Here you go Debbie, just for you. : )
Would be great to hear how all of you prepare your containers for moving indoors for winter. I have to admit that I am fairly new to this process, as my plants were either indoor plants or outdoor plants. Until 2 years ago. My first winter I struggled with those pesky little knats, the second year I had a couple of my tender succulents come up with mealy bug.
For the knats I sprayed with an insect spray before bring into the house. I also used a rose systemic product that would hopefully take care of anything the spray missed. Also drenched them with a water/hydrogen peroxide mix. The knat problem was solved. It is a very good idea to do these things before bringing indoors, you may have to repeat the process after bringing indoor.
My fight with mealy bug was not as easy. I must say I never thought about using the rose systemic on them. : ( The only thing I had problems with were a couple of the tender succulent plants. They showed no sign of having a problem until 1/2 way through winter, at which time mealy bug started show on the couple of plants that were not to happy inside. I eventually through them away. Sorry.

The Abutilon 'Bella Pink' is doing well after a bout of scale. That was easy to take care of. Used that rose system again wiped all the stems with a alcohol drenched cotton ball. : )


Most of my tender succulents didn't have a single problem through the winter and are now ready to go outdoors. I am finding some are better at making the indoor/outdoor transition. If they remain sturdy and healthy the pests don't seem to go near them.

Crassula argentea ETs Fingers

You are so sweet Lynn. Thanks so much.

What do you do to over winter your plants Debbie?

That's what I asked you, right before Trish told you to open a thread for it. I don't over winter plants. Once they go outside, no more inside (cause I don't like little bugs.) But, with the advent of me buying these tender succulents, I need to find out how to prep them before bringing them in.

You said "For the knats I sprayed with an insect spray". Do you remember what kind you used?
"I also used a rose systemic product " Are you talking about Bayer Rose Care stuff?
"Also drenched them with a water/hydrogen peroxide mix."


It would be awesome to find one product that I could spray on them and forget about it. I kinda lazy sometimes. Not really. I just don't want to be putting too much stuff on them and kill em.

I often (but not always, because I'm lazy) go ahead and repot in the fall when I am ready to bring the plants in. That helps with the bug problem.

Also, for tropical houseplants that live outside during the year, I shine up the leaves with a bit of oil, just because I like them pretty

Yes on the Bayer Rose systemic insecticide. Any creatures that feed on the plants will die. Aphids, mealy bug and so on. You can also get rid of mealy bug with a q-tip dipped in alcoho, same thing for scale. Fungus gnats/Fruit Flies can be trapped with a lid of vinegar with a little dish soap added to it. They are drawn to the apple cider type vinegar.

Clean your plants before bringing them in, check for pests, clean the outside of the pot. Don't repot at this time, it will stress the plant and make it susceptible to infestations. Put them in a bright window (east, south facing, or both). Don't put them by a heating vent, they do better in a cooler room that a warm one.

Hopefully others will come along and give more detailed information. This last year is the first year I have done the tender succulents indoors. Some did very well, no disease, no pest and a few were difficult.

We cross posted Trish. : )
Shining up the leaves also gets rid of anything that might be hitch hiking. The plants should be thoroughly cleaned before coming in.
Where do you keep your in the house Trish? What about the indoor climate where you keep them?

I see that you don't recommend re-potting in the fall

You must keep in mind that we are still building our collection from almost scratch since we were in limbo for 3 years! Very little moved with us.

Back in the day, the entire house looked like a jungle in the winter! Last year, we put things that would just go dormant, but didn't like frost in Dave's shop. Things that needed sunlight were scattered around the house, as we have lots of windows, and many of them southern. We'll see what this year brings!

I will not repeat doing the ones that I found difficult to keep indoors. There are so many that don't seem to mind the transition. the Adenium are one of the easy ones, along with the two above that I posted photos of. This one is a plant I got from JT.

Adenium

Does the peroxide work by itself to kill the fungus gnats? I'm helping with therapeutic organic gardening and they keep having problems with the gnats in their containers, but they can't use chemicals. Any suggestions and/or directions would be appreciated.

I'm not sure Paul as I also sprayed for the adult knats. It's the larva that live in the soil. Let me see what else I can find out for you. Will be back later this afternoon.

Lynn asked me to repeat this post here:

Using Camphor Essential Oil for running off gnats

What I do is about two weeks before I know I am bringing a container inside, I put a drop of Camphor on a rock that I sit on the soil in the container. I repeat every three or four days to chase the little buggers off as they hatch and viola, when it is time to bring them in, no gnats!

I have used it on houseplants as well. I don't know where those nasty little gnats come from but I get them at least twice a year. Well, I did anyway; now I don't get them at all. Every week or two (I don't always remember to do it) I put a drop of Camphor on the rock. I have eliminated my household gnat problem with this method.

I am really excited to see if the bug spray works for you! You have to tell the truth though...I can't tweek my formula if I don't know I need to.

I promise to tell the truth, nothing but the whole truth.

Lori, don't forget to update us on your site. We still have plenty of time before we have to bring them in, but I'd like to have it on hand when it comes time. Thanks again for the info.

Ok, inquiring minds want to know. Trish said she re pots her plants before bringing them in, which makes sense to me, eliminating a lot of the pests that might be already in the soil from being outside. Lynn, why do you say no? Just wondering.............And are you talking about don't re pot all plants or just the semps and succulents? And Trish does that work for you in eliminating pests?

We all need to know

Yes, we do!!!!

I don't bring semps or hardy sedum indoors for winter. Most of my plants are repotted in the spring when the go outdoors. Everything I've read said not to repot to bring indoors for winter as it causes to much shock and can weaken the plant making them more susceptible to an invasion of pests.
But if a person has been doing that all along and it has worked for them, by all means keep doing it.
Each person has a different micro-climate in their home, warmer/colder, dry/moist air and lots of sunny windows or not many at all. So it is a learning experience on what will work for you in your home. Just remember if the plant is happy and healthy it is less likely to be plagued by pests or disease.

You definitely want to carefully inspect plants and treat them for any pests before bringing them indoors.
Chewing or sucking type pests the systemic type drench or granules works. I will certainly be giving Lori's suggestion a try this year for the fungus gnats that spend part of their life cycle in the soil.

My houseplants that I bring in for the winter all go in sunny windows and are all repotted before they come in. I've never dealt with pests or bugs, and never lost a plant due to that (that I can recall, anyway).

Now, for plants that are in containter that get stuck in the garage for the winter- I don't repot those. They wouldn't be in ideal locations or conditions, I'm basically just trying to keep them alive.

Lynn is right- there are so many variables.

No one ever told me I shouldn't repot in the fall. I'm sure if they had, I would have surely killed some plants, but since neither me nor the plants were told, we managed