Not all plants have to be grown outdoors on your balcony or in your garden. You can always bring some of the plants indoors and add some greens to your house. Many houses have enough light to grow geraniums, fuchsias, begonias, and even passion flowers, which all bloom brilliantly indoors.
You can also grow specific veggies, such as little pepper or tomato plants as well. They are tropical perennials that, if given adequate sunlight, will continue to bear fruit. Some vegetable varieties, such as cherry tomatoes and small-fruited peppers like chillies, may require a particularly large pot, and you might have to move them to your balcony or garden later. Regardless, some of the best outdoor plants also can be grown indoors when taken care of properly.
Geraniums
Geraniums may be cultivated inside, and they like to be near a window that faces the sun. Simply ensure that the plant receives plenty of sunshine for blossoming.
Hot peppers
Hot peppers are tropical perennials that can live for years and continue to grow and produce. The smallest spicy peppers are the simplest to carry inside, but any pepper is worth trying.
Caladiums
Caladiums come in a variety of colours and textures, with variegation, conspicuous midribs, varying margins, and textures in white, green, rose, pink, or red. Caladium dislikes the cold and prefers temperatures between 60- and 85-degrees Fahrenheit. Allow the plant to die back and rest until spring if the leaves begin to yellow and the plant is suffering. Repot in March after storing it in a cool, dry location.
Boxwood
Boxwood is a compact potted evergreen that provides for easy-to-care-for houseplants. Turning the pot once or twice a week will ensure that they develop equally on all sides. Evergreen houseplants require a lot of humidity, so spraying is essential.
Fuchsia
Bring these beautiful, bright-coloured flowers indoors and maintain them in direct sunlight. It's fine if your fuchsia doesn't blossom much indoors. Fuchsias have a tropical appearance, yet they prefer cold conditions in the 60–70-degree range.
Coleus
Coleus is a common weed these days, and they make excellent houseplants. If your plants are too big to bring indoors, coleus cuttings root fast. They like warm weather but will survive chilly nights and temps as low as 55 degrees. Make careful to pinch off any blossoms you don't want to retain.
Herbs
Basil, Chives, Parsley, Lemon Grass, and Rosemary are some of the herbs that thrive indoors. It's ideal to start basil and parsley plants while they're young. Chives are one of the easiest herbs to cultivate indoors. Lemongrass and rosemary may be planted and moved from the outside herb garden to the interior windowsill on a regular basis. Keep your herbs bushy and full by trimming and using them.
Tropical Hibiscus
If maintained in a sunny window with bright, direct light, tropical hibiscus adapts well inside and can bloom indoors. You may shape the plants by trimming them, but hibiscus grows slowly in the winter, so you might not see much new growth. If you don't have access to a warm, sunny window, choose a chilly, average-light location and allow them to shed their leaves and fall dormant.
Begonia
Some begonia types are some of both indoor and outdoor plants. Because begonias prefer humidity, spray them frequently, especially when they are grown inside the house. The eye-catching foliage comes in a variety of sizes, shapes, patterns, textures, and colours, making it ideal for houseplants.
Myrtle
Indoors, you may grow evergreen myrtle in pots if you give it enough humidity and light when the soil becomes dry, water the plant, and keep a watch out for spider mites.
Tips for growing plants indoors
- Trim and tidy up. Remove any growth that is dead, sickly, or lanky.
- Examine the area for pests. Mealy bugs, thrips, and spider mites, for example, are pests that can infect your other houseplants. Check the soil, the tops and bottoms of the leaves, and even the drainage holes of the pot for pests like slugs, which might hide there.
- If required, repot. If your plant is already in a pot outside, you may wish to repot it for a variety of reasons: your plant may have outgrown its current container, or you may just prefer to use a new pot.
- Soil should be refreshed. If you're not repotting your plant, add nutrients by mixing in and topping it with fresh dirt.
- Rinse and rehydrate. Before taking your plant into your home, give it a good washing to eliminate any dust, dirt, or bugs that may have clung to it. This is also a good time to water your plant thoroughly.
- When bringing plants indoors, keep in mind their requirements. Without the correct circumstances, even the toughest outside container plant would suffer indoors.
Gradually acclimatize your plant to its new surroundings. A plant's transition from the outside to the interior may be extremely jarring. Allowing the plant to acclimate slowly, if possible, will improve your chances of success. You may start by bringing it in at night, then gradually increase the amount of time it spends indoors until it's inside 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Select the Correct Plants
Choosing the proper sort of plant is the first step in successfully overwintering plants inside. Not all plants can survive under indoor growing circumstances, contrary to common perception, especially if your house has restricted light, warmth, or humidity. Because your house is likely to have fewer sunny places than your yard, you'll have to make some tough decisions about which plants are worth preserving for the season and whether you can provide them with the care, they require indoors.
Only keep plants that are in good health. If a plant has been struggling all summer under the best of circumstances, it is unlikely to thrive indoors.
Infested or diseased plants should never be brought indoors. Indoor plants spread problems more quickly than outside plants, and even if you quarantine the sick plant until it recovers, there's no assurance you won't transfer the problem to your other plants.