How to Overwinter Tender Perennials and Herbs Indoors
Tender perennials die outside in a northern winter, but many of them do not have to. Rosemary, geraniums, peppers, and dahlias can all come through to spring if you bring them in on time and keep them in conditions that suit how they rest.
There are three ways to carry a plant through winter:
- Grow it on as a houseplant. It stays green in a bright window or under a light. This suits evergreen herbs, citrus, and geraniums.
- Keep it dormant. The plant or its storage root rests in a cool, dim place with very little water. This suits dahlias, cannas, fuchsias, and cut-back peppers.
- Take cuttings. You root a few stems and leave the large parent outside. This suits coleus, geraniums, and tender salvias, and takes the least space.
Pick the method by the plant, then by how much bright window space you have.
Which Plants Are Worth Bringing In
| Plant | Best method | Indoor conditions | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rosemary | Houseplant | Brightest window or grow light; cool room | Most common failure is a dried-out or waterlogged root ball |
| Bay laurel | Houseplant | Bright window, cool room | Check stems and leaf undersides for scale |
| Lemongrass | Houseplant or division | Bright window | Cut back to about 6 inches and pot a section |
| Geranium (Pelargonium) | Houseplant, bare-root, or cuttings | Bright window, around 65°F days | Prune back by a third to a half when you bring it in |
| Fuchsia | Dormant | Cool and dim, above freezing | Cut back; water lightly about once a month |
| Wax and angel-wing begonias | Houseplant | Bright indirect light | Grow like any foliage houseplant |
| Tuberous begonia | Dormant tuber | Store near 50°F | Dry the tubers for one to two weeks first |
| Coleus | Cuttings | Bright window, warm | Large plants sulk indoors; cuttings root quickly |
| Peppers | Dormant or slow growth | Bright and cool, roughly 40 to 55°F for dormancy | Cut back hard; expect few or no fruits until spring |
| Dahlia | Dormant tuber | Cool and dark, above freezing | Pack in barely moist material |
| Canna | Dormant rhizome | 45 to 50°F | Let frost kill the tops, but dig before a hard freeze |
| Tender salvias | Cuttings or houseplant | Bright window | Cuttings are easier than moving a large plant |
| Citrus in pots | Houseplant | Brightest window, away from heat vents | Leaf drop after the move is common and usually temporary |
Annual herbs such as basil, cilantro, and dill are not good candidates. They are near the end of their life by fall. Sow a fresh pot indoors instead.
When to Bring Plants Inside
Temperature matters more than the calendar. University of Illinois Extension says to start bringing houseplants in when the thermometer falls below 55°F consistently. University of Minnesota Extension notes that temperatures below 45 to 50°F can damage most houseplants. Penn State Extension says to move tropical plants in before frost, once nights drop into the low 40s.
A practical rule is to move tropical plants (citrus, begonias, coleus, lemongrass) before nights fall below 50°F. Move Mediterranean herbs (rosemary, bay) and geraniums before the first hard freeze. Dig dahlias and cannas after frost blackens the tops but before the ground freezes.
To estimate your timing, look up your average first frost date on your zone planting calendar. Start the move about two weeks before that date. Our October planting guide lists the first frost dates for zones 3 through 10. In zones 5 and 6, that window is already open in early October. Zone 7 has a couple more weeks.
Check for Pests Before Anything Comes In
A plant that spent summer outside almost always brings something with it. Aphids, whiteflies, mealybugs, scale, and spider mites spread quickly indoors, where there are no predators and the air is dry.
- Inspect closely. Look at the undersides of leaves, leaf joints, and new growth. Sticky leaves or black sooty residue point to sap-feeding insects.
- Wash the plant. Hose it off, or wash the leaves with water and mild dish soap and rinse, as University of Minnesota Extension recommends. Wash the outside of the pot too.
- Flush the pot. Water heavily, or soak the pot in a bucket for 15 minutes, to drive out earwigs, ants, and other insects living in the mix.
- Quarantine. Keep newly moved plants away from your houseplants for several weeks. University of Illinois Extension suggests three to four weeks. If no pests appear in that time, move them together.
If you are not sure what you are looking at, our guide to diagnosing plant problems from photos explains what to photograph. The pest alerts for your zone show what other gardeners nearby have reported this season.
Acclimatize Over a Week or Two
A plant moved straight from full sun to a living room drops leaves. Outdoor light is many times brighter than even a sunny window, and the plant needs time to adjust its foliage.
University of Illinois Extension recommends moving plants into shade outside for about a week. Then bring them in for a day or two at a time, increasing the time indoors until they stay. University of Minnesota Extension suggests starting a plant in a very sunny window and moving it to a dimmer spot later, rather than the other way around.
