Monty Don urges BBC Gardeners' World viewers to make 'unusual' change to houseplants

Monty Don has urged those who love their houseplants to take them outside this summer. Monty, 68, said despite their name most houseplants would be 'much happier' out in the fresh air than in their usual spot.

Speaking on the latest episode of Gardeners' World on BBC Two, he urged viewers with any outside space to consider it. Explaining why, he commented: "If you've got houseplants that will survive temperatures down to five degrees, they'll be much happier outside in the fresh air with some sunshine than they will be cooped up indoors all winter even with some rain.

"So if you've got a yard, if you've got a garden think about bringing them out then they can freshen up in the light and stay out all summer long. Even if you don't want to bring your houseplants outside, bring them out and with a cloth wipe them over and then you can bring them back indoors."

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Most house plants be put outside between May and September. Timings do vary around the country and from year to year, so to be safe, wait until about 2-4 weeks since the last frost. If your garden is exposed, then you may also choose to wait a little later.

Monty previously shared how to keep your tulips looking their best. The gardening expert emphasised the importance of deadheading tulips after they've bloomed to encourage a vibrant display next year.

Monty urged gardeners to make sure they had done all of their tulip deheading by May 31. He said: "If you have tulips growing in borders, deadhead them once they are past their best. This will stop the development of seeds so that all the energy goes into forming new bulbs for next year's flowers.

"The best way to deadhead them is simply to snap off the spent flowers with the growing seed pod using your fingers. Do not cut back the stem or any of the foliage as this will all contribute to the growing bulbs as they slowly die back."