Few houseplants need regular pruning, though many require some form of pinching back to keep them shapely. For the few that do need pruning to maintain their vigor and appearance, clipping and cutting once a season will keep them compact, dense and healthy. In some cases, pruning is also necessary to remove dead or damaged wood.
Deadheading spent flowers on an azalea is done mostly for cosmetic enhancement as the blooms fade. On other plants, removing spent flowers will cause new buds to develop and extend its flowering.
Photo Credit: ©2002 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard
Vining plants like pothos produce trailing stems that can become lanky and leggy, with long gaps between leaves. When you shorten such stems by pinching off the growing tips, you encourage the plant to put out new, bushier growth, and the new leaves will grow closer together. Always pinch just above a leaf node – where there already is a leaf – or at a bump in the stem where a leaf stalk was formerly attached. New growth will come from that nascent bud. Pinching close to the bud is important because any extra bare stem will die back and could become diseased.
Because most new growth is tender, your thumb and forefinger generally make good “pinchers.” If the growth isn’t tender enough to just pinch off, use pruners or a sharp knife. Avoid leaving any jagged edges, which also can harbor disease.
Some plants require regular pinching, while others need it only once or twice a year. Use care when pinching plants that flower to avoid cutting off young buds, and get to know each plant’s flowering cycle before pinching at all. Plants that do best with regular pinching include arrowhead plant (assuming you want it to be bushy), coleus, grape ivy, Swedish ivy, vining philodendron, polka-dot plant, pothos and wandering Jew. Plants grown within a definite framework – mainly espaliered plants, bonsai and topiary – also need frequent pinch training.
Houseplants that require occasional pruning for shaping and the removal of dead or crossed stems and branches in spring include Ficus benjamina, Fittonia and Pilea. Lipstick plant, which should be pruned back to about a third after flowering, is one of many flowering plants that require seasonal pinching or pruning. And to encourage reflowering in Columnea, cut back older branches by a third to a half in spring.
Although many houseplants require very little, if any, pruning, it’s still a good idea to keep them groomed by removing old leaves for a nicer overall appearance. To encourage even growth, rotate your plants a quarter turn every week. This will cause them to adjust to the room’s source of light and make them grow evenly.
Some broad-leaved houseplants become leggy when they grow in areas with limited light; others may require pruning to direct their growth or make them more compact. In either case, use handheld bypass pruners to trim them, taking the steps shown in the following pictures and described in their captions.
Pruning Houseplant - Step 1
Remove and destroy any dead, diseased or infected branches or foliage, cutting them off parallel to and flush with the main stem or lateral branch.
Photo Credit: ©2002 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard
Pruning Houseplant - Step 2
Shape the outer perimeter of the foliage by cutting off any shoots that extend beyond the imaginary line that defines the houseplant’s silhouette.
Photo Credit: ©2002 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard
Pruning Houseplant - Step 3
Remove about ¼ of the interior lateral branches of the plant, opening up the center of the plant to the light. (Choose those branches that cross through the plant’s center.)
Photo Credit: ©2002 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard
Pruning Houseplant - Step 4
To create an upright, treelike appearance, cut away lower limbs along the main stem and any suckers growing from the root crown.
Photo Credit: ©2002 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard
Pruning Houseplant - Step 5
To create an arching or weeping appearance, remove upward-growing shoots, leaving those that droop back down toward the soil.
Photo Credit: ©2002 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard
