Before the first cold snap, most farmers say you should bring your plants indoors to prevent them from going dormant or dying altogether.
You’ve spent a significant amount of time all season long, or maybe over multiple seasons, getting your crops to maturity and bloom, and why waste something you worked so hard for when you can keep it growing? Here is the best method for overwintering plants indoors.
Only the Strong Survive
When you’re thinking about moving your garden indoors for the winter, there are a few things you should consider first. The initial thing should be the lifespan of the plant. Some plants are annuals, so you need to plant them yearly for them to come back. So there’s no need to bring these in.
The others are perennials, which can go dormant and come back naturally year after year. A great example of these is cacti. These are some of the easiest indoor plants to grow, and the easiest indoor succulents are typically the ones you don’t have to manage much.
When you overwinter, you prevent their dormancy and give them a longer growth cycle. You will also need to bring in only the strongest specimens that grew to maintain the best genetics in your garden.
Make Sure To Do It Before Frost
If you’re bringing your plants in, don’t wait too long to do it. When the temperatures start to dip below 50 degrees, it will send your plant into shock, where it will usually go dormant. If it doesn’t go dormant, then it may die off. In that case, discard it and save only the healthy varieties.
Medicate and Treat Them
You’ll need to treat your plants for any diseases they might have picked up throughout the year. You’ll also need to check them thoroughly and treat them for bugs, as these can be a real pest if you bring them indoors. They will infest your plants, eat them up, and kill them.
Give Them All Their Necessities
Plants have needs just like we do. Oddly enough, most of those needs halt during the winter as they aren’t photosynthesizing at the rates they were outdoors. Some of that process will still be taking place, but it will be nothing like the rate at which it was going while outside.
Don’t Over Do It
One thing novice gardeners get caught up in is hovering over their plants. This is the worst possible thing they could do for their gardens. When you overwater and overfeed, you can choke your plant and kill it or severely harm it. Less is more with plants during the winter, so water half as much and stop the feedings altogether, and your plants will stay happy and healthy.
If you follow these steps, you’ll have the best method for overwintering a plant indoors that you’ll ever find. So take your time and nurture your plants indoors this winter to prevent them from freezing to death.
