9 Pro Tips for Transitioning Houseplants Indoors for Winter

As temperatures drop and fall moisture arrives, your houseplants start craving to be indoors again for the first time since last year. They dislike extreme frosts and will begin to turn brown and yellow while dropping their leaves. Bring them indoors before the frosty weather arrives to keep them on their healthy growth track.

A “houseplant” is simply a plant you grow in your home. It can be from tropical, desert, or temperate regions. The species we often propagate are ones that appreciate our homes’ conditions. They like steady temperatures, moderate airflow, and shady locations. They thrive outdoors in the summer because the season resembles the settings in their native range. 

Inspect for Pests

Indoors, there are walls between fleshy plants and insect pests. They lack this protection outdoors and can bring eggs, adults, or larvae inside when you transition your houseplants. Inspecting every specimen before you bring them inside helps mitigate infestations before they occur.

The most common pests are aphids, thrips, spider mites, scales, and white flies. They have natural predators outside that keep their populations in check. Although you may see aphids on your plants in summer, you’ll also see ladybugs and birds eating them. When you bring the plants inside, lurking pests find themselves in a warm location without natural predators. Their populations may explode with growth!

Start by rinsing every one of your houseplants with strong streams of water. This will knock most adults off the plant, although eggs and larvae may persist. Pests like thrips lay eggs inside the leaves that hatch over time.

Use a preventative organic pest control method like neem oil to zap other hiding insect pests. Skip the neem oil when it comes to sensitive and supple plants like aloe and other succulents. For these species, a gentle wipe with a damp cloth is sufficient.

If you suspect thrips or other egg-laying pests are in the leaves, wait to bring your plants indoors until a week or two after treatment. Spray neem oil or a similar organic spray on the leaves and stems again after the first week, and your plants will remain pest-free during their transition.

Prune Dead or Diseased Parts

Like pests, diseases also thrive inside with mild conditions. If you bring diseased houseplants indoors for the winter, they may spread spores or viruses rampantly before you can treat them. Pruning diseased and dead parts off the plants helps their appearance and prevents the disease from spreading, making them ideal decorations for your house during winter. 

Start by locating any leaves, stems, or sprouts that have spots or damage on them. Snip these off and dispose of them away from your garden; bury the scraps deep underground or hot compost them to kill the diseases. Try not to prune more than a third of the plant so it still has healthy growth to photosynthesize with. 

Most plant pathogens reproduce from infected parts before spreading to other hosts. Monitor your specimens for a week or two after pruning to ensure they don’t have fungal, bacterial, or viral infections, then move them indoors when you’re sure they’re healthy.

Transplant Rootbound Plants

Over the summer, your houseplants thrive with additional sunshine, warmth, and airflow. They appreciate the natural environment and grow quicker than they do indoors. This means some of your specimens may grow rootbound in their pots, or they’ll outgrow their containers. Give them a fresh start before the transition to ensure they continue sprouting healthy new growth.

It’s easy to see if your plants are rootbound. Look at the drainage holes at the bottom of the pots to see if roots poke out of them. This is one sign your houseplant needs repotting. If unsure, remove your plant from its container and inspect the roots. If they circle about themselves near the edge of the pot, they’ll need transplanting.

Extremely rootbound specimens need some care before you give them a new home. Slice off any circling or upward-growing roots, and position the rest so they reach downwards. Place your specimen in a new container with fresh potting soil, and let it acclimate for a few days before transitioning it indoors.

When it comes to species that like to be rootbound, leave them in their pots as is. Examples of species that enjoy being rootbound include peperomia, African violets, peace lilies, and snake plants. Their growth will slow in the off-season, and you can pot them up when they begin actively growing in spring if it’s necessary.

Slowly Acclimate

Just as vegetable seedlings need to acclimate to the outdoors, summer houseplants must acclimate to indoor settings to prepare for winter. Move them too quickly, and they may drop leaves, halt their growth, or die! This most likely won’t occur, although it can if you transition sun-loving houseplants to dark places in your home.

Acclimate houseplants by placing them under a porch, patio, or balcony for one to two weeks. Move them indoors at night and back outdoors during the day. You may also alternate the days so your specimens have one day inside and one day outside for two weeks. 

Your plants may halt their growth in response to the transition, and some may lose a few leaves. Do not worry; this is a normal response as it adapts to new lighting, airflow, and temperatures. Take this process as slow as you need to avoid harming your sensitive perennials.

