Bringing plants indoors for winter - Ask Extension
I have dozens of potted plants that I take outside every summer. What’s the best method for treating the soil and the foliage prior to bringing the ...
Knowledgebase
Bringing plants indoors for winter #920266
Asked October 20, 2025, 9:09 AM EDT
I have dozens of potted plants that I take outside every summer. What’s the best method for treating the soil and the foliage prior to bringing the plants indoors for winters so I don’t bring in insects.
Hamilton County Ohio
Expert Response
It's that time of year again, isn't it? To begin, you want to inspect the plants, the growing medium, and the pots for insects. (Don't forget under the rim and on the bottom of the pots!). You're looking for aphids, spider mites, whiteflies, scale insects, earwigs and ants. (If you find ants, you will need to repot the plant making sure that you inspect any soil clinging to the roots of the plant.) If you find insects on the plants, you can use a strong spray of water to hose them off; you can wipe off the leaves with a clean towel; or you can use an insecticidal soap to wash the leaves and stem of the plant. If you find insects in the soil (or growing medium), you can flush the pot with water. (But if ants, I recommend repotting the plant.)
You need to gradually acclimate the plant from being outdoors to indoors before the overnight temps are consistently below 60 degrees. Start by just bringing the plants in at night, and over the course of a couple weeks, keep them indoors longer and longer until they are permanently indoors for the winter.
You want to quarantine the plants from any other plants that are inside your home. After three weeks, if you've seen no evidence that any insects survived your attempts to get rid of them, then you can safely introduce the outside plants to those that stay inside your home.
The light in your home is not as intense as the light outside. Put your plants by south and/or west facing windows. Some leaves will turn yellow and drop off. Don't worry-there will be new growth.
You can stop fertilizing the plants once you bring them indoors. You also don't have to water as often. Check the top inch of your growing medium before watering - if it's dry then you water. If you water your plants from the top, pour water until it runs out the bottom of the plant. Make sure to discard the water that runs out so that the plant isn't sitting in water. If you water from the bottom, put about an inch of water in a tray and place the pot in the tray. Once the top of the growing medium is moist, remove the pot from the tray. Again, you don't want it to sit in water for a period of time.
Your house as lower humidity than outside which is especially important for any tropical plants. To provide more humidity to the plants, you can place them close together. You can also put rocks in a tray and put the pot on top of the tray. When you add water to the tray, make sure the water is below the top of the rocks and that the pot is not sitting in the water.
You need to gradually acclimate the plant from being outdoors to indoors before the overnight temps are consistently below 60 degrees. Start by just bringing the plants in at night, and over the course of a couple weeks, keep them indoors longer and longer until they are permanently indoors for the winter.
You want to quarantine the plants from any other plants that are inside your home. After three weeks, if you've seen no evidence that any insects survived your attempts to get rid of them, then you can safely introduce the outside plants to those that stay inside your home.
The light in your home is not as intense as the light outside. Put your plants by south and/or west facing windows. Some leaves will turn yellow and drop off. Don't worry-there will be new growth.
You can stop fertilizing the plants once you bring them indoors. You also don't have to water as often. Check the top inch of your growing medium before watering - if it's dry then you water. If you water your plants from the top, pour water until it runs out the bottom of the plant. Make sure to discard the water that runs out so that the plant isn't sitting in water. If you water from the bottom, put about an inch of water in a tray and place the pot in the tray. Once the top of the growing medium is moist, remove the pot from the tray. Again, you don't want it to sit in water for a period of time.
Your house as lower humidity than outside which is especially important for any tropical plants. To provide more humidity to the plants, you can place them close together. You can also put rocks in a tray and put the pot on top of the tray. When you add water to the tray, make sure the water is below the top of the rocks and that the pot is not sitting in the water.
