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taking plants inside
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Posted by flowergirl1211 8 (linlmart@centurytel.net) on Thu, Nov 1, 07 at 13:21
Hi All, I was wondering what do you all do to plants when taking inside for the winter? Besides washing them good with hose. Is there some type of spray to make sure there are no insects etc?
TIA,
Linda |
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RE: taking plants inside
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- Posted by perlite z6, southern IN (My Page) on
Thu, Nov 1, 07 at 15:37
Hi Linda,
I prefer to repot stuff after it has summered outside. Unfortunately, I have about 25 or 30 plants sitting in the garage waiting for the procedure. (You know... sitting right where the car should be!)
Many of them I really will repot. But since my garage does have a window and many of the plants will tolerate its temperatures they'll spend their winter dormancy there (I have a Begonia grandis and some Pelargoniums (Zonal geraniums) that comprise most of those.), and most of the others, such as the cane Begonias who've honestly outgrown their pots, will just plain need to be potted up. Sometimes I isolate and observe plants when I've no time to repot, and can reintegrate them to the collection in a couple of weeks.
A good hosing down and inspection on a warm fall day also helps with this process. I find that though a few earwigs, sowbugs and centipedes (shiver) like to take up residence in the potting mix during summer, usually no pests that do a lot of damage to the plants move in.
That said, when I was taking cuttings from a huge wandering jew on my porch a few days ago, (There's just plain no room for it inside!) a bird flew out of its tangle of purple and green! She was staying warm in there.
I have also had ants take up residence in a pot. The plant living there was able to tolerate a few hours with its rootball submerged, so I put it in a bucketful of water for a few hours. The ants moved their home out and I could move the plant in. perL |
RE: taking plants inside
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| Due to the hundreds of pots I take in to the basement, I can't take a lot of time cleaning them up. I let the pots dry out some so I can brush the major dirt off the pot. I only repot what absolutely needs it, spray only the worst plants with Neem (some canes are very mildew prone), but rarely spray for bugs (mealy bugs may appear later at which time I will spray or dab with alcohol). Some bugs may come in with the plants but are usually not a problem (at least in a basement). A few lizards may hitchhike in a big plant but I hope they stay alive by consuming insects for the winter. I really have more problems with fungal outbreaks and low humidity than insects. |
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