Some yellowing and leaf drop in the first few weeks is normal, especially on citrus, figs, and hibiscus. Do not respond by watering more. The plant is adjusting to less light, and it now needs less water than it did outside.
Light: Windows and Grow Lights
Light is the main limit on what you can keep growing through winter. Rosemary, citrus, peppers, and geraniums want as much as you can give them.
- South-facing windows give the most winter light in the Northern Hemisphere. Put your most light-hungry plants here, a few inches from the glass, but pull them back on very cold nights.
- West and east windows work for begonias, bay, and lemongrass. A north window is too dim for most of the plants in this guide.
- Grow lights fill the gap. An inexpensive LED shop light or a full-spectrum panel on a timer for 12 to 14 hours a day keeps rosemary and peppers compact. Keep it close, usually 6 to 12 inches above the foliage for a basic shop light, and follow the maker’s distance guidance for brighter panels.
Leggy, pale growth means the plant needs more light. Pinch it back and move it closer to the window or the lamp. If you are setting up lights for the first time, our indoor growing setup guide covers fixtures and timers.
Watering and Feeding Through Winter
Plants growing slowly in low light use far less water. Most overwintered plants should be watered less than they were in summer, and only when the mix has dried as far as that plant likes.
- Rosemary and bay: water when the top inch is dry. Rosemary is easy to lose both ways. A root ball left to dry out completely does not recover, and a constantly wet one rots. Good airflow also helps keep powdery mildew off the leaves.
- Geraniums: water when the mix becomes dry, as University of Illinois Extension advises. The RHS recommends watering sparingly in winter so the compost dries between waterings.
- Dormant peppers and fuchsias: keep them barely moist, often one watering every few weeks.
- Citrus: water thoroughly when the top two inches are dry, and keep it away from heat vents that dry the leaves.
Stop fertilizing until new growth begins in late winter. University of Illinois Extension notes that plants rest during short winter days and need little or no fertilizer. For more on telling dry from wet, see our houseplant watering chart. The soil-check methods there apply to overwintered plants too.
Keep a Record of What Survives
Set up an indoor plot in Garden.gg for everything you bring in, and log the move date, waterings, and how each plant comes through. Next fall you will know which plants were worth the window space. No credit card is required.
Start my overwintering log — free
Dormancy for Dahlias, Cannas, and Other Storage Roots
Plants with tubers, rhizomes, or corms can spend winter in a box. The goal is the same for all of them: cool enough that they stay dormant, dry enough that they do not rot, and moist enough that they do not shrivel.
Dahlias. Dig after frost blackens the tops, or before a hard freeze. Handle the tubers gently, since they bruise easily. Let them dry for a short time, then pack them in peat moss, vermiculite, wood shavings, or sand. University of Wisconsin Extension recommends storage at 35 to 45°F, and Penn State Extension gives 40 to 50°F, kept off cold concrete floors. Check monthly and mist lightly if they start to shrivel.
Cannas. Let frost kill the tops but dig before a hard freeze. Dry the rhizomes for a day or two, then wrap them in newspaper or layer them in peat moss. Store them in paper bags or cardboard boxes at 45 to 50°F, per University of Wisconsin Extension.
Tuberous begonias. Dig before a hard frost and dry the tubers for one to two weeks with a few inches of stem attached. Store them at about 50°F.
Gladiolus. Lift when the leaves yellow or after the first frost. Dry the corms for about three weeks in a well-ventilated spot, then store at 35 to 45°F.
An unheated basement, an insulated garage that stays above freezing, or a cool closet against an outside wall all work. Label every box with the variety and the date you dug it. Check once a month. Remove anything soft or moldy, mist anything wrinkled, and air out anything damp.
Geraniums can also be stored bare-root. University of Illinois Extension describes digging the plants, shaking off the soil, and keeping them in paper bags or hanging upside down in a cool, dry spot at 45 to 50°F. In March, cut them back to firm green tissue and pot them up.
Overwintering Peppers
Peppers are perennials in the tropics, and a plant you cut back in fall can produce earlier fruit the next summer. Oregon State University Extension describes gardeners keeping container peppers in a kind of stasis, alive but barely growing, at 40 to 55°F under a grow light in a garage.
- Before frost, choose a healthy plant, ideally one already in a container.
- Cut it back to a few main branches about 6 to 8 inches tall. Remove all fruit and flowers.
- Pest-check and quarantine it as above. Aphids are common on peppers.
- Keep it cool, bright, and on the dry side. It may drop most of its leaves, which is normal.
- In late winter, move it somewhere warmer and brighter, and resume regular watering when new leaves appear.
Our pepper soil mix recipe is a good choice for repotting in spring. If you are potting up herbs for indoor growing, the rosemary, sage, and thyme recipes give fast-draining blends suited to Mediterranean herbs.
