Houseplants should be placed outside when the nighttime temperatures are consistently above 50°F (10°C). However, it is important to consider the specific needs of the plants and avoid taking them outside too early in the season. For temperate climates, this is usually from June through September. Houseplants should be moved back indoors when nighttime temperatures are forecast to drop below 10°C (50F), and if possible, moved into a cool room until they have re-acclimatized. Tropical indoor plants like alocasia or clivia should be moved outside when night temperatures are consistently higher than 50-54°F. Philodendron, peace lily, and snake plants can also be placed outside.
It is crucial to wait until the weather is right before moving houseplants outside. If it’s warm during the day but cold at night, wait until nighttime temperatures are consistently above 50°F before moving them outdoors. Plants that are accustomed to 70°F indoors will not appreciate a large decrease in temperature. Wait until nighttime temperatures are consistently above 65 degrees and then move the plants into a fully-shaded area for a while.
To avoid potential cold damage or worse, wait until the temperature outside is consistently above 60-65 degrees Fahrenheit (15-18 degrees Celsius) before moving the plants outside. Once moved outside, it’s generally safe to keep them there until nighttime temperatures fall below 50°F again. Refresh or top-dress the soil for the last time and keep an eye on the weather as nighttime temperatures below 50°F can be harmful to many tropical plants.
📹 Moving Houseplants Outside for Summer: Do’s & Do Not’s
It’s finally warm weather! This video is all about how to successfully bring your houseplants outside for the summer time. This is …
What temperature should houseplants be in Celsius?
Houseplants thrive between 65-75°F (15-24°C) during the day and 60-68°F at night. Watering should be done cautiously, gradually reducing watering until the compost is almost dry between watering. Stop feeding unless the plants are flowering or growing vigorously. Tropical houseplants prefer humid conditions, so adding water to a saucer of gravel or investing in a humidifier can help maintain their health. Remember that thermostat temperature may not accurately represent other rooms’ temperatures.
What is a bad temperature for plants?
Light freezes, moderate freezes, and severe freezes can cause significant damage to most plants. It is crucial to prioritize your plants based on their frost tolerance. Hardy vegetables can handle light frost, while tender crops can be damaged or die. It is essential to consider the potential harvests and prioritize your time, energy, and money on the most valuable plants. For example, if your lettuce or beans are no longer producing much, it may not be worth protecting them.
If your tomato plants have a lot of fruit that can still ripen in the next month, it may be worth taking action. By doing so, you can ensure your plants are protected from the harsh winter conditions.
When can I put my monstera outside?
Monsteras, native to tropical forests of Central America, prefer temperatures above 40 degrees Fahrenheit / 4 degrees Celsius. They can withstand high heat and humidity as long as they are not in direct sunlight. To bring your Monstera indoors, start planning for late fall and monitor overnight temperatures to avoid frost or cold. Before bringing your plant indoors, thoroughly scout for pests by wiping down leaves and stems, examining the soil, and bringing the plant into a quarantined holding area to ensure all signs of pests have been cleared. This will help ensure a healthy and happy Monstera plant.
Does it matter what time of day you repot plants?
Repotting plants can be a necessary adjustment to their light exposure. The best time to repot plants is in the early morning or evening, as it allows them to adjust to their new environment without excessive heat or sunlight. However, repotting can be done at any time as long as the plant is protected from extreme temperatures and light exposure. The pros of repotting early in the morning include increased nutrient absorption, prevention of root rot and other plant diseases, reduced stress, and allowing plants to adjust to their new environment before the heat of the day sets in.
What is the best temperature to plant outside?
Soil temperature is crucial for planting vegetables this year, with a 50-degree temperature being a good benchmark for cool-season crops and 60 degrees or more for warm-weather plants like tomatoes, peppers, and basil. For tomatoes, the ideal temperature is 65 to 70 degrees. If planting warm-season vegetables before the soil warms sufficiently, using protection like floating row covers, glass or plastic cloches, or milk jugs or soda bottles can help. Building a large, greenhouse-type cloche with PVC pipe and plastic can be done using the OSU Extension guide. Although gardening depends on unpredictable weather, it is worth waiting for it.
What time of day should I transplant plants outside?
