Move houseplants outdoors

Move houseplants outdoors for a summer holiday so they come back inside refreshed and ready to give you their usual superb display next winter.

Most houseplants enjoy a spell outside in the warmer weather, including cymbidium orchids, ficus, peace lilies, bromeliads, and Christmas cacti. Keep more delicate, water-sensitive plants like African violets and moth orchids (Phalaenopsis) indoors, though.

Move houseplants outdoors

The stronger light levels outside helps ripen the foliage, while rain washes away any accumulated dust. Choose a sheltered place, shaded from the heat of the midday sun so foliage doesn’t get scorched. Cover the foliage with a sheet of horticultural fleece for the first week to help acclimatise them to their new conditions. Then just keep the compost damp and watch them revel in the extra light and fresh air.

Of course, it’s also a great time to stock up on houseplants from the wonderful range on sale all year round in our garden centre here in Pickering: you can enjoy them on your patio for summer, where green foliage plants like palms, ferns and figs make a wonderfully tropical, jungly backdrop to summer barbecues and al fresco eating. Or fill your windowsills with beautiful long-flowering jasmine, gardenia and geraniums, bringing the garden inside to brighten up your home.