Wintering Tropicals in Minnesota by Ken Goebel
(printed in MBS Newsletter November 2011)
It’s the Autumn season and the outdoor lows and highs are below 60 deg F. You’ve heard and read that it’s not good to let
your tropicals get any colder than this. So you’ve moved your tropicals indoors, and now what do you do with them until
next summer, when it’s warm enough to put them outside again?
There are a couple of points of view about this. One is to place them in a dimly lit, cool corner of the basement and try to
induce high dormancy so there is very little growing during wintering over. Your trees will still need water to keep the soil
moist. Misting and high humidity is less of a requirement in this type of dormancy. And fertilizing can be less often also,
once or twice during storage, with a low nitrogen fertilizer like 2-7-7 or 0-10-10 liquid.
Another is to give your trees as much of a tropical growing environment as you can while indoors, with high humidity and
high lighting typical of the regions they grow in naturally. A low nitrogen fertilizer once a month with this type of indoor
storage will slow down growth somewhat, if you want your tropicals to experience slower growth.
My experience is that tropicals grow all year long, with perhaps a seasonal, mild slowdown, and so my preference is the
latter kind of indoor, winter storage. I’m lucky enough to have a south- and west-facing window in my house, ideal for
winter sun. So this is where I keep my tropicals for the winter.
(printed in MBS Newsletter November 2011)
It’s the Autumn season and the outdoor lows and highs are below 60 deg F. You’ve heard and read that it’s not good to let
your tropicals get any colder than this. So you’ve moved your tropicals indoors, and now what do you do with them until
next summer, when it’s warm enough to put them outside again?
There are a couple of points of view about this. One is to place them in a dimly lit, cool corner of the basement and try to
induce high dormancy so there is very little growing during wintering over. Your trees will still need water to keep the soil
moist. Misting and high humidity is less of a requirement in this type of dormancy. And fertilizing can be less often also,
once or twice during storage, with a low nitrogen fertilizer like 2-7-7 or 0-10-10 liquid.
Another is to give your trees as much of a tropical growing environment as you can while indoors, with high humidity and
high lighting typical of the regions they grow in naturally. A low nitrogen fertilizer once a month with this type of indoor
storage will slow down growth somewhat, if you want your tropicals to experience slower growth.
My experience is that tropicals grow all year long, with perhaps a seasonal, mild slowdown, and so my preference is the
latter kind of indoor, winter storage. I’m lucky enough to have a south- and west-facing window in my house, ideal for
winter sun. So this is where I keep my tropicals for the winter.
The photo shows a wood structure I built to
imitate a high humidity, high lighting
environment, with clear plastic film that
hangs over the top and all the edges. The
plastic film is loose on the four edges, and
can be folded up onto the top for easy
access to the trees. In the left corner I
have a small, ceramic water fountain to
help maintain a high humidity. Each tree
also has a humidity tray underneath, with
gravel and water. This setup keeps the
humidity at about 65-75% H. When the
fluorescent light is on, the temperature is
about 70 deg. F, never falling below 65
deg F.
The tropicals seen here are two willow leaf
ficus’ grown from trunk cuttings, a texas
ebony, and a brassaia schefflera. They
don’t even know that winter is just around
the corner.
imitate a high humidity, high lighting
environment, with clear plastic film that
hangs over the top and all the edges. The
plastic film is loose on the four edges, and
can be folded up onto the top for easy
access to the trees. In the left corner I
have a small, ceramic water fountain to
help maintain a high humidity. Each tree
also has a humidity tray underneath, with
gravel and water. This setup keeps the
humidity at about 65-75% H. When the
fluorescent light is on, the temperature is
about 70 deg. F, never falling below 65
deg F.
The tropicals seen here are two willow leaf
ficus’ grown from trunk cuttings, a texas
ebony, and a brassaia schefflera. They
don’t even know that winter is just around
the corner.