Autumn Houseplant Care: 7 Things to Do Before Winter
As nights get colder from September to November, plant care needs to change. Watering, when to bring plants indoors, pest checks, feeding and repotting, in order.
Autumn is when plants wind down for the year. Days can still be warm, but nights cool quickly and shorter days slow most houseplants' growth. Caring for them the way you did in summer is how overwatering and cold damage happen.
1. Water less often
Slower growth means plants drink less. If you watered once a week in summer, check the soil and stretch it to every 10 days to two weeks. Go by how dry the soil is, not the calendar.
2. Bring plants in before nights drop to 10°C
Tropical foliage plants such as monstera, alocasia and calathea start to suffer below 10°C (50°F). Move pots from balconies and patios indoors before night-time lows approach that. Hardier plants like geraniums and succulents shouldn't stay out below 5°C (41°F) either.
3. Check for pests before bringing them in
Plants that spent summer outside often carry aphids, scale or spider mites. Check under the leaves and where they meet the stems, rinse the foliage, and keep them apart from your other plants for a week or two.
4. Stop feeding by the end of September
Fertiliser a plant can't use builds up as salts in the soil and damages roots. Give the last liquid feed by mid-September and start again when new growth appears in spring.
5. Repot only in early autumn
If roots are coming out of the pot, repot in September while temperatures are still around 20°C. Plants repotted in late autumn don't have time to settle before the cold and often sulk. If it can wait, wait for spring.
6. Move plants closer to the light
With the sun lower and days shorter, a spot that was fine in summer gets dim. Move plants toward windows, but keep leaves off the glass — windows get colder at night than you'd expect.
7. Prepare for dry heating
Once the heating goes on, indoor humidity can fall below 30%. Humidity lovers like calathea get crispy tips, so group them near a humidifier or on a tray of wet pebbles, and keep them out of the path of heater vents.
For succulents and cacti, autumn is prime growing season. Give them plenty of sun on a bright balcony until nights fall below 5°C. Cool nights and warm days turn echeveria leaves a lovely red.