This Week, for Plant Tip Tuesday...

Let's discuss Pruning!

Pruning is when you selectively cut living stems and branches to improve the shape of the plant and direct new growth in other areas.  Pruning is different from trimming off dead or dying parts of the plant during regular plant maintenance.

Plants grow, and pruning is just another part of maintenance.  We recommend that this be done at the beginning of the active growing season which starts in March.

Successful pruning is accomplished by knowing what plant you have and what its natural growth patterns are. You will only want to take off no more than 25% of the entire plant. There is a chance that the plant could become stressed if too much foliage is pruned back. If you are pruning a flowering plant, for example a Hibiscus or a Gardenia, be sure that the plant is not flowering at the time of pruning.

Use the right tool for the job!  If the plant has a woody stem you will want to use a pair of nice sharp secateurs (also known as pruning shears).  A sharp pair of scissors can be used on thin vegetative stems.

Make your cuts just above a leaf node, where the leaf meets the stem.

Pruning off the new growth on plants that have gotten leggy will encourage growth from lower down on the stem and create a busher plant.

Most cuttings can be propagated to create new plants!

Some plants are not suitable for pruning, for example, Palms and Norfolk Pines

A little bit of regular pruning will help your plants look nice and slick!