Hi jeelli!! How are you?

I'll bet you can't wait to be outdoors in the spring? I bet your tropicals can't wait either! lol
Unless of course you love the winter, being indoors and this artic cold air with very lttle sun. What a winter ha?
I hope next month is warmer.
As for me, I can't wait for the nice sunny warm weather outdoors. And if my plants are anything like me, then I feel their pain..
Jeelli, I am going to give mine a break and put them outdoors,the tropical ones,especiall my citrus,gardenias, and any other tropical, so they can enjoy life as it was meant to be for them in the great ourdoor enviroment as soon as those warm days come.
I guess you could say it is a gamble I will take.
Quite honestly, I use to have plants that never spent a day outdoors, and they somehow seemed to attrack mites anyways! Just houseplants, let alone highly suseptable ones such as gardenias and plumerias.
But, since my tropicals grow twice their size in summer outdoors,get greener and healthier, more vibrant, grow stronger roots,I can water as often as I want with less hassle washing off plants, and they love rain, especially thunderstorms, seem to bask outdoors, or smile at me everytime I go near them on a nice warm summers day with the nice warm morning sun sitting on them, something I can not dupilctae indoors, no matter how much light I give them indoors,and better yet, I can't wait to save on my electric bill, and shut all these lights off and borrow the sun for a while. Free light!
So yes, I will put them outdoors and control pests before they come inside. Even all the local greenhouses around here do the same.
As you can see, I have many reasons why I do, that outweigh the risk of one reason not too, pests.
I know several people who never put theirs outdoors, and they still have problems with pests anyways especially in winter, and even in summer once windows are open. Some even carry pest problems from winter well into summer, an eternity, especially with mites. When I put them outdoors after being inside all winter, the pests seem to take a high five, leave them alone, diasapear.:-)
I know a friend that has been battling with mites everyday all yearlong for years, that has plants that have never seen the light of day outdoors and they always seem to fail her at years end due to pests anyway!
Jeelli,
if you search here for the best possible pesticide, "natural" of course, then you will be able to carry them through the winter with no worries all, while at the same time, let your plants do their utmost job in showing their display of beauty to you, especially the floering and fruiting ones, especiall citurs, gardenia, and plumeria.
I have accepted the fact for me that I will NEVER be able to COMPLETELY rid of them, so why not give my plants a break from a direct assult of pests all winter and temporarily say good by to those darn buggers!
Remember, our winters are long and ugly for them, not like some plants that only have a short time to be indoors, that live in a area where the winters are short with less than desired natural sunlight too, that they require.

Some may disagree with me, for this is a debateable subject. Some would never put theirs outdoors. For some, it is a Taboo. Some even know how to grow perfect indoor tropicals fine without ever putting them outside.
Don't get me wrong though, not ALL my tropicals go outdoors. Not the ones that seem to do fine for ME, such as palms, and other ones meant to be grown indoors.
Some do a great job growing them indoors, even highly demanding ones such as citrus all year long. But not me.
So don't be in a quuandery, just follow your heart and do what's best for your little humans.
Jeelli, as you can see, I do what's best for Me and tropicals, and I am sure you will too.:-)
Sorry long, but I was in a alert mood for a change..lol
Mother was rushed to hospital, solooking for something to do to preoccupie my mind for a bit.
Mike

Hi Mike!
I am sorry to hear about your Mother- I hope everything is okay!
Thank You for being the ONLY one to weigh in, although I think I knew the answer, and if I could I would have taken back my post.
Of course, you are absolutely right. My problem is that I am not very vigilant about spraying them, so really, who's fault is that? (mine- all mine). And then I get frustrated. I hate to admit it, but maybe I have too many plants!(never!) They are mostly small, though. Hopefully using Al's mix will help them grow larger!!!!
I forgot how much plants like rain water, too. So yes- outside they'll go- I'll just try to spray more consistently before hibernation time next Fall...(yeah right- I say that EVERY year!)
They should start a forum for Northern gardeners suffering from S.A.D.!
It's gonna be a loooong winter.
Where in Mass are you? You guys always get it a little worse than we do!

I hope all is well with your Mom- take care!
Jen

Hi Jeelli...

Mom is better, thankyou for caring!

I am in eastern Mass on the southern border with New Hampshire.

Jeelli, your plants will do AWSOME in Al's mix, that I swear was made for us northerners. Mine were outside all summer in his mix, and for the first time I brought in no "knat", thiose darn buggers!! They can be a nuisance!
It is alot easier to control mites and others too, since the soil is not condusive to them living there once they have been sprayed off the leaves..lol

P.S..By my experience, if you want to control your pest perfectly, I mean control, not totally rid of, but certainly not worry about them, I will share with you the best pesticide you can use that Toni has freely shared with all of us...

If you are out there, thanks again toni, known as "hopefulauthor"...from me and all my plants!!!
Miss you!

Jeelli, keep smiling! Keep in touch if you'd like. Let me know how your plants are every so often.

Mike:-)