Tips for Pruning Indoor Plants
Everyone, including houseplants, can use a little grooming to achieve a well-maintained appearance. There are a few simple, but important, considerations when trimming a houseplant to keep from doing more harm than good.
Prune at the right time. Many houseplants are originally from tropical environments and will continue to grow if their preferred conditions are maintained. These plants can be lightly trimmed at any time to maintain shape or to remove less good-looking sections. Other species have a growing season or a time of year when they add most of their new growth. This is typically in the spring and summer. These plants should be trimmed right before the new growth comes on. For many varieties, the late winter is the perfect time. You will also want to prune flowering plants AFTER they flower. This is called deadheading. When the flowers are spent and looking ugly, snip them off as close to the base of the plant as possible. This allows the plant to put energy into new flowers.
Prune the right amount. Even if the plant needs some serious rehab, it isn’t a good idea to prune more than 25% of the plant at once. If you prune more than that you’ll risk the plant going into shock and dying suddenly.
Prune at the right spot. You’ll want to choose the best places to prune. You might be pruning your plant to keep it balanced looking, or encouraging branching in a certain area, or to keep it the right size for your space. In all these cases you’ll want to snip the stems just above a node. A node is a branch point of a plant, and by snipping above a node you will encourage the plant to branch at the spot you just pruned. For best results, you’ll want to cut less than 1/4in away from the node. If you cut too far away from the node, the stem won’t heal and will die back to the node leaving an opportunity for pests and disease to get in. If you cut too close to the node, you’ll risk damaging it and won’t get the desired branching.
Prune cleanly. Sometimes pruning can be referred to as “pinching” but it is better to use a sharp cutting tool rather than breaking off stems with your hands. The ragged edge of a broken or twisted off stem can lead to opportunistic infections. It is better to use sharp pruning shears for thicker or woody stems, or sharp scissors for more tender stems. However, if a dead branch plucks off easily without you having to pinch or twist it is fine to just remove. Removing dead material like this whenever you see it helps avoid disease and looks better. When you do need to use a cutting tool, the tools should be cleaned between each plant. Wipe them down (carefully so as not to cut yourself!). Then use a disinfectant on your cutting tools– diluted bleach solution, Lysol spray, denatured ethanol, or isopropyl alcohol are all excellent disinfectants. Let your tools air dry after treating with disinfectant (the air drying is how these disinfectants work, so wiping it off will mean less effective disinfecting). This is good practice for routine pruning but it is especially important if you are pruning to remove infected plant material. Do not leave any of the clipped plant material lying around your plants. It provides a breeding ground for pests and disease and doesn’t look good either, so it is best to clean it up right away.
Once you are done pruning your houseplants, you will want to pay extra attention to watering. Pruning can change a plant’s water requirements drastically, but it is not always easy to predict how it will change. If you remove a significant amount of plant material, the plant will need less water. Overwatering can lead to root rot and other diseases. On the other hand, the plant may begin growing new stems quickly in which case it will use extra water, and dehydration at a time of stress due to pruning can kill a plant quickly. So the best practice is to just watch carefully and respond accordingly.
Happy Pruning!
