GARDENER'S READING ROOM
The Art of Gardening
Indoor Plants

Using Indoor Plants Outdoors

Pot includes Maiden Hair Fern, Begonia, Kangaroo Paw & Spider Plant

Practically every magazine or column that has anything to do with gardening has touted the indoor plant as a wonderful way to add variety, color and texture to the outdoor container in summer. We at Sky have been advocating for this mix for several years now and many of our customers have taken the plunge! We have a great variety of plants for both indoor and out with containers to please a broad spectrum of tastes. Some of our containers are so beautiful you can use them as works of garden art without putting in a single plant! Are you ready?

If you're using indoor plants in outside containers, here are some things to remember:

1. Wait for the weather to get warmer...nights temperatures should not fall below 50 degrees -- usually around Mother's Day.

2. Even the most sun loving indoor plant will sunburn if you put it out in the hot afternoon sun without acclimating it. Place the plant in a shady spot and slowly move it into more light. The process should take about 10 to 14 days. Note: intense west light is best suited for cactus and succulents and a few tropicals that love the sun. Most indoor plants prefer to be sheltered from the hot afternoon sun.

3. If you decide that you want to keep the plant, reverse the process. The plant should be brought back in by the mid to end of September.

4. Check for insects before bringing the plant in. You may want to spray the plant off with a hose and then to spray it with an insecticide before bringing it in. Please do this early in the day and on a hydrated plant. Insecticide sprayed on a dry plant and/or a plant sitting in hot sun will burn the plant.

A pot used as a work of art in the garden, amphora with a bronze glaze combined with a cymbidium.	Two urns planed with Boston ferns.

By the Staff of the Indoor Gardening Department
Skylights Summer 2008, Vol 23, No. 2

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