vacation.
Yet experience has shown that when plants are being lifted and brought indoors, repotting does not add much to the shock of transition.
And fall repotting gives one a chance to gauge the summer growth and provide the right-sized new container. The opinion is argumentive.
Just a note here on new containers:
- Some use ordinary clay pots with an alkaline content and, when new, an insatiable thirst—both had for immediate plant use. We like to use plastic pots and use clay pots as decorative pots.
- For a green light on the transplanting operation, soak new pots for 3 or 4 days, preferably a week, before using.
- Some of your houseplants will go into their resting stage when you bring them indoors.
- Watch out for overwatering, and don’t feed them. Others who have begun active growth, or continued it, will benefit by fertilizing before bringing them in.
Spraying Smooth-Leaved Plants
All smooth-leaved plants will enjoy a weekly spray of lukewarm water now.
But don’t think you are conferring a favor by dousing fuzzy or hairy-leaved subjects or cacti. You’re not.
Speaking of spraying things brings to mind that midsummer ruin seldom gives sufficient water to keep your vacationers happy.
Probably you’ll have to use the hose or sprinkle. Don’t let them dry out completely.
Add to the permanent indoor residents:
- Small wax plants (hoya)
- Purple velvet plants (gynura)
- Twelve apostles (marica)
- Large-leaved begonias
- And most tropical immigrants
Naturally, there are many other house plants whose outdoor tenure is advisable or not, depending upon the latitude and location.
Growing Bromeliads
There is growing interest in bromeliads—tree perchers at home in the tropics, yet good houseplant items hereabouts.
The names are rugged, but the plants are fascinating.
Increasingly grown are species and varieties of the following:
- Aechmea
- Guzmania
- Cryptanthus
- Tillandsia
- Vriesia
They all look much better than they sound. Most epiphytes are grown in a well-draining soil mix of peat moss and perlite.
Those grown in osmunda should be summered on the porch, and ones whose toes are in a soil mix may take their vacation outdoors in a semi-shaded, protected area.
Most of the bromeliads make their growth during the warm months. Therefore, be sure of sufficient moisture at this time.
If moved outside, shield the large-leaved specimen plants which might be injured by wind, such as:
- Dumb cane (dieffenbachia)
- Fiddle leaf fig (Ficus pandurata)
- Hurricane plant (monstera)
- Philodendrons