Pro tips for pruning houseplants

From BZ/dpa

Spring is here, the days are getting longer and brighter. It’s not just people who breathe a sigh of relief. Houseplants also stretch their leaves towards the sun. But often they get in their own way. Is the foliage too dense, shading the plant and not getting enough light? Then now is the time to cut back.

Why do indoor plants need pruning every now and then?

“It serves the health of the plants,” says Andreas Höfer from the board of directors of the Federal Association of Retail Gardeners. “They just get stronger if they’re trimmed every once in a while.”

Because the cut encourages them to sprout again.

However, indoor plants should usually not grow indefinitely. Because in the apartment they usually have little space to spread out. So if they constantly form new shoots, get bigger and wider, then they have to be brought back into shape, says Höfer.

At the same time, all indoor plants – whether they have space in the house or not – definitely have little room for their roots to spread. And if the plant grows luxuriantly at the top, the roots also want to keep up.

Regular pruning is therefore required to restore the correct crown-to-root ratio.

When is the right time to cut?

Sturdy houseplants can be cut at any time. But for most species, spring and summer are ideal, as that is when the growing season begins or is in full swing.

Light and heat make it easier for the plants to heal the wounds caused by pruning.

And they sprout more compactly as a result. “In contrast to cutting back in autumn, where they only develop thin, weak shoots in the dark season that follows, they sprout more vigorously in the brighter time,” says Martin Breidbach, garden consultant at the Association of Homeowners in Bonn.

Which plants benefit most from pruning?

“All indoor plants that have a lot of vegetation points, for example those birch fig or the aralia, benefit,” says Andreas Höfer from the Federal Association of Retail Gardeners. If they grow vigorously, form many branches and grow large quickly, they can be trimmed once or twice a year. Ranchor plants can also be shortened regularly. They are also particularly easy to care for when cut back Dragon tree, philodendron, yucca and euphorbia.

Which green may not be pruned or only pruned carefully?

These are plants that only have one vegetation point. This is where a pruning can go wrong if this point is accidentally cut out Palm tree the case where the palm fronds grow out of the trunk at one point,” explains Andreas Höfer. “Individual fronds can be cut off here. However, a complete pruning would be a serious intervention, which could also cause the plant to die.”

“Under no circumstances may orchids cut back,” says plant consultant Martin Breidbach. You should only remove individual yellowed leaves and the dried flower shoots from them for care.

Single leaves, lucky feathers and small round cacti cannot be cut back as a whole.

Knife or scissors, which is better?

“It is important to prune the plants as gently as possible – with a smooth cut. Normal household scissors are not sufficient here,” says Martin Breidbach.

We therefore recommend sharp knives, good pruning shears and, if the branches are very woody, a saw. One should disinfect the tool in boiling water or alcohol to kill germs.

How do I proceed?

In principle, with suitable plants, each shoot can be cut back. “You look where there is a branch and cut off just above this point,” explains Andreas Höfer.

Or you cut just above “sleeping eyes”, which are leaf bases on the branches from which shoots will later grow.

Will the plant die if too much is cut off?

“As long as the root is vital, the plant will recover even after a radical pruning,” says garden consultant Breidbach. “The pruning even encourages the plant to sprout vigorously and compactly again. But if it’s too weak, it can break.”