Pruning Indoor Plants
Date: April 1989 (Revised April 1995)
Source:
NDSU Extension Service Horticulturists
Most of
us who grow indoor plants are familiar with their
basic requirements. We know they need light, water,
air, soil, and fertilizer in the right proportions,
and at the right time. It is easy to assume that this
is all plants need.
In spite
of your best efforts, your indoor plants may thrive
and still not look beautiful. They may grow and stretch,
reaching into surrounding spaces. They may begin to
look leggy, unkempt, and too large for the space you
have allotted. This is when you need to prune your
plants.
Most of
us neglect pruning because we dislike to cut off any
of the plant, or because we don't know how to prune.
Let's review
three types of pruning: pinching, softwood pruning
and hard pruning.
Pinching
is the simplest, most routine form of pruning. Pinch
off the small new growth at the end of a branch. When
you remove this growth, the plant no longer simply
extends a branch in a straight line. Rather, you force
previously dormant side buds, to grow. Likewise, once
the sideshoots have grown long enough, you can pinch
their tips off. If you persist in pinching your plants
you can direct their growth, and keep them compact
and full.
Softwood
pruning is more severe than pinching and consists
of removing part of the soft, leaf-carrying stems.
Follow the same procedure as for pinching except that
you remove a portion of the stem itself, rather than
just the new growth at the tip.
Use softwood
pruning on plants that have become too large or excessively
heavy on one side. It is usually a procedure to follow
if plants have not been pinched properly.
Hard pruning
is the most severe. It is often a last attempt to
save a plant. Hard pruning consists of cutting back
all the small, softwood branches so only the leafless,
main hard stems remain. This method of pruning is
beneficial in drastic cases of plant neglect because
it allows your houseplant to start over. Of course,
you should not let a plant reach this point.
