(
Via EnjoyGardening)
Posted by admin to Current Articles on 2007-09-28, 06:54:12
first published September 20, 2007
At this time of year, there are really only two types of patio plants growing in my yard: those I will leave outside to perish from a hard frost and those I will rescue by bringing inside before the night temperatures dip too low. This year, the number of plants on my to-rescue list is low. It’s not that my heart is as cold as the frost on the ground; it’s just that I’m running out of space in my home. As fond as I am of bringing the outdoors in, I’m not eager to spend the winter navigating my way through large foliage, like some Cro-Magnon man. Quite frankly, It’s bad enough that I drag my heals in the morning; I don’t need to feel like I’m dragging my knuckles, too. Suffice to say, I’m very selective about what deserves sanctuary.
At the top of my to-save list is my lemon tree…well, it’s not so much my list as it is my daughter’s. She thinks making lemonade from her very own lemons is pure heaven, and I’d prefer that her sour face be the result of drinking tart lemonade than have it be her reaction to seeing her pet tree blasted by a deep-freeze. So even though it isn’t the most handsome of trees and produces only a couple ripe lemons per month, you can bet I have a sunny spot set aside for its winter respite.
Bougainvillea
Another plant I can’t imagine parting with is my bougainvillea. It’s about a metre-and-a-half tall and produces a mass of magenta coloured flowers by midsummer. It’s not the best-looking ornamental during the winter, but once I return it to my sunny deck in the spring, the sunshine breathes life back into it.
A plant that I brought in early is my papyrus grass. My wife loved it so much as a feature container plant that she thought we should repot it and put it in the house for the winter. To be honest, I’m not sure how it will like its new digs. I suspect its stems might become a little soft under the low interior light levels of my home, but I think if I trim out the weak shoots on the grass, it should produce new growth and still be in good shape when I move it back to the deck next spring.
The tricks to growing patio plants indoors aren’t that complicated. First, ensure that your plants are as clean as possible. Insects and mites are expert clandestine stowaways that can wreak havoc once they are in the protected, predator-free environment of your home, so it’s a good idea to douse these unwanted hitchhikers with insecticidal soap before you carry them over the threshold. Quarantining those plants indoors for a few days is also a good idea. The old ‘ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’ aphorism definitely applies here.
Secondly, ensure that you have enough well-lit space in your home. If your home is short on sunlight, then your patio plants are destined to be short on life. Good sunlight isn’t an option; it’s a necessity.
Temperature wise, plants are far better grown at the cooler end of their ideal temperature range. So for example, if a plant grows best at 18–24C, keep the room at 18C and the plant in as bright a light as possible. The cooler temperatures will help keep your plants from growing weak and spindly, and you just might save some costs on home heating. The only thing I will caution you on are your expectations: patio plants brought indoors will not perform anywhere near as well as they would outside, but if they (and you) emerge from winter ‘storage’ a bit bruised but still healthy, then you’ve accomplished your goal.
When winter throws you lemons…
