The Need for Pruning
We’ve all seen it…the vining house plant that drapes from the cabinet top, across the window sill and down the other side. Plant owners are nurturers and it feels sacrilegious to cut any healthy growth from a plant.
Attention all plant lovers: pruning is not a bad thing!
Pruning not only promotes an appropriately sized and healthy plant, for many it creates an easy opportunity to propagate.
The goal of pruning interior plants is to give them a good shape and healthy appearance. Plants do not have to be perfectly symmetrical, but proportions are key! A plant that has good balance and is size appropriate is aesthetically pleasing. Planning for future growth we allocate plants where their “home” fits their size. Much like trying to fit a growing family of 8 in a studio apartment, as a fiddle leaf fig continues to grow uncontrolled it will not be able to stay on your coffee table. Plants will outgrow their spaces unless selectively pruned a few times a year. This pruning will keep the plant growth controlled and healthy, allow the root system to keep up with the plant’s nutritional needs, and allows your plant to live in whatever “home” you select the long term.
Pruning is critical to assist “leggy” plants that are too tall and have lost their lower leaves. In many spaces, owners try to assist these unsightly plants by tying them together or leaning them against a wall to stand up straight. If selectively cut back in the correct season, new growth will be promoted and you will see new shoots or leaves in no time!
Tip: To propagate, place any healthy cuttings in water or in soil with a rooting hormone. With some luck, sunlight and TLC, the new smaller plant can add to the fullness of the original.
Our horticulture technicians specialize in creating balanced plants to fit their environments. Between pruning and rotation, they are attentive to any small changes in the plant´s health. Small amounts are pruned more frequently to foster aesthetic continuity. At any given moment, they prune no more than one-third of the plant. Removing any more creates an unattractive butchered look, similar to a bad haircut, something we all like to avoid! As plants grow, they continuously lean towards their light source, natural or fluorescent. To continuously promote even growth, our technicians rotate the plant ¼ turn each visit.
So please remain calm when your horticulture technician takes out their scissors in your workplace. They are trained professionals equipped with knowledge to make your plant look its best! If your plant is positioned so its “best side” is facing the wall for a few weeks, please leave it so the other sides can get some light and grow evenly as well.
Just remember, pruning is nurturing!
