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The Kitchen Table

How do you prepare

13 years ago

to bring in your houseplants that have over summered outside?? Do you make a soapy type of mixture to pour over the potting soil in the pot to chase out any critters and if so what is the recipe for that mixture? I have always been leery of putting them outside for this reason. i know this is a little early for this question, but here in western new york, you never know when you will get your first frost. thanks, for any advice you can give me......;)

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Comments (6)

lindalou
Original Author
13 years ago
never mind......i found an informative site online that answered my question. here it is, in case, anyone else is interested. http://www.getbusygardening.com/2011/09/debugging-and-cleaning-potted-plants.html
kayjones
13 years ago
Linda, what climate zone are you in? I'm in 8b, NW Florida. Last winter was so mild, I moved all my tender plants to one protected area outside and just covered everything with blankets and 6 mil. plastic - they did fine.
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rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
13 years ago
Kay, lindalou said that she is in western NYS.

Lindalou, soaking the pot works well to flush out centipedes, millipedes, sowbugs, . Use a bit of dish soap, it does not need to be Ivory, which is no different than any other dish detergent.

Spraying the plants down thoroughly with an insecticidal soap is a good idea. Using the soaking water won't be helpful for that purpose because you don't want to make that very strong.

The suggestion that I really hate is her use of foggers. IN THE GARAGE. That's not only foolish and hazardous, but there's nothing on the plants that can't be washed, soaked, or sprayed off. The insideous critters like spider mites, scale insects, and whitefly won't be controlled by an insect bomb.

By the way, I don't take my plants outside for the summer and this is one of the reasons.
ravencajun Zone 8b TX
13 years ago
Here in Houston the winters are mild. I bring in my citrus trees that are in pots. Most of the other plants are under a cover in the atrium, I also have a small green house that goes in there and the plants are sheltered but still get sunlight.
I don't do anything to the plants I bring in but I put them in an area away from any other plants and put down plastic beneath them. Never had a problem.
jannie
13 years ago
I grew up in WNY and now live in Long Island where the weather is much warmer. I put some plants out for the summer, just give them a good "mist" spray with the hose to knock off any bugs before I bring them in. I don't use any insecticides. I've been lucky nothing came in on the roots or in the soil.
lindalou
Original Author
13 years ago
thanks, everyone. i am zone 5, so it gets pretty cold up here in the winter. rhizo, i think this is the last summer mine will spend outside, too, unless this isn't too time consuming. i would never fog them either. i figured soap should work for all the critters i might have. :)

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