How-to Guide
Overwintering Tender Plants
The short answer
Tender perennials and tropical plants that a cold-climate gardener treats as annuals, such as geranium, coleus, lantana, and begonia, can often be carried through winter by bringing them indoors before the first frost and keeping them as houseplants. Place them in a bright spot, avoid drafts, and water and feed sparingly through the low-light months.
Timing is critical: dig up or move plants inside before a hard freeze. Inspect for pests before bringing plants in, and expect slower growth indoors until you acclimate them back outside in spring.
Steps to overwinter indoors
- 1Act before frost — Bring plants in, or dig them up, before the threat of the first frost or a hard freeze.
- 2Check for pests — Inspect foliage and soil so you do not carry insects indoors with the plant.
- 3Give it light — Place in a sunny window away from drafts and treat it like any houseplant.
- 4Ease off water and feed — Water less and hold fertilizer during the low-light winter months while growth slows.
✔ Acclimate plants gradually when moving them in and back out in spring to avoid shock from sudden changes in light and temperature.
Sources
Reviewed 2026-07-18. We cite university Extension, government, and established horticultural sources — and never invent pesticide rates or dangerous treatments.
- Iowa State University Extension — How to Overwinter Plants — Tropical and tender plants can overwinter indoors as houseplants; bring in before frost.
- Illinois Extension — Overwintering Tender Plants — Examples of tender perennials (geranium, coleus, lantana, begonia) overwintered indoors.
- University of Maryland Extension — Overwintering Tropical Plants — Bring tropicals indoors before frost and care for them through winter.
- Michigan State University Extension — Overwintering tender garden plants — Methods and timing for overwintering tender garden plants.