Plant Care Tips 02.03.22
Pruning Guide
Knowing when to prune
How much to cut off
Follow this step by step guide for pruning your plants:
A large pruning session can be carried out twice a year for effective new plant growth and to help reshape or restructure your plant to make it grow the way you want it to. Pruning is most effective at the start of the plant’s growing season, and this will likely be at the very end of the Winter or the start of Spring. Plants with dead, browning leaves can be pruned when needed to remove them as this will allow fresh, new growth to appear.
Pruning is also super useful if you want to reshape your plant, if it isn't growing quite how you desire. For example, Monstera Deliciosa (aka the Cheese Plant) is a climbing plant, so will often sprawl outwards if you haven't a moss pole to guide it. Pruning its aerial roots and random offshoots, which are becoming unmanageable is great and totally fine for the general health of your plant. Don't be shy, but try to avoid pruning off more than 1/4 of your plant to ensure optimum health. Good luck!
The general rule of thumb is that you shouldn’t remove more than a quarter of the plant per pruning session otherwise this could affect the growth negatively rather than helping the plant grow more. It’s best to cut just before a node on the stem to allow new growth from these areas.
.jpg?v=1672330302147)
1
Time of year
Firstly, ensure that the time of year that you want to prune is appropriate for the plant and its growth. The very beginning of Spring or the very end of Winter is the best time as this is when the growing season begins. This will give the plant the best chance at regrowth.
2
Plan the cuts
Then, plan out which areas of the plant you want to prune to change its shape and restructure it. Also take into consideration some dead, browning stems and leaves that need to be gotten rid of.
3
Make the cut!
When you have decided which areas you will be cutting away, use some clean and sharp pruning shears (or even some scissors for thinner stems) to cut off some leaves and stems. It’s best to cut a little bit before the node of the stem so that regrowth will come through.
