It’s the end of September in eastern Nebraska, which signals the very near end of patio plantings and container plants in the out of doors.  There are several reasons for this:

-Some plants are overgrown, diseased or just plain scruffy.

-Many gardeners like to move some of the adaptable species indoors for the winter

-Frosts are coming!  For this area, usually around October 10^th.

With all of this in mind, now is a good time to clean out your containers, separate the ones that can grow well indoors (coleus, geranium, begonia, ferns) and recycle the soil for next year.  Begin by gently removing the plants from the soil with a trowel and set them aside.  Next, dump out the potting mix in a “soil saver” spot in the back of the garden, using some of it to repot the plants to be saved.  Finish by giving the pot itself a good scrubbing to reduced carryover of insects and diseases.  A little soap and water and a tire brush are the tools required for this…and a little elbow grease.  A pressure washer will also work, but might blow the pot around the yard!

John Fech

Horticulture Extension Educator at Nebraska Extension

John Fech is a horticulturist with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and certified arborist with the International Society of Arboriculture. The author of 2 books and over 200 popular and trade journal articles, he focuses his time on teaching effective landscape maintenance techniques, water conservation, diagnosing turf and ornamental problems and encouraging effective bilingual communication in the green industry. He works extensively with the media to extend the message of landscape sustainability, making over 100 television and radio appearances each year.