Home Wood Works

A deck or patio can be a great place to give your houseplants a summer holiday. Just like us, they get an extra bit of energy with a change of scenery and are the great shape to return to their natural indoor habitat when the weather turns. The plants enjoy their new surrounds and make super additions to groups of garden pots and containers. Everyone responds to the warmth, fresh air, rainfall and of course sunshine by giving off new growth and vitality come Fall.

There is a system to moving indoor plants outside. It is imperative that they are moved gradually so that they don’t go into shock and become accustomed to the very different conditions over time. Just like seedlings, they need to be hardened off. Start to place the planters and pots outdoors once the weather has warmed up and any danger of frost is over. Firstly, set the pots in a protected, shady area - even the cacti and succulents which love the sun. If you start with the planters in the full sun, they will scorch - even though they have been in a south facing window all winter. Gradually expose them to more and more sun over the course of a week or two. Check every day to see that the soil is moist and there are no scorch marks on any of the leaves.

By early summer, they should be fully incorporated in the garden. Each houseplant has its own place among the many containers of annuals and perennials. They add a new dimension to the deck and patio and can even be placed in the garden landscape to add a definite focal point to the area. It is so easy to move flower pots and containers around, try to find spots where they will receive the morning sun and afternoon shade, away from the direct hot sunrays of the late afternoon. If you have shade loving houseplants and ferns, be sure to keep them protected all summer - they just cannot tolerate full sun even if acclimatized gradually.

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