Transitioning your garden plants indoors for the fall and winter requires some planning to ensure a smooth adjustment to their new environment. You need to help your houseplants adjust to indoor life and keep them healthy throughout the fall and winter.

By bringing your garden indoors, you can extend the growing season and maintain a connection with nature, even as the weather cools. Indoor gardening allows you to enjoy fresh herbs, veggies, and even decorative plants year-round.

Tips For Transitioning Garden Plants Indoors For The Fall And Winter

Bringing your garden indoors as the seasons change is a wonderful way to keep your green thumb active and enjoy fresh plants and herbs throughout fall and winter. Here are some tips for transitioning your outdoor plants indoors:

1. Choose the Right Plants

Herbs: Many herbs, like basil, thyme, mint, rosemary, and parsley, thrive indoors with proper care. Their compact size and minimal space requirements make them perfect candidates for indoor gardening.Houseplants: Hardy plants such as ferns, spider plants, pothos, and snake plants are great for indoor environments. These houseplants not only add greenery but also improve indoor air quality.

2. Inspect and Treat for Pests

Before bringing plants inside, thoroughly check them for pests like aphids, spider mites, and whiteflies. You can wash the plants with a gentle stream of water or use insecticidal soap to get rid of any unwanted visitors.

3. Prune and Trim

Give your plants a good pruning before bringing them indoors to remove any dead or damaged growth. Trimming back leggy growth also helps reduce stress on the plants as they adjust to lower light levels inside.

4. Repot if Necessary

If your plants have outgrown their pots or if the soil looks tired, consider repotting them into fresh, well-draining potting mix. This gives the roots room to grow and access to fresh nutrients.

5. Adjust to Indoor Lighting

Outdoor plants are used to abundant natural light, so it’s important to place them near sunny windows. South- or west-facing windows typically provide the most light. You may also need to supplement with grow lights for plants that require more sunlight.

6. Maintain Humidity

Indoor air during fall and winter can be dry, which can stress plants. Increase humidity by grouping plants together, using a humidity tray, or placing a small humidifier nearby. Misting can also help, but don’t overdo it.

7. Watering

Be mindful of your watering schedule. Indoor plants typically require less water than outdoor plants in summer, as they’re no longer exposed to the intense heat and drying winds. Ensure pots have proper drainage to prevent waterlogging.

8. Temperature Considerations

Keep your indoor plants away from drafts, radiators, and heaters. Most plants thrive in temperatures between 60°F and 75°F (15°C to 24°C), which mimics outdoor spring and summer conditions.

9. Fertilization

As most plants enter a dormant phase during fall and winter, you can reduce or even stop fertilizing until spring. Over-fertilizing during dormancy can lead to burnt roots or stressed plants.

10. Acclimation

When transitioning plants indoors, do so gradually. Start by bringing them indoors during the night and taking them back out during the day for a few days. This helps reduce the shock of moving to a new environment.

By bringing your garden indoors, you can extend the growing season and enjoy fresh herbs and greenery even in the colder months. Each plant will have its own specific needs, so be sure to adjust your care routines as necessary to keep your indoor garden thriving.