Cuttings: The Space-Saving Option
If you have more plants than windowsill, take cuttings and let the parent plants go. Penn State Extension recommends this for coleus and annual and scented geraniums. Take a healthy tip three to six inches long, strip the lower leaves, dip it in rooting hormone, and set it in moist potting mix or perlite. Cover the pot with a clear plastic bag and keep it warm and bright. Coleus usually roots in a few weeks. University of Illinois Extension says geraniums can take four to eight weeks.
A tray of rooted cuttings takes a fraction of the space of the parent plants, and the young plants are often more vigorous in spring. If you root many at once, our post on tracking plant cuttings shows how to log batches and success rates.
Moving Plants Back Out in Spring
Overwintered plants need hardening off in spring, just like seedlings. Leaves that grew indoors will scorch in full outdoor sun.
- Wake dormant plants first. About four to six weeks before your last frost, pot up tubers and bring dormant pots into warmth and light. Penn State Extension recommends starting stored tubers indoors under lights in that window.
- Wait for warm nights. Move tropical plants out after your last frost date, once nights stay above 50°F. Rosemary and geraniums can go out a little earlier.
- Harden off over 7 to 10 days. Start in full shade for a few hours, then lengthen the time and add morning sun each day. Bring plants in on cold nights. The seed starting guide walks through the same process for seedlings.
- Resume feeding once the plants are growing outdoors.
Common questions
When should I bring plants inside for winter?
Bring tropical and tender plants in before night temperatures fall below about 50°F, and well before your first frost. University extension guidance puts the threshold between 45 and 55°F depending on the plant. Hardier herbs like rosemary and bay can stay out through light frosts but should come in before a hard freeze.
Can I overwinter rosemary indoors?
Yes, but it needs the brightest spot you have, ideally a south window or a grow light, and a cool room. Water when the top inch of mix is dry, and do not let the root ball dry out completely or sit wet. Good air movement helps prevent powdery mildew.
How do I keep bugs from coming inside with my plants?
Inspect leaves, stems, and the undersides of leaves for aphids, mealybugs, scale, whiteflies, and spider mites. Hose plants off or wash them with mild soapy water, flush the pots to drive out soil insects, and keep the plants away from your houseplants for three to four weeks.
Can you overwinter pepper plants?
Yes. Peppers are perennial in their native range. Cut a container plant back, keep it cool and fairly dry in bright light or under a grow light, and expect it to sit mostly dormant until spring. Overwintered plants often fruit earlier the next season.
Should I store dahlia tubers wet or dry?
Neither extreme. Let dug tubers cure for a short time, then pack them in barely moist peat moss, vermiculite, wood shavings, or sand in a cool place above freezing. Check monthly and lightly mist any that start to shrivel, and remove any that rot.
Should overwintered plants get fertilizer?
Most do not need any until late winter. Plants grow slowly in low winter light, and unused fertilizer builds up in the mix. Resume feeding when new growth starts in late winter or early spring.
Getting Started
- Create a free account and add an indoor plot named for where your overwintered plants will live, and check “Indoor plot.”
- Add each plant you bring in, and log the date you moved it.
- Set a longer “water every” interval than you used in summer and turn on reminders. Treat each reminder as a prompt to check the soil.
- For stored tubers, add a monthly note or reminder to check the boxes for rot and shriveling.
- In spring, log the date each plant goes back out and how it came through, so next fall you know what to bring in again.
Sources and Check Date
Sources checked October 8, 2026. Temperature thresholds vary between sources and plants; the ranges above follow the cited guidance.
- University of Illinois Extension: Tips for Moving Houseplants Indoors and Overwinter Care: the 55°F threshold, a week in shade before moving, pest checks, a three to four week quarantine, and reduced winter watering and feeding.
- University of Minnesota Extension: When to Bring Houseplants Inside for the Winter: damage below 45 to 50°F, soapy-water washing, and gradual light adjustment.
- University of Illinois Extension: How to Overwinter Geraniums: potted, bare-root, and cutting methods, temperatures, and pruning.
- Penn State Extension: Tropical Plants to Overwinter: houseplant, cutting, and dormant-storage methods, and starting stored tubers four to six weeks before last frost.
- University of Wisconsin Extension: Storing Tender “Bulbs” for Winter: digging, curing, and storage temperatures for dahlias, cannas, gladiolus, caladiums, and tuberous begonias.
- Penn State Extension: Easy Tips for Dahlia Winter Storage: digging after frost, drying, packing in shavings, and storage at 40 to 50°F.
- Oregon State University Extension: Five Plants Local Gardeners Are Overwintering: keeping peppers semi-dormant at 40 to 55°F under a grow light.
- RHS: How to Grow Pelargoniums: bringing plants in before the first frosts, a light frost-free spot, and sparing winter watering.
- University of Illinois Extension’s houseplant care page: little or no fertilizer during the winter rest period.
