How To Trim Your Plants

How To Trim Your Plants

Have you found the perfect house plants but now find yourself drowning in leaves, vines, and new growth? This week we're talking about pruning your plants properly, so you can manage their size and encourage healthy growth. While it may seem counter-productive, cutting your plant can make a big difference in its general well being.   Why trim your plant? You may know that cutting your hair is an essential part of maintaining healthy hair, and pruning plants serves a similar purpose. Pruning plants allows you to remove unhealthy portions that may have grown too much and enable you to shape it more to your liking. Different plants react differently to pruning, and we'll be going over what to do differently depending on what plant you have.   

What You Need To Prune Your Plant

  • An overgrown houseplant
  • Sharp garden shears
  • Gardening gloves
  • Water and bleach solution to sanitize shears.
  Before making any cuts, take a good look at your plant. Examine your plant for any growth that looks unhealthy or growth that looks lopsided. Your first step in pruning should be to remove any dead or diseased looking stems and leaves, cutting an extra inch or two with it. Your cuts should be close to leaf nodes or the plant's main stem, but try not to take over ¼ of the entire plant. If you're looking to save a bit of money, do some research online to determine if your plant can be propagated from cuttings. Some plants like the ever-popular pothos can quickly sprout from cuttings, so don't throw them away! A person trimming a healthy pothos plant. Trimming a pothos plant can help their vines stay manageable and can help you grow even more of them with cuttings. Pothos are resilient and can withstand a lot of pruning at any time of year. Just remember to trim cleanly and keep the soil moist after pruning, so your plant doesn't undergo too much stress.   Succulents like Zebra Haworthia grow somewhat slowly, so you won't need to prune often. As your succulent grows, lower leaves will dry up and appear dead, and these can safely be removed by hand or with shears. Before pruning your succulent, research when the growing season for your variety is. Pruning is most effective right at the beginning of the growing season.   Deadheading is another commonly used pruning technique. When the petals of flowering plants begin to fade, the plant puts energy into producing seeds. Removing these dead flowers causes the plant to create a second bloom that can be longer-lasting and attractive.   Now that you've read our advice, pull on your gloves, and get ready to give your houseplants a whole new look!