Bring Your Plants Indoors

As October drops the curtain on summer, I lament the inevitable. The asters and mums are beginning to unfurl, but my attention is drawn to the tender plants that won’t fare well during a frost. I’ve gathered small pots and stockpiled soil for cuttings and starts of those plants that have won a place on my limited table space indoors through the winter.

One of them is a tiger fern (Nephrolepis exaltata variegata ‘Tiger’), a Boston fern that is variegated green and gold. This stunner was discovered in Indonesia in 2000 as a naturally-occurring plant mutation, and was grown on for several years to assure its stability. Its constitution belies its delicate demeanor, and it held its own in a big pot in partial sun along with Pentas and Pelargonium (annual geranium) throughout the summer.

Transplanting Tips

I asked Justin Hancock, Costa Farms Horticulturist, if I could dig out the fern without destroying its roots. He recommended knocking the entire rootball out of the pot and teasing the individual plants apart on the lawn or another area I wouldn’t mind making a mess of. While that is the most effective method, it wasn’t practical for me, as the container was quite large.

Hancock had a plan B for that scenario. “If your pot is pretty large and it’ll be hard to get the entire rootball out, then carefully dig out the fern, maintaining as much of the fern’s root system as possible,” he advised. “Then, depending on the size of the fern, I’d give the foliage a good rinsing with a garden hose or under a sink.”

I found it helpful to use the Radius Transplanter (//radiusgarden.com/collections/digging-tools/products/ergonomic-transplanter) to cut around the base of the plant while making a minimum of mess. When you bring plants indoors that have been growing outside for several months, there is a chance of hitchhikers in the soil that you really don’t want inside.

Hancock has a solution: “Soak the fern’s rootball in water for an hour or so and look to see if any insects try to escape. That should be a good indicator if there’s anything lurking.”

Another fern I decided to try indoors is Microsorum musifolium (crocodyllus fern). No shrinking violet, the crocodyllus fern’s fronds are stiff and wide and forgiving about being moved around during the summer. I left mine in its pot and kept it in the shade. By September, it was obvious it needed to be repotted. I easily knocked it out of the pot and ended up with three plants, one of which I shared with a friend.

Keep Them Happy

Ferns have a reputation for being finicky indoors because they rebel against the dry heat created by home furnaces. To stave off the desiccation, keep the thermostat as low as you can tolerate. We keep our thermostat no higher than 65 degrees F and have a humidifier connected to our furnace. Also, plants actually have a humidifying effect on the atmosphere. The trick is to group plants together as much as possible to boost humidity, but far enough apart to promote good air circulation.

My sunroom has two overhead fans that run most of the day to increase air movement. While a plant’s above-ground parts love moist air, its roots aren’t big on wet soil. It’s a balancing act to be sure, but most indoor plants prefer a breather between drinks. This is especially true for new cuttings because an immature root system is easily overwhelmed by too much water. I find a heat mat very helpful beneath pots of new plants.

I gather pots of newly-started cuttings together into a plastic storage box that has been covered on the bottom inch or so with clean pebbles. Make sure to smooth the pebbles so the pots can rest on top of them and add plain water so that the top of the pebbles are wet, but not so the water covers the pebbles. The goal is to keep the pot bottoms out of the water. Add a humidity dome that you can purchase at a garden center, or you can even use a large plastic clamshell container that salad comes in at the supermarket.

Grow Plants For a Purpose

Space is always limited indoors. To an extent, I practice the same routine as I do outdoors—buy many small plants instead of few big plants so you can try more varieties. I try to grow at least two of each variety indoors. That way, in case something happens to one, you have a back-up. It also makes it easier to share with other plant-lovers.

I like to create mixed containers for indoors, and change them up throughout the winter. This works best if each plant is in a small pot. Whether it’s square or round, limit their size to no more than three inches wide.

Hancock recommends keeping the plants in their own pots so that it’s easier to swap different varieties out whenever you’d like. “I actually do this at home myself by putting a few small grower’s pots in one large decorative pot, then covering the top of all the pots with moss so you can’t tell they’re individual,” says Hancock. “Right now I have three varieties of gold-variegated ivy in a blue-and-gray pot. It’s fun! As the holidays come closer, I’ll swap the gold-variegated ones out for white-variegated types.”

There is no end to the combinations you can create using all foliage plants in a variety of heights and habits. Add some decorations depending on the occasion, and it’s a great centerpiece or even hostess gift.

Succulents as Table Décor

Even light-loving succulents can be pulled into the mix if it’s for a short stint as tabletop décor. Succulents love sun—the more the better, especially if grown indoor. But most won’t mind a low light spot for a couple of weeks as long as that spot doesn’t come with high water. And this is another good reason for keeping plants in separate pots—each contains a plant and its own little microclimate so that you can combine jungle-lovers with desert dwellers. And if one of the plants overgrows its spot or doesn’t like its home, you can switch them out.

For the long-term though Hancock says bright light (even direct sun) is key. “If you have a bright spot indoors, you should be able to be just as successful with your succulents inside as you were out,” he says. “If you don’t have a bright window, then grow your succulents under a light. It doesn’t need to be a fancy plant light — a regular old inexpensive shop light will do just fine.”

Hancock stresses the need to be careful with the water as well when it comes to succulents. “Indoors, most succulents use less water than they did outdoors,” he advises. “We find an average is about 10-14 days (between waterings)—but that really depends on how much light the succulents get, the temperature, the humidity, the size of the pot, and the type of potting mix they’re in.”

Whether you just want a couple of plants to brighten a windowsill or are planning an ambitious lighting set-up, it’s best to get your plant cuttings and starts as soon as possible. Having their roots separated and their stems cut forces plants to go into overdrive in order to grow roots and survive. Putting them through the shock of moving from a cool and humid environment outdoors to a forced air-heated spot indoors will make them have to work all the harder.

Plants that are easy to start from cuttings:

Fuchsia ‘Autumnale’

Hemigraphis exotica variegated (waffle plant)

Pelargonium (annual geranium)

Plectranthus ciliatus ‘Troy’s Gold’

Plectranthus coleoides ‘Cerveza ‘n Lime’

Plants that can be dug and repotted:

Ferns:

Microsorum musifolium (crocodyllus fern)

Nephrolepis exaltata ‘Tiger Fern’

Oxalis ‘Plum Crazy’