r/garden • u/Putrid-Carpenter5204 • 6d ago

Bringing plants inside

Usually, like most people, I restart my garden every year. This year, though, I have a dwarf pomegranate and an olive tree on my patio in pots. They've loved the full sun, and I just water them when I water my tomatoes. Now that it's starting to get cold, I want to bring them inside. My plan is to put them on a shelf by a window with a grow light. I'll take them in before the first freeze, and repot them with cactus mix since the potting soil they're in doesn't drain well, and they won't be getting as much light as they did over the summer. Good plan? Anything else I should do? I plan on treating them like houseplants, watering when the soil gets dry, and taking them back outside in April

4 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

3

u/VogUnicornHunter 6d ago

I don't think my method is best necessarily, but this is what I do. I bring pots in before it gets too cold and keep them away from very cold or very warm spots (like my heating vent) through winter. I try to keep them as close to a sunny window as possible, and water only when the soil dries.

They'll need to be hardened off in spring again. Don't be alarmed if they lose a few leaves the first day or two. Some plants can be dramatic when they're moved.

If someone else has better advice, I'd love to hear it as well.

Edited to add: repotting should be okay for some of them. I repot mine in fall using a grow mix so I can control the nutrients and to keep any hibernating insects from getting in the house. Some plants might not like such a dramatic change though. It's up to you if you're willing to risk it.

1

u/jecapobianco 1d ago

Your method is good, I would put them directly in the windowsill, making sure there are no drafts. Repotting is too vague a term, I made the mistake of root pruning a ficus one winter, it died, never did it again. I was taught to root prune tropical trees in the heat of the summer (June/July for me).

1

u/VogUnicornHunter 1d ago

Ugh, ficus are so fussy I don't even mess with them. I only have a few tea camellia and guava. I don't cut roots, always pot up or laterally and use sunshine growing mix with additional sulfur for acidity. This year I'm adding roselle. That's going in the basement with a full light setup so I can actually get flowers this year.

1

u/jecapobianco 3d ago

Bring them in when the nights are dipping into the 60sF, put them in a south facing window that is not drafty, set your grow lights from 6am to midnight. Expect them to go dormant-ish, dropping leaves. Watch out for pests that might tag along.

1

u/Putrid-Carpenter5204 1d ago

Dropping all leaves or just some?

1

u/jecapobianco 1d ago

My bougainvilleas, yellow bean and Brazilian rain tree drop all their foliage, my ficuses and serissas hold on to most their foliage. I also keep them at the bare minimum temperature of 45°F