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Each year in mid May I gather up all of my many houseplants and put them on
a shady porch for the summer. They make quite an impressive jungle. I do this
for two reasons. First, it gives the plants more light during their season of
active growth and second, it makes it easier to care for them during the busy
vacation period. When they are all together, I can delegate the chore of watering
without worrying if some plants will be overlooked. The only one I won’t
move is the big Ficus benjamina (weeping fig tree). This plant is notorious
for dropping its leaves and sulking for weeks at a time for a tiny change, so
I leave it in peace.
The critical thing about putting indoor plants outdoors is to be sure that they
are not placed in direct sun. Even the brightest indoor light is never equivalent
to sunshine outdoors. Plants get sunburned just like you or me. My porch has
deep overhanging eaves so light, but not direct summer sun, can penetrate to
the back wall. If your only outdoor spot is too sunny, you could put up some
shade cloth or a lath baffle to protect the plants. Check carefully before you
depend on a tree to shade the houseplants—it may not be enough protection.
Plant moving time is a good time to check and see which plants need to be repotted or top-dressed. A fair number of houseplants like to be a little root-bound, but even these need to have some new soil sometimes. I can take them out of their pots, prune the roots and put them back with fresh potting soil so that they go into the summer with some place to put their new roots. With others, it’s time to move them up a size or divide them and make new plants. In any case, I can assess the health of the roots and look for problems.
Speaking of health, massing plants together like this can lead to other problems—fungus being one of them. Let the air circulate and watch for things like powdery mildew. You may need to wash the leaves in a baking soda and water bath or just be sure that you are watering the soil and not the leaves. The really hot summers lead to the opposite problem—red spider mite can take up residence in a hurry. This pest doesn’t like dampness and high humidity so your cure is to wash the leaves frequently! Go figure. Mites may also be controlled using a commercial miticides or insecticidal soap carefully applied according to the package directions. Aphids have been known to fly in for a little munch as well. Lacewings and ladybugs are your friends here. And if the aphis seem to be getting ahead of them, dunk the plant upside down in a bucket of water several times. Lastly, check for slugs and snails in and around the pots—especially before you bring the plants back inside for the winter. Slugs love to hide around moist pots and sometimes I think they can fly—how else can they get way up to the porch? Handpicking and sanitation are keys to porch-plant slug control. Some people sprinkle table salt on slugs—and this does kill them—but I wouldn’t do that to a potted plant where excess salt could burn the roots.
At the end of the summer when the weather begins to turn colder, I bring all
the plants back in—taking time to inspect, prune and clean each one before
it goes into the living space. They come back in with healthy growth, fat buds
and vivid green leaves. In a few weeks the rains come and the plants settle
in for gray winter day naps, dreaming of next year’s porch vacation. Me,
too.
Hortsense: Managing plant problems with Integrated Pest Management
