How to prune a plant to maintain its health?

If you’re a budding gardener and love to see your plants grow to their full potential, you’ll need to understand the concept of pruning, how to prune a plant, and when to prune. 

Keep in mind that pruning or trimming can make or break a plant – whether it’s a tree, a shrub, or a bush. Moreover, pruning plants correctly will help you maintain a healthy and beautiful landscape. The art of pruning does entail a lot of preparation and planning in order to care for and maintain your house plants, trees, and shrubs. And that’s why we have this expert guide for you so that you can see your plants grow healthy and lovely for years to come. 

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What is pruning?

Pruning is the practice of cutting away dead or overgrown branches and stems so as to enhance the growth and fruit/flower yields of the plant. During pruning, you selectively remove plant parts such as wayward branches, dead leaves, and spent flowers so that the plant parent can grow well. Pruning also helps to train the plant or tree for horticultural and landscape purposes.

Why is pruning plants important?

There are several reasons to prune your plants. Some of them include:

• Maintaining plant health by 

1. Cutting out dead leaves, dying or damaged plant parts
2. Removing crossing or crowding branches
3. Maintaining good air circulation by thinning out the plant to allow more airflow and natural light 
4. Removing unwanted shoots and branches

• Training a plant to create a topiary
• Encouraging a certain plant shape, height, or width
• Improving the quality of foliage by removing diseased plant parts that may interfere with its lateral growth

When is the right time to prune a plant?

The ideal time to prune your plants will depend on the plant species, the desired results, and the amount of pruning required to achieve that outcome.

Most trees, shrubs, and flowering plants should be pruned between March and April. That is, between late winter and early spring before the onset of new growth. 

Plants and flowering species such as ornamental fruit trees, rhododendrons, and lilacs should be pruned right after the blooming season is over. This maximizes next year’s flowering. If you prune before they bloom, you may end up removing unopened buds that would’ve turned into flowers. That’s why it’s always important to know when and how much to prune.

When should you prune houseplants?

In general, houseplants need to be pruned at the start of the growing season, which for many types is late winter or early spring. However, woody indoor plants must be pruned continuously throughout the year to remove dead leaves and branches. Removing damaged or dead plant parts can be done at any time of the year.

To prune vines to a manageable shape, you might need to do some serious trimming in the spring or summer season.

What do you need for pruning a plant?

You’ll require the following equipment or gardening tools

• Pruning shears
• A pair of scissors
• Gardening gloves

How to prune a plant?

1. Notice your plant’s structure, shape, growth, and any diseased or dying foliage. Keep a look out for areas that show potential new growth such as latent buds where the leaves join the plant stem.
2. Use pruning shears for thick branches and shrubs. For slender plants, you may use kitchen scissors for a cleaner cut.
3. Clip off dead leaves, dying stems, and rotted roots. If you see rotting in the roots, you need to pull the plant out and dry the soil completely before the next watering schedule.
4. In the case of flowering houseplants, make sure to remove all spent flowers by pinching them off as close to the main stem as possible.
5. Make cuts just before a leaf node to encourage new plant growth.

Some houseplant pruning tips for a beginner gardener 

• Always understand your plant’s growth pattern and prune it to encourage new growth accordingly.
• Encourage varied growth by trimming branches differently – some back by a quarter, others by a half, and some all the way back to their base. The random growth pattern will fill it out beautifully over time.
• Opt for deadheading or removal of dead flowers to let the plant concentrate its energy on new growth and to prolong the blooming period.
• Maintain hygiene while pruning by keeping your pruning equipment sharp and clean. You may disinfect them with a mild bleach-and-water solution after every use.
• Propagate succulent clippings by planting them in a pot of soil to encourage new plant growth.
• Encourage your indoor vines to grow along a support post and prune away any wandering stems and branches.
• Houseplants such as palms and Norfolk Island pines that form a terminal dominant bud instead of latent buds rarely need pruning. 

Last thoughts

Your home can become more colorful and fresh by decorating it with houseplants. You should routinely prune your indoor plants with a pair of gardening shears or sharp scissors to keep them looking their best. Start by clearing the dead flowers, leaves, or stems. Then, trim the excessive branches to encourage growth in a particular size and shape. Once the pruning to remove the unwanted parts of the plant is done properly, keep the plants healthy and happy by maintaining them, fertilizing them regularly, and watering them frequently.

Written by Ramona Sinha. September 7, 2023

Ramona is a content writer for Kukun. This experienced blogger uses simple and succinct words to decipher the complex phenomenon called life. An avid traveler, she’s a digital nomad at heart and an animal lover from the depths of her soul.