The biggest problem most tropical growers have in colder zones is when it's time to say goodbye to sunny days and bring your babies in from the cold. Some of us have greenhouses (lucky!) and some of us cram those babies into every place we can find for the winter months.

I have a 3-bedroom ranch with a huge deck (and various gardens) which they live in all summer. But when fall comes, it's "Quick, everybody in the house!" as temps can drop suddenly (especially at the end of September here in Indiana) and a few of the plants get grumpy when that happens. So I put them all in the garage, prune them down and start the process of dealing with pests.

The biggest problem I had over the years is bringing in pests with the plants. Not only can you get hatches of spiders, praying mantis along with ants, white fly, aphids, spider mites and others. Since it's usually a rushed event, bringing them in suddenly into your home or greenhouse is a bad idea as the pests can leave the plant quickly, find a hiding place in the new shelter and then come back to the plant later when the coast is clear. I've seen professional greenhouses decimated by pests because they didn't control the pests THE MINUTE THEY BRING IN THE PLANTS. They waited and paid the price. Why risk losing irreplaceable plants you've babied for years, sometimes decades?

Aphids, white fly and spider mite and other pests can all be controlled VERY easily with just 8 drops of liquid dish detergent in 1/2 gal. sprayer nearly filled with distilled water. But it's all about how you apply the spray. You can't just mist the plant and walk away.

I usually SOAK (and I mean SOAK) all my tropicals down with the spray in the garage each fall before bringing them in. I have good luck with the following method. I spray over the course of 3 days, spraying the plants each day in the morning once I've pruned them all down (you know how it is, they grow huge outdoors, but have to fit indoors). Pruning is another help because I get rid of about 1/3 of the plant, thus 1/3 of the possible pests attached. Throw out the prunings immediately.

Shake up the container very well, it will foam a lot, but it's no big deal, there's plenty of liquid in the bottom. Make sure there are no dead leaves on the soil and soak the living leaves on BOTH sides and all stems and trunks, especially at the joints. Also, soak the soil surface. Mites are the worst, they'll hide in every nook and cranny, thus the soaking.

All it takes is one mated pest to survive and your plants will end up suffering all winter. This is a good remedy and does not involve chemicals at all and smells very pleasant. Plants don't mind the soap mixture at all.

I've followed this course for years and I have yet to lose a palm, jasmine, hibiscus, orange, lemon, grapefruit or any other tropical.