After the cold winter months, we are all ready for some fresh air and warm sunlight, including our houseplants. In their native environment, many of our favorite plants grow on the forest floor or in the desert, which means any of your plants can go outside with the right conditions. While the warm temperatures, humidity, and monthly fertilizing will help them flourish during the growing season, there are a few things to keep in mind before starting their summer vacation.
Acclimating
Acclimating your plants over 10-14 days outdoors can prevent any stress by slowly adjusting your plants to the change in humidity, temperature, and light conditions. It is recommended to start any plant in the shade for an hour or two at a time and slowly increase the time as the days go on. The cool, early morning sun is okay after the plant has adjusted outside for about two weeks but avoid the hot afternoon sun. Even sun-loving plants need to adjust to prevent sunburn!
Temperature
Tropicals, cactus, and succulents can be sensitive to temps below 50℉ as it can stunt their growth or potentially cause damage. It is important to watch the weather in the spring as we typically have cool nights and warm days. You may have to move your plants indoors on cool nights and back outdoors during the day. Once the weather is consistently above 50-60℉, it is safe to leave your plants outside!
Location
While you may have the perfect spot on your front porch, sunlight, rain, and wind are some factors to think about when choosing an outdoor location. The intense, direct sunlight outdoors can burn some plants’ tender foliage so it is best to place your plant in a shady or mostly shady location. Plants such as Banana Plants, Birds of Paradise, and most cacti can handle full sun but they still need to be gradually acclimated. In the Midwest, we have plenty of wind that can snap stems or blow plants over. While your plant won’t die from a snapped stem, preventing damage will keep your plant looking big and beautiful.
Adjust your watering
Light, temperature, wind, and humidity can change the frequency of watering.
Higher temperatures, wind speeds, lots of light, and low humidity will cause your plant to absorb more water and dry out faster.
Low temperatures, little wind, shade, and high humidity will cause your plant to retain more moisture.
It is always recommended to check your soil before watering and not watering on a schedule as plants needs can vary. If your plant is hit by rain, rainfall over 1” is sufficient to thoroughly water. Any less rain and you may have to additionally water to ensure deep watering.
After a warm summer season, any houseplant you may have had outside needs to be acclimated to your home’s temperature, lighting, and humidity. While you won’t kill your plant by just tossing it inside, acclimating it can help prevent shock and give you time to locate and treat any pests that may be tagging along.
Acclimating
Most houseplants, succulents, and cacti prefer to be kept in temperatures above 50℉, so it’s a good idea to keep an eye on the nighttime temperatures in the fall. If the nighttime temps begin to dip into the 50s, it is time to begin transitioning your plants indoors. It is recommended to begin adjusting your plants to indoor conditions over a 7-10 day period to prevent shock. On the first day, you want to bring your plant indoors in its designated spot for an hour or two before returning it back outside. You will then want to gradually increase the number of hours your houseplants are indoors every day. By the end of the 7-10 day period, your plant will be acclimated to its new environment and you can leave it in its spot all day long. As your plant adjusts to its new home, it is not uncommon for it to drop a few leaves.
Pests
While your plants were enjoying their time outside, some pests may have found a new home in your houseplants. These pests love to hide on stems, under leaves, or in small crevices so it is always a good idea to do a thorough check-through of your plant. Any visible pests should be treated before bringing your houseplants indoors to prevent bringing these pests into your home. Mealie bugs, spider mites, and aphids are some common pests that can be treated with neem oil, insecticides, etc. Even if you can’t see any pests, it is a good idea to treat your houseplants anyway to reduce the risk of pest problems during the winter. While pests won’t disappear completely after the first treatment, sticking with the product’s recommended treatment schedule and doing thorough check-throughs of your plant throughout the fall and winter is important to prevent any infestations.
Location
As we have fewer hours of sunlight in the winter, it is important to find the correct light requirements for your plant’s needs. Desert plants, such as cacti and succulents, will prefer bright direct lighting while other plants, like pothos and monstera, will thrive in more bright indirect light. It is important to familiarize yourself with your plants and their lighting needs. If there is not sufficient lighting, over time you will see plants start to get etiolated (pale and stretched out due to lack of light). If this happens, you can find a brighter location or you can supplement with grow lights. Not sure what kind of light you have in your house, check out our houseplant lighting guide.
