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Getting Your Plants Ready For Winter


Pompeii

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Brrrr!  Time to Bring in the Houseplants!

It’s fall and temperatures are falling, particularly at night.  Whether your houseplants spent the summer outdoors or inside, this is the perfect time to give them a makeover before settling them in for winter.

If you do not have specific culture information for each plant, now is the time to start a Garden Journal.  All plants are different and vary vastly as to the conditions in which they will thrive.  Buy or make a tag for the pot and add the basic culture info to refer to when fertilizing or watering. Clean recycled vinyl window blinds make great plant tags. If you cannot identify your plant, then ask a Master Gardener to find the name and proper culture information.  Send a photo to the Garden Hot Line at any time of year.

Outside, on an old tarp/table, turn the plant over and allow it to slide out of the pot.  It may be tightly rooted in the pot and need some convincing with a sharp implement run around the inside of the pot to loosen the root ball.  Check the root system for any kind of problem including insects, mice, mold, crowding, and hard or “missing” soil!  That’s right, sometimes a plant will grow so vigorously that humus rich soil actually gets consumed.  Check for compaction and loss of oxygen pores from frequent watering, and empty spaces from soil lost through the bottom drainage hole of the pot.

Thoroughly scrub the pot in a sanitizing solution of 90% water and 10% Hydrogen Peroxide. Rinse well with clean water.  Some plants will need a slightly larger pot but not a lot larger.

Over the hole in the bottom, place a disk of screen such as is found in windows.  Add a scant 1 inch of small clean pebbles and level. 

Use fresh unfertilized houseplant potting soil, not garden soil. Diatomaceous Earth makes an excellent addition to the fresh soil. It will help control any insects which may be hitch hiking in the soil. Check your plant thoroughly, removing the outside of the old soil ball.  You may have to trim some roots to do this.  If you look at the root ball and see no soil at all, then you may need to remove just the outer brown dry tangle of roots till you see white healthy roots.  Scissors work fine.

If the remaining soil looks very hard and dry, you will probably want to soak and rinse the center soil away. Add fresh soil for new healthier root growth.  Also check the leaves and stems for damage, insects or small odd growths.  You can contact the Master Gardener Hot Line for help with this.

Once the plant is trimmed and in healthy condition, then you can repot it, very lightly tamping the soil as you add it.  Overfill it slightly so that when it settles from watering you will still have enough soil.  You still may need to add a little soil later in order to keep the correct soil level.  Water well and allow it to drain thoroughly before positioning it in its winter location.  You may want to add a layer of mulch for appearances or to protect the soil from drying out so quickly in a heated house.

Some plants prefer to be pot bound, so do not put them into a larger pot as long as they are doing well.  Others grow a lot over the summer, will have a larger root system and need a larger pot once a year.  They can also be divided at this time and given as gifts.  Be sure to give accurate names and care tags along with the plant.

Add old houseplant soil to the compost for the winter.  The decomposing insects and microbes will clean it up for addition to the garden or flowerbeds.

If you still have too many divisions to give away, you can heel them into some soft garden soil, mulch after they are frozen in place, then donate them to a spring plant sale.  Those who have plant organizations can always use some support.

Old unused pots should be cleaned and stacked in a place where they will stay dry and freeze.  This will keep them ready to use again when the need arises.  Please recycle plastic pots when possible.

Once your treasure has been properly transplanted into a clean pot, be sure to also clean the area into which you will be placing it.  Vacuum well to make sure there are no gnats, spiders or dust and debris which could harbor insects or diseases. Add an adequate container in which to catch excess water.  You can also set the plant pot into a larger one with gravel in the bottom and allow it to drain the excess water away from the roots. That excess water will then humidify the air around your plant.  Do not let the water get so deep that it touches the pot that the plant is in or you will find root rot later.

Be sure there is a watering can and a mister close by.  Many times you intend to water a dry plant but you get distracted hunting for the necessary tools and water. By the time that you look again, the plant is too dry and will need root ball soaking before it will absorb water efficiently.  If you, like some busy gardeners, miss a couple of waterings, it may become a moot point!

Don’t forget to turn the pot 90 degrees once a week in a clockwise motion.  Your plants will be straight and healthy by spring when you can again take them outside for their summer vacation.

Master Gardeners are available for group presentations.  Contact the office for specifics.

Certified Master Gardeners are local volunteers trained by Penn State to answer Horticulture questions with properly researched information. For a “best practices” answer to your question, call Penn State Jefferson County Extension at 849-7361, Ext 508, e-mail JeffersonMG@psu.edu, or mail your question to 186 Main Street, Suite 3, Brookville, PA 15825. 

Penn State is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer, and is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.

 

Penn State Extension Master Gardeners of Jefferson County

Cheryl J. Shenkle, Coordinator

186 Main Street

Brookville, PA 15825

814-849-7361  Extension 508

cjs5618@psu.edu

http://extension.psu.edu/jefferson

https://www.facebook.com/JeffCOPAMG

https://extension.psu.edu/trees-lawns-and-landscaping/home-gardening(Newsletter)

https://pennstate.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SVd6w3IB2Qd4t55T7 (Survey)

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