I own a wholesale nursery in Long Island, New York, and every fall I am asked the same urgent questions: Which plants can I bring inside? Will this one make it through the winter on my windowsill? Is there any way to save this one for next year? Believe me, I can sympathize. After a spring and summer spent lovingly cultivating my garden, I like to keep as much of it alive as possible, and deciding which plants to bring inside and which ones to leave to their fate can be a complicated matter. So I’ve developed a few rules of thumb.

Clerodendrum Both the vining and shrub forms make good houseplants when given plenty of light and kept evenly moist.

Here: 'Blue Wings,' (C. ugandense).

I own a wholesale nursery in Long Island, New York, and every fall I am asked the same urgent questions: Which plants can I bring inside? Will this one make it through the winter on my windowsill? Is there any way to save this one for next year? Believe me, I can sympathize. After a spring and summer spent lovingly cultivating my garden, I like to keep as much of it alive as possible, and deciding which plants to bring inside and which ones to leave to their fate can be a complicated matter. So I’ve developed a few rules of thumb.

Left: Clerodendrum Both the vining and shrub forms make good houseplants when given plenty of light and kept evenly moist.
Here: 'Blue Wings,' (C. ugandense).