Pruning Indoor Plants
“…superfluous branches we lop away, that bearing boughs may live.”
William Shakespeare
Pruning is essential to plant health and appearance. We prune for size, shape, removing crossing or rubbing branches, removing diseased or dead plant material, etc.
Note: Always use clean sharp pruning equipment.
Remember to fertilize the plant to be pruned the week before it is pruned. This encourages robust growth at the pruning cut. Use these guidelines when pruning:
Standard Trees
Standard trees can be trees or shrubs that have been trained to have a single trunk or they can be plants that are grafted onto a rootstock so they look like trees. Usually, the trunk is at least 3 feet tall.
- Keep the canopy in a free-flowing form
- Prune to maintain lower older growth
- Prune for an attractive shape.
- Prune to balance the tree. Standard trees will tip over if they are permitted to grow heavier on one side, which happens when one is placed near a window and not turned regularly, or when they are permitted to grow wide and begin to splay outward.
- Prune to keep limbs upright and straight, especially with Ficus lyrata.
- Prune to keep limbs from entering traffic paths or hanging over furniture which can limit the use of either one.
Braided and Corkscrew Trunk Trees and Topiaries
- Maintain the ball or topiary shape of the plant regularly
- Consistent pruning is required to maintain the shape, weekly, if necessary.
Palms
- Cut the palm limb near the base of the stem on those that sprout from the base.
- Use pruners of an appropriate size for the plant. Some palms can be quite large and hard to cut with small pruners or scissors. You may need loppers or a hand saw.
Bushes
- Keep these in a natural but neat and compact form.
- Prune to maintain older lower growth and to reduce leggy appearance.
- Open “holes” in the top of the plant to allow light to reach the inside and lower areas of the plant.
Vining Plants
- Table- or cabinet-top containers and topsiders should be kept to between the rim of the container and the top of the table or cabinet.
- Base plantings around trees should be kept to within the top half of the container.
- To reduce the size of an overgrown vining plant, prune up to 1/3 of the plant back to 2 node levels above the soil line. This encourages new growth at the soil level and maintains the full look of the plant.
- To maintain the appearance and health of the plant, prune just under a leaf node at the required length.