Transplanting annuals is best in cloudy conditions, but it is also acceptable to plant in late afternoon or early evening when temperatures are cooler and the sun is less intense. Use a trowel to dig holes two times larger than the soil mass around the roots, not setting plants deeper than the depth of the soilless mix in the germination container. The top of the root ball should be just under the soil surface. To remove plants from pots or cell-packs, turn them upside down and press on the bottom and sides of the plastic cell or tap on the pot.
To reduce transplant shock, water plants within an hour before transplanting and apply a light layer of soil or mulch after transplanting. Plants grown in peat pots directly into well-prepared soil should be shredded after planting to prevent water evaporation from the surrounding soil. Remove the bottom of the pot and make vertical slices through the peat walls to encourage root contact with the soil.
After setting plants in the garden, firm the soil around them, water them, and fertilize them with a high phosphorus starter fertilizer solution to promote root development. Follow the product label for dilution rates.
What is the lowest temperature houseplants can tolerate?
Tropical houseplants prefer temperatures between 65-75°F during the day and 10 degrees cooler at night. Cold temperatures below 50°F can cause problems. Healthy plants require cleaning to survive and maintain their health. Before bringing indoor plants, look for pests and repot them for fresh soil and new growth. Repotting houseplants helps maintain their health and prevents pests from affecting their growth.
When can I move my indoor plants outside?
During the winter months, houseplants may experience fatigue, necessitating their relocation to an outdoor setting during the summer months to replenish their vitality. Once nighttime temperatures remain above 60°F, place the plants in a shady area. Over a period of two weeks, gradually introduce the indoor plants that prefer sun into a sunnier location. It is recommended that indoor plants be fertilized and watered more frequently in order to accommodate the increased photosynthetic activity and growth that occurs in outdoor conditions.
What temperature is too hot for indoor plants?
The baseline temperature for plants experiencing heat stress is 90°F (32°C). Houseplants are more susceptible to this stress due to a lack of air humidity and airflow, and may exhibit signs of discomfort at temperatures between 75-80°F (24-27°C) in confined conditions.
At what temperature do indoor plants survive best at?
Houseplants thrive in optimal temperatures and humidity. Foliage indoor plants grow best between 70° and 80°F during the day and 60° to 68°F at night. Most flowering indoor plants prefer the same daytime range but grow best at nighttime temperatures of 55° to 60°F. Excessive low or high temperatures can cause growth issues, spindly appearance, foliage damage, leaf drop, or plant failure. Most indoor plants tolerate normal temperature fluctuations.
📹 Moving Houseplants Outdoors for Summer! | How To Move Indoor Plants Outdoors!
Today I talk about how to move indoor plants to outdoors for summer! Moving houseplants to outside can be overwhelming, but I …
I’m not sure if Devin mentioned this in the article but I wanted to offer some encouragement to anyone who’s put a plant outside, before hardening it off, and sunburned all of its leaves. In many cases, depending on the species, the plant will lose the leaves but still be alive. When I was younger, before I knew ANYTHING about plants, my parents had a huge split leaf philodendron (I think a Xanadu.) Anyway, when summer came around I used to haul it outside. All of its leaves would get sunburned and fall off. After about a month it would grow all new leaves. I just thought it was normal. I have since learned about hardening off, sun leaves, and The incredible adaptability of plants. Anyway, great article as usual! 😄🪴I can’t wait to start bringing The rest of my plants out (I already brought out my Meyer lemon, queen palm and Washingtonian palm…they just weren’t looking very happy indoors.)
My mother had a beautiful aloe in our home bathroom for many, many years. She gave it to me when I moved out (I was so honored), and I kept it healthy in my own bathroom for a couple years until one day while I was moving. I moved the aloe outside in the high heat of august, and she was pretty much gone by the next morning. I could never bring her back, broke my own heart. LEARNED THE HARD WAY. Thanks for sharing 🌱🙏
I live in Pensacola beach Florida and have a large shade garden area in my backyard so I’ve been working aggressively to find nice indoor plants that have a tropical vibe I can put in my garden for 8 months out of year then bringing in during cooler part of year. It really makes my tropical garden look so much better. Good tips especially about having pots with good drainage
I’m glad you brought up the RAIN. That’s definitely something people miss when they’re new to growing outdoors! Even with drainage, when we have a couple of rainy days in a row, I’ll bring some of my plants back in UNLESS they have a super well draining mix ( which most of my plants do now because I’m definitely an over waterer)
Great article!!!!! Yes, temp is key! In Ohio, zone 5-6 mid may is best for decent temps. Right now we are still bouncing around from great temps 80s to 35. Most house plants will love it outside! My biggest problem last year was when I brought the plants back in in the fall, they did not like the transition and some died.
