A Beginner’s Guide to Bringing Plants Indoors in the Fall

Bringing plants indoors in the fall can help them survive a chilly winter. However, rushing this process will cause more harm than good. Here are some tips for moving plants indoors during fall.

The leaves are turning, and the temperature is dropping—fall is in the air. While cooler weather often means the end of the gardening season, you may not be ready to say goodbye to some of your favorite plants.

Bringing frost-sensitive varieties indoors can prolong their lifespan and let you enjoy them again outdoors when the weather warms in the spring. However, you don’t want to bring flowers into your house too soon. Bringing your plants indoors too early could stress them out and may do more harm than good. The process should be gradual and includes a bit of preparation.

In this article, you will learn about the best timing to bring plants indoors in the fall, as well as some tips to transition your plants successfully.

When to Bring Plants Inside

All frost-sensitive plants need to be protected from the elements before the temperature drops too low. Ideally, this should be before nighttime temperatures dip below 45°F (7°C). Most species will experience damage at temperatures under 40°F (4°C), so you want the transition period to be well underway by the time temperatures drop this low.

Don’t wait too long—frost exposure will damage plants more than rushing the moving process.

Ten Steps for Bringing Plants Indoors

The growing conditions in your home are nothing like the outdoors. Temperature, lighting, airflow, and humidity levels all differ significantly. Bringing a plant from one environment to another without a transition phase will cause unnecessary stress and may cause the plant to struggle.

Therefore, it’s important to let your plants gradually transition to their new winter environment. This transition takes some time and a bit of preparation. Below are some steps to help your plant successfully adapt to the indoors.

1. Prep Indoor Plant Space

Before bringing plants indoors, ensures you have a place set up to put them.

Look for stable shelves or tables that are protected from cold drafts and have exposure to plenty of natural light. Consider clumping multiple pots together for species that require high humidity. It’s also wise to protect these surfaces with extra trays so spilled dirt and water don’t damage them.

2. Clean Your Windows

Once you know where you will place your plants, it’s time to maximize their natural light exposure over the winter by cleaning your windows. Wash the windows inside and out to ensure as much light filters through them as possible.

Note: Supplement your space with artificial lighting if your windows do not provide enough natural light.

3. Look for Pest and Disease Problems

While deciding which plants to bring indoors, scrutinize them for signs of insect and disease damage. You don’t want to bring a compromised plant indoors, as the problem will flourish in the warmer conditions and spread to other plants in your home.

Prune off any problem areas immediately, and rinse off all leaves to wash off insects. A dose of insecticidal soap is a smart idea. Consider repotting affected plants in new potting soil to remove disease spores and insects burrowing out of sight.

4. Only Keep Healthy Plants

It pays to be picky when deciding which plants to move indoors for the winter. Choose only the healthiest varieties, as the transition to indoor conditions might not help a plant that’s already struggling.

5. Repot If Necessary

Your plants may need to be repotted before they move indoors. Look for signs of cramped growing conditions or leggy growth, and transplant affected plants into larger containers. Ensure each pot is cleaned with a diluted bleach solution and filled with fresh potting soil before replanting.

6. Take Cuttings (If Desired)

Fall is a smart time to propagate new plants by taking cuttings from your established one. Many annual flowers, including geraniums, begonia, and coleus, will root easily in water or rooting mix to become a winter houseplant that you can plant outdoors in the spring.

To make a cutting, choose a healthy shoot and trim off a three-inch section directly below a leaf node. Remove any leaves or buds below it. Place the cutting in a rooting medium like coarse sand or potting mix.

Keep the cutting in a place with bright, indirect light, and keep it well moistened. New roots should form within three weeks, at which point the cutting can be potted.

7. Gradually Introduce to the Indoors

Once plants are prepped for indoor life, you can begin to bring them into your home gradually. Start by bringing pots indoors in the evening and setting them outside again in the morning. It’s smart to decrease the plants’ light exposure over this same timeframe if they are going to spend the winter somewhere with less light.

Over a week, shorten the amount of time the plants spend outdoors until they make it inside full time.

8. Avoid Overwatering

One of the quickest ways to kill off an indoor plant is overwatering, especially one that’s used to being outdoors. Bringing a plant indoors for the winter often triggers it to go dormant, which reduces water needs even further.

Always test the soil before watering to ensure whether it’s really needed. Wait until the top half-inch (~1 cm) is dry between watering sessions and water succulents even less.

9. Provide a Boost of Fertilizer

You can help an outdoor plant resettle to indoor conditions with fertilizer. However, this isn’t necessary if you repotted the plant with potting soil that contains fertilizer already. Follow dosage instructions carefully, as overapplying can be more damaging than not using it at all.

10. Bring Them Back Outdoors When the Weather Warms

Once spring arrives, it’s time to bring your indoor plants back outside. You may want to replant any cuttings to revive a flower bed or place potted plants back around your balcony or patio.

Make sure you follow the same slow reintroduction process by bringing plants outdoors for short periods at first and gradually extending the time over several weeks. Again, protect sensitive plants whenever there is a risk of frost in the forecast.

Bringing plants indoors is an easy way to extend their lifespan and give your house gorgeous natural décor in the winter months. Follow these steps to ensure you don’t rush the process and keep each plant as healthy as possible throughout the transition time.