****BRING INSIDE YOUR TROPICAL PLANTS WELL BEFORE FROST!

• Gradually reduce their sun exposure as the temperatures cool
• If the plants are in your garden bed, time to transplant them into a container using a soil less potting mix. Keep soil slightly moist, fertilize lightly before bringing them inside. Do not fertilize again until spring.
• Spray the plant and soil with insecticidal soap. Continue to monitor for insects during the winter.
• Trim back 50% of the current growth by making cuts just above a leaf bud at an angle
• Store plants in any room in which the temperature does not drop below 50 degrees
• Use an ordinary grow light for 8-12 hours per day
• Tropical plants will recover form their “resting state” as days grow longer and the temperature warms

FOR TENDER TUBERS, BULBS, AND CORMS:

• After a LIGHT FROST has turned the leaves slightly brown, cut the foliage back to 6” and carefully dig them up
• Wash the soil from the bulbs and allow to air dry.
• Pack them with peat moss, small bark chips, or saw dust
• Store them in a dark, dry, cool area (not below 50 degrees)
• Repot the bulbs 6-8 weeks before the last frost date (in southern New Hampshire, this is approximately May 30)
• Begin watering and exposing to sun and outside temperature gradually

RESOURCES:
University if Illinois Extension
Horticulture magazine
Gardener’s Supply
The staff of Bedford Fields Garden Center