LADY BUG: AS WEATHER COOLS, IT'S TIME TO MOVE HOUSE PLANTS BACK INSIDE

House plants that have spent the summer outside should be prepared for the trip back indoors now. If they have spent the summer in a decorative spot, now as the nights become cooler, some plants, especially tropical ones, can be damaged if permitted to become too cool. If plants are still in proportion, however, potting is better done in spring before plants are moved out to the outdoors again.

A usual concern is whether a plant should be repotted at the time of its return inside. Generally, if a plant has put on considerable growth during the summer, a new pot may be in order. When plants are oversized for their pots, adequate watering may become difficult during the low humidity of winter.

Careful repotting is of most importance. Remove the soil ball. Place it into a pot of the next larger size, and fill carefully around it, replacing with good, fresh soil. There is no need to remove the soil from existing roots of healthy plants.

However, if the plant is healthy and in good soil, but appears to need division or other operations that may require major soil disturbance, it is often best to wait until later in the winter or early spring.

Proper locations indoors is necessary to keep plants in good condition. Light is most important. If a plant is to be located in a poorly lighted spot, try to develop a rotation so they can be switched to a well lighted spot for a couple of weeks. In this way, both plants can normally be kept in acceptable condition.

One important aspect of the travel back inside is to check plants for signs of damaging insects. Such pests as sow bugs, millipedes, earthworms, slugs and crickets, may hide in the soil or drainage materials close to the drainage hole or holes at the base of the pot.

This can easily be done by turning the pot upside down and giving the edge of the pot a few sharp taps on a solid object. Have the other hand underneath to catch the mass of soil as it drops out. This is easiest to remove when it is moist, but not soggy and not too dry.

The top also needs examination after the roots have been checked. Aphids, spider mites, grasshoppers, mealy bugs, scale or other pests may be hiding behind the leaves. Sprays and insecticides will be safer and more effective to get at them right now, before they have a chance to multiply.

You can tell healthy professionally-grown plants at a glance. They are in porous clay pots, in sterilized soil and are marketed in these pots to help adjust to local temperatures and light growing conditions.

These pots guard against overwatering by the tiny pores in the walls of the clay pots. It is wise to ask at the flower market which ones like a sunny window and which prefer shade. Usually it is the flowering one that prefers the sun and the foliage plant that likes the shade.

Of all the conditions controlled indoors, water is often the most difficult to determine. As a general rule, the soil's surface should be dry to the touch before rewatering. Even though the surface is dry when lightly scratched, it still must be moist beyond 1/2 inch depth. You will soon be able to tell how long each pot takes to reach this point in your home.

Remember to apply enough water to wet the entire root-soil. Some water should run from the drainage hole in the base of the pot. Do not let water stand in the base of the container, even though gravel is often placed in the bottom to obtain humidity.

Moisture is beneficial. Homes that have humidifiers have better plant survival. However, usually short-term plants, such as holiday plants, usually last long enough without providing additional humidity.

It is important, also, to check vigorous growth at this time. Overly vigorous growth can be pruned back now. Cut back just plants need to have a little fertilizing now, too.

Since we shall not be having our indoor garden, it will be necessary to select very, very few plants to winter in our new home. We are starting a new, and all of the old plants have found new homes so this will be a different approach than in the past years. There will be a minimal number of plants in this new environment. It will take a bit of getting use to life without all those baskets and pots. However, this will be a new challenge for the smaller number of plants both inside and outside.

~Mary Blue is a resident of Cape Girardeau and is an avid gardener.