Check Houseplants Before Their Move Back Inside

With daylight shortening and nights cooling, any houseplants you moved outside need to come back indoors. No so for any pests that might be hiding on their leaves and stems.

Thoroughly inspect each plant and give leaf tops and undersides a good hosing with a strong, but not damaging stream of water. This dislodges larger caterpillars or spiders and often takes care of harder-to-see pests like aphids.

If there's signs of pests—mottled or sticky leaves, tiny webs—or tiny insects moving about, consider spraying all leaf and stem surfaces with an organic pesticide (I like Safer). Do this in a shady spot on a calm, rain-free day, or in a garage, away from other plants.

I like to move houseplants to a covered porch for a week or so before bringing them inside. This allows me to check again for any pests, gives sprayed plants time to air out, and lets plants acclimate to the lower-lightconditions they'll face indoors.

For other gardening tips and tidbits visit Joene's blog, http://www.joenesgarden.com.