Prepping your plants for the move indoors

One of the prettiest plants on my deck all summer has been an echeveria named Silver Spoons. The centerpiece in a small hypertufa trough, Silver Spoons also proved to be one of my easiest container plants.

A waxy succulent plant with large silver-blue, spoon-shaped leaves, it looks something like a giant hen-and-chicks. Its small coral flowers atop tall stalks are a nice extra, but the leaves are really the focal point.

Echeverias are native to near-desert parts of Mexico and South America, where they thrive in soil that is well-drained and often dry. Houseplant books have long offered plenty of information on growing echeveria indoors, but only recently has the plant become a hot item outdoors here in the Midwest.

Now that summer is over, though, it's time to move my echeveria indoors for the winter, along with all the other plants that would otherwise die in the cold. There's the problem: So many tender plants, so little room. If I can't save them all, which ones should I choose?

The echeveria needs a sunny window, or at least bright light. The big croton needs plenty of light, too.

The banana tree, elephant ears, brugmansia and caladiums would all make elegant houseplants, if only I had the room. Fortunately these four can survive the winter in a dormant state, tucked away in a cold basement closet.

I envy friends with sun- rooms, with room enough to bring in big containers. For years, I've made do by what I call downsizing. I take tender plants like tropical hibiscus, lantana and mandevilla out of their large pots, then cut back their roots enough to fit in 6-inch pots. I also cut their tops way back, and cram them all under a fluorescent grow-light.

It's not pretty, but it works.

Every gardener has to make his or her own decisions about which tender plants are worth the effort of saving and which are best replaced each year. An emotional tie to a gift plant, for example, is a great reason to provide a plant a safe winter haven. I also like to save anything that's hard to replace.

I've learned to let go of plants that are readily available in spring and not particularly expensive. After years of nurturing a coleus collection through winters, then losing them all one year to a major infestation of mealybugs, I'm now content to just buy some of the beautiful new coleus varieties offered every spring.

Tiny pests like whiteflies and aphids often ride indoors along with plants, so hose off leaves outside and check pot bottoms. Wash foliage frequently in winter, use yellow sticky traps to catch whiteflies, and apply a soap spray if necessary.

Jan Riggenbach’s column appears every Sunday.Write to her in care of the Daily Herald, P.O.Box 280, Arlington Heights IL 60006. Enclose aself-addressed, stamped envelope for a personalreply.