Having just brought plants inside for the winter a few weeks ago, and having a question on my abutilon, I found this old post and thought I might just resurrect it. I went without houseplants for a long time but started having them again about 3 years ago. It has been trial and error but I really do enjoy having them in the house and really want to get them out in the summer. This year, when they came back in the house, they all looked terrific! I put a Boston Fern out that really was barely growing and placed it in a corner under a tree, backed by a 6ft fence. It did fine there and about 3 weeks before bringing it in, I repotted it into a larger pot. Last year it sat in a West window and did fine, which surprised me. I had tried it in an East, which I thought it would prefer, but my East window is too shaded. I put it right back in the same place and it is looking lush with tons of new fronds coming up. So having it outside in the summer was a very good thing for it. I have a tropical hibiscus that I have had for 3 years and it has had good and bad times. Right now it is looking the best it ever looked. I repotted it about a month before bringing it in the house in new soil with an organic fertilizer added. It is green green and still has buds on it. Unfortunately, I don't have a South window for it, so it manages in a West, but doesn't bloom much. Asparagus fern is having some yellowing of leaves and dropping and I wonder if I should have cut that one back. The hoya as someone else mentioned, grew larger outdoors over the summer, but some of the leaves have marks on them now from something, but I just took those off and it looks fine. All of them look very good. I never know whether to prune them back a little before they come in. One thing I did differently this year, was I brought them in sooner. While the temps outside were still warm. So they didn't have a set back from lower temps before bringing them inside. I keep waiting to see some leaf drop or something, but so far, they still look good. A few yellowing leaves and dropped leaves but nothing major. All I have done for the past 3 years is to spray them very well with a strong stream of water with the hose. Making sure to get the undersides of the leaves. I haven't seen any insects on them outside or in anyway. I am organic and if I had concerns, I would use a spray of garlic/red pepper flakes/a couple of drops of dishwashing soap/a drop or two of oil mixed with water in a sprayer and spray them all good a few days before I wanted to bring them in and then rinse them all off as usual.

As someone who has plenty of ostrich ferns in zone 4, northern Minnesota, with new babies cropping up continuously - plant it or sink the pot outdoors now. This is the time of year they're starting to yellow and get ready to die back for the season, so expect that with yours. They're perfectly hardy down to -50 degrees Fahrenheit which is probably somewhere in, I don't know, zone 2? And the fastest way to do it in is to treat it as a houseplant and kill it with kindness.

During winter months I don't feed mine at all unless they are actively growing and in a long hours sunny warm or full light spot, like a greenhouse. Many feed theirs if they are under artificial lighting set-ups that keep them constantly growing.. In lower light levels situations, I found that fertilizing pushes spindly weak growth susceptible to spider mites and other bad pests.. Also too, the type of soil you are using will accumulate salt deposits causing rapid decline in the vigor of your tree unless you plan on flushing your mix out at least once a month. This too will make your tree susceptible to pests. Don't worry if it drops leaves, as long as you are not over or under watering it. It will try to adjust to the light and temp levels indoors...Sometimes this happens and other times it does not.. Welcome to this forum and I hope you stick around) MIke

Geoff, survival is not a problem. It's the general health and productivity of the tree that will be the issue. South Florida is really nowhere near an ideal place to grow fig tree. The problem is several fold... Rust fungus is one of the major problems.... despite several treatments available ie:copper spray, bordeaux mix etc, rust is a loosing cause. These are topical chemicals and rain will wash them all off. Rust fungus will cause the leaves to turn blotchy brown, curl up and fall off. The high humidity is the culprit. Chilling (hours of temps below 45 degrees) hours (lack there of) is the second problem. The plant just doesn't go dormant and stays in a dazed state, until spring kicks in. Soil quality is a fixable problem, a sunny spot with good air movement is a major requirement. If you like a challenge, give it a shot. There are plenty of northerners who have tried and have resigned themselves to maybe eating a precious and few figs yearly. Growing in a large pot may alleviate some of the problems and if you have a screened in pool deck that you can keep the pot in, it will keep the birds and other wildlife from taking whatever figs your plant may actually bring to bear. My recommendation is to choose a variety that has a heavy breba crop like a dessert king that also has a closed eye to keep the bugs out. The winter/spring is very dry (most times)and will allow the fig to grow normal until the rains come (June). The main crop that comes later will most likely be a waste as a tree without leaves will not ripen fruit... My final recommendation is to pick a mango tree variety that you really like and plant it, then trade mangoes for figs from friends - relatives from points north of Orlando....