Bringing Them Back In, Again

My inaugural blog pot last October 8 was about bringing my succulents back in for the fall. Well, that time of year has returned. Once again, I'm using the system of placing my plants in trays with diatomaceous earth for a few days, to make sure that no creepy crawlies escape into my house.

Things were a little more rushed this year, as frost warnings came earlier than expected. I moved everything from the front and back yards last Saturday. There was considerable muttering under my breath while doing so. "Yeah, you really just had to buy all those new plants this summer," I scolded myself. "You know damn good and well that you have to bring them all in eventually." Not only do I have quite a few more plants, but many of my succulents were moved up a pot-size or two while outdoors, so they don't fit into the same spots as they did last winter. (And the hell of it is, the cold snap was short-lived. We have had a couple of days of above average temperatures, and there are several more to come, according to the forecast.)

Succulents have taken over my dining room...

During the move, some plants wound up in the garage instead of the living/dining room, since I didn't have enough trays available. The plan is to transfer a few plants from the dining area to their permanent positions each day, and then move a like number of plants from the garage into the prepared trays.

...And my garage. My poor husband won't be able to get his car in until these seasonal shenanigans are done with. (A few plants other than succulents can be seen, like Dracaena, Hippeastrum and Tradescantia pallida.)

My Hibiscus rosa-sinensis have already been placed in their permanent spots, as has my Araucaria heterophylla. The cold-hardy Hedera, Fatsia, Asparagus, and Aspidistra will remain outdoors for a while longer.

I keep thinking that I've got to work out new systems for both moving the plants out, and bringing them in. Every year, the sheer amount of work has me wondering why I have so many plants, anyway. Well, at least until I get everything settled, and then I go back to loving what I have, and lusting after more.