Bringing coleus into the house

I have a beautiful pot of coleus in the garden this year that I would like to try to bring into the house for the winter. In the past I have had problems bringing in insects at the same time. Does anyone have a suggestion for avoiding that? Should I re-pot the plants or could I just spray with an insecticidal soap? thanks for any wisdom.

 

Hmm, well I dunno about that repotting. This tends to encourage root growth, and this time of year you want to help the plant to slow down in this area. Before you bring it in I would spray its leaves vigorously with water, give plant and pot a CLOSE inspection for anything visible insect-wise, and then immerse the pot in a tub of water for a moderate length of time. This will make hidden slugs, pillbugs, millipedes, etc. float up out of their home. Drain well and bring the coleus inside: keep it away from other plants for a while to see if anything's crawling or hatching out. ---Coleus will need a good amount of light to not get pale and leggy, and I find a good idea with all my outdoor plants is to bring them in when the in/out temp. is about the same. ---And keep the insecticidal soap at the ready! Vigilance is the best prevention.

 

Thanks -- I particularly like your comment about bringing them in when the indoor and outdoor temperatures are about the same -- that makes good sense and that time would be about now . . . I have big north-facing windows with bright light but only morning sun which I think would work well.