Good article, Devin, you covered the topic thoroughly, even stressing the importance of preserving the leaf’s outer layer. As I understand, the protective waxy outer layer, called the cuticle, does indeed thicken when you graduate from shade to part shade to part sun to sun. I found it necessary to do this every year on my sun-loving cycad collection, even if they had lived in full sun the year before; I theorize the cuticle got thinner over the winter indoors. Another way to graduate to more sun is to bring outside only during daytime, then bring back indoors at night if temps fall below 50 degrees.
Devin, let me say I appreciate finding you! I’ve been looking high and low for information with regard to the Rose of Sharon, but you seem to have more information in one place than others I have viewed. In this article, you spoke of taking plants outside, and then using plant soap I think it is you have there well before you bring the plants back in. I did this with Boston fern. I had them outside where they did splendidly, but when winter came I thought it a good idea to bring them inside. At that time, I was not aware of fungus gnats. As you mention here, the fungus gnats found their way in other plants I had inside. This was 5 years ago, and I find from time to time I am still battling. Because of this I am afraid to bring plants inside, and this also makes me wary of taking plants outside from in. I agree with what you said with regard to plants doing well outside, and I would like for my plans to experience that burst of growth in order to live a healthy life. I was curious if you had any suggestions on how to finally get rid of fungus gnats inside? I have used Mosquito Bits, peroxide, and mean oil. If you have a article or something, could you please provide a link. I would so like to be rid of these things, and then that will show me what I also must do in order to save Boston ferns and other plants such as impatience from freezing to death. I will be more confident on how to deal with bringing them in properly . I thank you for being here! I mean that!
I have a couple of begonias that I know grow bigger outside but I had trouble last Summer with pests attacking that even my trusty Neem oil applied often couldn’t stop the damage. So they are going to stay in this Summer! Still a ways to go before anything goes outside for good here in Northern New Jersey. Been unseasonably cold at night.
I live in Ohio and we still have very unstable temperatures day and night. I don’t bring my plants out until night temperatures are steady at 50 or above even though they are under a covered porch . It is so tempting on a warm beautiful day to just bring them all out.. 😆 but I know better living here in Ohio it can turn fast 😏 and it a lot of work to cover or bring back in 100 or more plants that go out every summer. Lol. Its hard enough to worry about garden plants when temps dip.. burrr.. great vid!✌💙
I have a rather large Traveler’s Palm (Ravanala Madagascariensis) that I got online and suspect it was grown – I suspect – under a shade cloth down in south Florida. It looks like a large Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia nicolai). When I scoot it to direct sun, the leaves curled badly. So I’ve cut it back to only the central leaf and letting it get direct morning sun only and complete shade for the afternoon. My patio is east facing, so that’s what I’ve got to work with. I guess, with only the central leaf exposed, it’s only July 4, 2023 and it should be acclimated by the time it’s fully unfurled. Try to picture my situation. What do you think?
I just finished battling fungus gnats and have basically won the battle. I have a couple Jade plants that could benefit from being outside because their leaves are drooping and I think that’s because it needs more sun, is that true? I hesitate to take them outside because I know when I bring them in they will be infested with fungus gnats and I don’t want to bring those in to my other plants again. What do you suggest?
I have a collection of about 150 plants and 99.9% of them go outside for the summer and they do not want to come home in fall. Granted, I live in the area with high humidity and heat. So my plants literally explode outside. I can’t wait to transfer they out! BUT, I confess, there were a couple-three succulents got burned leaves in the past. Just because me being impatient…😕
So I asked My fiancé for a favor, he responds “anything hon” “Could you help me bring the babies outside?” ( I have over 200 ) That mans facial expression was priceless. He acted like a toddler during the whole process, but quickly got over it when I made his favorite dinner afterwards. My house looks so bare now!!! Just means I need more plants. Lol He also never realized how many I own to the point that man counted, shook his head and keeps saying the number 217 to me when ever i want something new. But all the plant babies love Jersey’s weather and grow 10 times faster in my Eastern exposure of the yard. Btw Kissing the Hoyas in the end got me cracking up Har.
