You aren’t the only one that loves the warm, fresh air we get on long summer days. When we start to come out of hibernation, you’ll notice your plants will start to perk up as well and it’s important that your plants get to spend some time outdoors too. 

After growing your plants indoors all winter long, it is now time to move them outdoors! Whether you are moving your plant outdoors permanently or temporarily, it's very beneficial for your plants to get some fresh air during the nice weather we get in the summer months. 

It is important to be careful in the way you go about moving your plants outdoors otherwise it can cause stress on your plant and cause them to go into shock, leaving your plant in worse shape than it was previously! Here are some of the top things you can do to make sure this transition goes as seamlessly as possible. 

1. Do your research

Depending on your area of residence and year round weather conditions, you can move your plants outdoors temporarily or find a permanent spot for it outdoors. Make sure you do some initial research about your plant to figure out what is the best outdoor environment for it to thrive in. You only want to plant it once, as if you start to move its location around and replant it multiple times it can cause unneeded stress on your plants.

2. Start slow with acclimation 

If you are to remember anything from this blog then let it be this, start the acclimation process slowly! If you rush this then it can cause way more harm to your plant than good. It is critical that you spend this time learning about what is best for your plant and listening to it as you slowly change its environment.

Move your indoor plants around your home from more shaded areas to the more sunnier spots over a span of a couple of weeks. As some of your plants may have been beautifully on display in a shaded area, this will ensure that they become more used to being in direct sunlight. Once you have done this you can start to move your plants outdoors for a few hours at a time. Again, this process is always better done slowly. Try your plants outside for an hour the first day, bring them back inside and then work your way up to them spending more time outdoors. 

Just like you did inside, by moving your plants from more shaded areas to spaces that have more direct sunlight, do the same outdoors! Start by having your plants in heavily covered, shaded areas. When you are bringing your plants back inside, take a peek at how they are reacting to this environmental change. They will tell you as best as they can if they are enjoying their new space! 

Each type of plant will react differently to a change in environment and some will handle it better than others. Hardier plants will be able to acclimate easier, for example, snake plants, aloe vera and jade plants. For these types of plants you will be able to speed the acclimation process up for a quicker transition! 

Just like we put sunscreen on to protect ourselves from the sun, plants need to be protected as well! Plants can actually get sunburn if they aren't used to being in the direct sunlight in harsh conditions from the outdoors. If your plants are showing bleaching or brown striping on the leaves where thwy were exposed to direct sun rays then this can indicate a sunburn. While it is important to recognize this, sunburn isn’t usually lethal and your plant can be saved. Trim the sunburn affected areas, move your plant to a more shaded area and watch it bounce back!

3. Fertilize for increase growth, strength and to help reduce stress

As it is important to feed your plants indoors, it is just as important to do this outdoors too! By giving your plants fertilize regularly it can help promote increased strength and growth for them to be able to handle the change in environment better. For example, increased winds will be a weather condition your plants will need to be accustomed to. While it is good to start your plant off by being sheltered from the wind, you also want them to grow strong and healthy so they can be protected from other harmful weather conditions. 

Both of our fertilizers will make it easier for your plants to acclimate to the outdoors. Thrive is now offered in two different sizes, 60ml and 475ml. While it is the same formula, we can now offer the larger size for gardeners and owners of indoor jungles that would need more fertilizer to cover all of their spaces and plants. We would highly recommend Thrive as a product to use for the general health of your plant to ensure that it is healthy prior to being taken outside. 

Boost is a fantastic formula to use to help alleviate some of the stress potentially inflicted by changing environments. When you are permanently replanting your plant outside, it is best to try to leave the root as undisturbed as possible. While this can be simple in theory, depending on the root ball, it can be challenging to do this. The best way to ensure a successful replant is to give your plant the nutrients it needs to continue growing in a new environment while also lowering stress levels. Boost is perfect for this exact use and will be a great addition to help the acclimation process go as smoothly as possible.

4. Check and treat for pests often

There are many new different types of pests outdoors that your plant may have not encountered indoors. Make sure to check your plants often once they move to ensure you are taking preventative measures and catch all pests earlier on. 

Using a neem oil product as a preventative or reactive treatment will give great results around checking and treating unwanted pests on our plants!

5. Monitor the weather

Water in cycles with the weather before moving your plants outdoors officially! This can be a great idea to try to acclimate them to the weather prior to experiencing it. Try to monitor the weather and water when it rains as close to mother nature's schedule as possible. This can be a great way to ensure you don't have to water your outdoor plants quite as often depending on where you live and the type of weather you get. 

Look for the best temperatures for when you are planning on replanting outdoors. This will require you to do some research on your specific types of plants you are moving. As soon as the minimum temperature your plant can survive outdoors becomes a consistent low temperature, then your plant will be able to survive outdoors successfully. Before this point try to acclimate it indoors by watering in cycles with the weather and moving it in more direct sunlight spots indoors! 

All plants can go outside and most of them will enjoy the nice change in scenery, as long as the process is done properly. Make sure to follow these above suggestions and soon you will have a thriving outdoor jungle to enjoy. 

Have questions? Leave a comment or reach out to us on our other social media pages and we’d be happy to help you in your journey in creating an outdoor oasis!