I brought my tropical plants indoors for the winter and some of them don’t seem to be doing great. Any suggestions? MK

First of all, you can expect your outdoor plants to have a little adjustment period when you bring them indoors. They may drop some leaves and look poorly for a few days but usually this is just from the abrupt change in their environment. The leaf drop stops pretty quickly. However, there are some things you can do to give them survive indoors.

First thing to consider is light. Your outdoor plants are going to need a fair amount of light to make it indoors. Try to find a bright area next to some windows. If you don’t have a place like this, you might need to invest in a grow light of some sort. These used to be fairly expensive but have gotten more reasonable in recent years.

Temperature is also very important. Try not to place them in a place where the heater blows directly on the plant or in a cold corner. They will be the happiest with temperatures between 65-75 degrees. Humidity is also a plus, so if you have a humidifier, try setting it about 50 to 60%. If you don’t have a humidifier, you can place your plants on a tray that contains small gravel or pebbles and keep those pebbles moist.

Water is something you are also going to have to watch. In our dry winter air, plants tend to lose water faster than during the summer. You’ll notice this when the leaves start to get droopy. Your best bet is to forget about your summer watering schedule and let the plants tell you how often you should be watering. How will they tell you? Droopy leaves.

As far as how much to water, it’s usually a good idea to water until you see water coming out of the drain hole at the bottom of the plant. Then leave them alone until they need to be watered. Speaking off drain holes, be sure that the plants have good drainage since overwatering can lead to root rot which can kill your plants.

The size of the pot also makes a difference on how often you will need to water. Smaller pots will need to be watered more often. Some may even need to be watered every 2-3 days while bigger pots may be able to go a week to 2 weeks without watering. You’re just going to have to pay attention to their needs.

Fertilizer is also a great way to help your plants make it through the winter indoors. It’s easy to use a water-soluble fertilizer. You can use it full strength every 3 or 4 weeks or if you want to give them a little each week, just dilute appropriately.

If you follow these guidelines, your plants will enjoy their time indoors and be ready to get back outside when it warms up. Good luck.

You can get answers to all your gardening questions by calling the Tulsa Master Gardeners Help Line at 918-746-3701, dropping by our Diagnostic Center at 4116 E. 15th Street, or by emailing us at mg@tulsamastergardeners.org. Photo: Pixabay