Choose A Bright Location

Without walls, windows, and a roof, the outdoors has much more sunlight available for plants than our homes. There’s dappled sunlight that pops through tree canopies, direct sunlight throughout the day, and there’s filtered sunlight penetrating other thin-leaved species. Partial shade outdoors may be completely different than partial shade indoors.

When moving things indoors for winter, the best way to know where to put your houseplants is to test their reactions to new spaces. Give them two weeks to acclimate to new locations, then check them to see if they’re happy. Weak plants with yellowing leaves, limp growth, or leggy stems need more light than they currently receive.

Particularly dark homes may benefit from grow lights. These fixtures mimic the sun’s frequencies, providing light-hungry houseplants with the brightness they need to survive winter. It’s best to place the lights on a daily timer so you don’t have to remember to turn them off and on. Have them on while the sun is out, and program them to turn off as the sun sets. 

Water Less

Some of your houseplants will enter a state of dormancy as they move indoors for the winter. Plants like the desert rose, plumeria tree, and royal poinciana tree lose most of their leaves, require less water, and stop needing fertilizer. Add too much water or nutrients, and they’ll drown during this period. 

One easy way to know when to water is to use the finger test. As plants suck up water from the soil, they leave dry dirt behind. Stick your finger as deep as it will go in the soil and pull it out. Hold off on watering if you sense moisture, and apply plenty of water if it’s dry below the surface. 

Other species that don’t enter winter dormancy often need less water, too. Lower light levels cause them to slow their growth, meaning they take in less water, nutrients, and air. You’ll start watering your specimens normally as days lengthen and warm in spring—your houseplants will respond with quick, robust, and healthy sprouts. 

Add Humidity

Species originating in tropical and subtropical zones may appreciate more humidity than our homes offer. Some like ambient moisture to keep their leaves perky, bright, and green. Winter conditions are often dry, as we use heaters that suck moisture out of the air. Combat this with a humidifier and you’ll boost your plants’ health throughout the cool months.

Another easy solution is a rock tray with water. The water evaporates slowly without soaking the soil, creating extra humidity around your species. This method is especially useful for common houseplants like calatheas, spider plants, and philodendrons, as it helps them push new growth without brown or yellow tips.

To make a humidity tray, first find plant saucers. Use plastic or glass instead of terra cotta, as terra cotta can leach moisture out of the interior of the pot. Place pebbles or small rocks in the saucer, then fill it with water so the moisture sits a little below the saucer’s edge. This keeps water consistently evaporating while providing adequate drainage for your plant babies. 

Watch for Drafts

Air drafts, both hot and cold, harm healthy growth indoors. Open windows and space heaters blow extremely cold or hot air that threatens sensitive houseplants. If you’re aware of a particularly drafty spot in your home, try placing the toughest of your plants in those areas. Houseplants like pothos, ZZ, and snake plants are some of the toughest ones that survive drafty areas.

Although tough species survive drafts, they may not like them. Monitor your houseplants closely to see how they react. Once you find a type that thrives despite the drafts, you’ll want to remember it! It’ll be an indispensable species for you and your home. 

If your houseplants need lots of light but don’t like being near cold windows, consider a few tricks to help them. You can situate them away from the window with grow lights. You may also place them near a heater with a humidifier to cancel out the hot, dry air. Another option is placing them near a cool window with a heater and a humidifier to keep the houseplants warm, lit, and humid without grow lights. 

Propagate Lengthy Stems

Despite your best efforts, some houseplants may not like the indoors during winter! Succulent species like burro’s tail or tree houseleeks grow leggy with low light and cool temperatures. Take advantage of these lengthy stems and propagate them into fresh, bushy, and robust specimens.

Start taking cuttings as the stems grow leggy. Strip their lower leaves, then place the cuttings in containers with new potting soil. Water them well, place them under bright light, and ensure the soil stays moist but not soggy. They’ll root in a few days or weeks and grow bushy new sprouts with adequate lighting.

I like to propagate houseplants in late winter and early spring to take the transplants outdoors for the growing season. This way, I can keep my houseplants indoors year-round while I enjoy their attractive qualities in the outdoor garden. Although they appreciate the outdoors, keeping some indoors adds ornamental value to your bedrooms, bathrooms, and living rooms.