I can’t wait until I have a place to put my plants outside! Right now I just have an apartment- no balcony or anything. They seem to be enjoying the indoors, and I finally got some utility shelves! Once they get here, I can’t wait to set them up and put all of my plants next to the window- it’ll be so nice to have them organized (and I’ll have room for about a dozen more trips to the Farmer’s Market).
Lol! Harli, you crazy. Any way, so am I. My neighbours(and their visitors) see and hear me talking to my plants ALL the time, especially when I’m repotting or planting one up for the first time. They bring me plants and cuttings all the time too: aiding my craziness. Welcome back, I missed you. I talk about you to my friends like …you’re one of my friends (you know what I mean) until one of them asked me where I met such a kindred spirit. Told her YouTube and we all cracked up laughing. And that’s it. There’s no judgment or anything. Moving right along. See you in the next one and thanks for lifting my spirits.
I moved my plants outside and it rained for 2 weeks. I was so worried about root rot. Bugs are an issue too. One year I brought one back in and it was full of ants. I am cleaning the leaves with Neem Oil this year so hopefully no bugs again. The biggest problem I have is I buy more plants while some are outside. 😂
Ah man I was hoping you would explain more about the sun exposures outside, I came here from your indoor exposure article. I know outdoors the sun is a lot stronger. My east exposure is your typical small front porch with a swing and two small chairs. I have a shelf there and a few hanging planters but its only able to hold a small fraction of my tropicals. The rest are on my large back patio with north and west exposure. I have them on the edge of the northern exposure and some on a table in the middle. I feel like it’s not enough there but anywhere else they would just be randomly sprawled around the house and in the elements. What do you guys think about northern exposure for houseplants outdoors for the summer? Do I need a new set up?
Hi Hareli. Is there a temperature that is too hot for the plants to be outside in? I live in NC and it gets humid and hot up around 100. I do have all my plants on a covered porch with no direct sunlight. Is it ok to keep them there through the whole summer? Thank you in advance for your response. Love ur website so much.
Definitely more houseplants can do well outside in direct sun and in lower temps than people think tbh My succulents have been outside since night temps were above 40. But also quick note, “direct sun” and “full sun” are different things in horticulture/outside gardening land. Full sun is generally considered 6+ hours of direct sunlight but can be more than that. Shade is considered less than two hours of direct sun, with the sun being hotter in the evening and less damaging in the morning, and a lot of houseplants can be adjusted to that level of light with no problem.
Hi Harli, great article! I recently (1 week ago) bought some succulent potted plants to hang on my fence from my local nursery. I live in LA where it’s drier and temperatures are starting to hit 80-90. I bought a string of pearls, Hindu rope/wax Hoya, burros, fishhooks and one ivy/Hoya like plant. It’s only been a week and it appears that some of them are getting sunburned. I’ve kept them outside the whole time. Any tips on creating shade on succulent potted plants that are hanging on a fence in a patio where there is absolutely no shade? Everywhere I look in my small patio there’s no shaded area except underneath a small table. Is there a way to create mini umbrella shades for them? Would you recommend bringing them indoors instead?
Oh Harli, I have missed you, so glad you’re back, I wish that I had a covered deck to put some of my plants outside on, but for now I will just keep them inside, someday I hope to have a covered deck then my plants can enjoy the outside with me. Thanks for the tips and advice about putting houseplants outside in the summer. So great to see you, take care see you soon, bye for now.
OMG I have a MASSIVE aloe that i love more than anything and we had a 70 degree day in march? I think? I live in Michigan. And my Dumbass just plopped it on the deck. The leaves got so scorched, but i think i caught it in time. So heres to months of TLC 😅 its gotten a little better looking so far but i also switched out the soil for this summer so that might’ve helped. ANYWAY this was a really helpful article. Thanks!
Your top is adorable!! And so is your back yard, lol. I’ve been gradually moving plants outside for the past month. It’s been between the 70-80 degree range here in Louisiana lately. Im sure you got a good feel of our warm springtime here, lol. It’s usually nice and wet too. Subtropical. =P Wish I could’ve met up with you while you were in Nola. It’s just a 30 minute drive from my place!
yup, i put my plants outside, they get HUGE. ps: people that live in warm places! be weary of letting your houseplants grow outside. some house plants, while fine as house plants, are invasive species in some places (florida has a problem with this). they can take over the forests and displace native plant species and arent recognizable as food to your native animals. just use caution and common sense.