Another thing to take into consideration when choosing your location is drafts and vents. It is best to avoid putting your houseplants near any drafts, doors to the outside, leaky windows, or vents as these places can cause temperature fluctuations that can stress your plants. This stress can lead to your houseplants dropping leaves and looking overall unhappy.
Adjust your watering
Now that the growing season is over, your plants will begin to slow their growth or even go dormant during the winter months. As the growth slows, your plant will begin drawing up less water and thus you will have to water your plants less often. It is always recommended to check your soil before watering instead of sticking to a strict watering schedule. Look out for common signs of over-watering such as yellowing leaves and fungus gnats. If you see these signs, allow more time between watering so that your plant can sufficiently dry out. As your plant’s growth slows it will also begin to take up fewer nutrients. Because of this, you can reduce your fertilizing over the winter months. You can either dilute your fertilizer or you can stop fertilizing until the spring months.
One of the keys to success with houseplants is having your houseplants in the proper light. Too much light and your plant leaves may sunburn while too little light and your houseplants may not bloom or grow. Finding the perfect light level for each plant will help your houseplant collection thrive.
Direct vs. Indirect Sunlight
Direct sunlight is when sunlight directly shines on the plant with nothing to block or filter the light. Grow lights can be used to create direct light if your home doesn’t have enough direct light to support your houseplant collection.
Indirect sunlight is when something in the path of the sunlight filters or diffuses the light before it reaches the houseplant. Sheer curtains, furniture, or even a tree outside your window can create indirect lighting. Being next to a window but not in the direct line of sunlight would also be considered bright indirect lighting. There are three types of indirect sunlight that you may come across in your home.
Filtered sunlight refers to direct light that is filtered by either a tree outside the window or by curtains/blinds in the window.
Indirect sunlight refers to when you have a plant that is in an area that receives bright sunlight but the plant itself is shaded either by another plant or a piece of furniture.
Partial Sunlight refers to when the light is direct only for a few hours during the day. This type of sunlight is very common for east-facing windows where there is direct sunlight for a few hours in the morning and then the rest of the day is indirect sunlight.
Lighting Levels
Every houseplant requires a different amount of light to grow and thrive. Some houseplants, like ZZ plants and snake plants, can tolerate multiple levels of light while other plants are very particular about their light levels. Becoming familiar with your houseplants and the proper level of lighting needed will help you succeed as a plant parent.
High Light- Houseplants that require high light levels need 6+ hours of direct or indirect sun exposure. Some plants that fall into the high light category include: succulents, cacti, fiddle leaf figs, and crotons. While high light plants can tolerate a lot of direct sunlight, always keep an eye out for sunburn on the tips of their leaves. South-facing and West-facing windows are great for high light plants as they provide the most direct sunlight during the afternoon hours when the sun rays are the strongest.
Medium Light- Houseplants that require medium light conditions can tolerate some direct sunlight, but they usually prefer to have indirect light. Some medium-light houseplants include: pothos, dracaena, ficus, monstera, and scheffelera. East-facing windows are great for medium-light plants as they will get a few hours of direct sunlight in the morning and indirect sunlight in the afternoon.
Low Light- Houseplants in this category do not require much light. These plants are perfect for rooms that have few windows or rooms where the blinds are often closed. While these plants do not require much light they do still need some light to grow. Low light tolerant houseplants include: peace lilies, ferns, and ZZ plants. North-facing windows are great for low-light plants since they get low to no hours of direct sunlight. *Note while some plants may tolerate low-light conditions they will not grow as big or as fast as they would in medium light.
Where to Place Your Plants
Now that we understand the different light levels, we have to determine where these light levels are in your house. The best way to determine light levels is to walk through your house at various times throughout the day and note where the light is falling. This will help you to determine where the direct sunlight is and how many hours of direct light is available. You can also broadly determine the light levels of your house based on the direction that the window faces. South and West-facing windows provide lots of bright direct light for high-light plants while east and north-facing windows provide indirect light that is great for medium and low-light plants. If you are determining your light levels based on window direction make sure to take into account other factors such as furniture, curtains, and outside trees to make a better determination of the light levels.
