°≠How to prune house plants is a commonly asked question because pruning can sometimes be hard when the plant is larger than expected. Pruning can be done by anyone who is interested in doing it as long as they have the appropriate tools and stay within the defined course of action.
In this article, we will take you through a simple pruning procedure that you can follow to bring life back to your plants, so let us get started.
Contents
How To Prune House Plants By Yourself?
To prune house plants by yourself, first deciding if you want to shape the plant or just renew its ends, then choose the right tools, start with smaller cuts, and lastly, remove all the material that you have cut, and make sure to dispose of them.
Anyone can use this technique to beautify their plants because it does not require prior experience. This technique is a great way of removing the dead weight on the plant and prompting it to create and grow new lively stems and leaves.
This process can be used on plants, herbs, shrubs, and trees for their betterment. The key to successful pruning is going with shorter strokes and ensuring you do not cut in a hurry. Having said all that, make sure that you use protective gloves and eyewear when pruning.
1. Pick the Right Time
The best time for pruning is late winter because after that the spring and the consequent summer season is the most ideal season for any plant to grow and prosper. This is why always prune in the later days of winter.
Pruning in early winter may be damaging to your plant because, after pruning, the cold can render your plant into dormancy, and after that, your plant may not recover. This is why the most appropriate time is later winter or early spring, after which the plant will have plenty of time to just get around the sun and grow the pruned tips into new and healthy stems.
The plants that should not be pruned early are lilacs, azaleas, clematis, forsythia, honeysuckle, birch trees, and maple trees. If these plants are pruned early, they lose their will to grow again and die in a small amount of time.
This is because they experience shock when the plant is pruned, their parts are cut off which is why they go into dormancy which kills them later on. This is why it is of utmost importance that you prune the plants only when it is essential and the time is accurate. You can make a schedule for yourself to follow if you have many different plants and their pruning times are different.
2. Shaping or Renewing
In this step is best that you understand why you want to prune your plant, so you should know that there are two reasons why you can use pruning, one is for shaping the plant, and the other is for renewing your plant.
These both are great for your plant as they help in beautifying your plant and also help in making sure that the plant grows well and to the best of its abilities. It depends highly on your plant whether it needs pruning or not.
Pruning is using a sharp tool to cut the tips of plants that are not needed. This can be because they are dead ends, they have become infected, they are broken, they are ashtrays, they need a trim, or if you want to shape the plant. In all of these scenarios, pruning comes in very handy, and in most cases, it is a necessity for the plant’s growth.
So if your plant is looking dull, and you have not seen any new growth in a while, it is important that you prune your plant, and this will be pruning for the purposes of renewing the plants. Pruning will act as a reset for the plant and prompt it to grow new leaves, flowers, and stems.
On the other hand, a plant may need a little shaping because it may be growing in an undirected method. In such a case, you should know the right place where the shaping of the plant comes into play.
You can use the pruning process to shape your plant into any shape you want. Here the big bushes can be transformed into beautiful shapes, depending on your artistic abilities. Obviously, the tools and machinery will be different and would require some expertise in the area.
3. Right Type of Tools
The next step is to select the tools needed for pruning the house plants. You can find most of these tools in gardening shops or online. These tools come exclusively under the process of pruning and may also be called pruning tools or cutters, but for this, keep in mind how you can also find them as snipping tools.
Handle these tools with great care because the tools are supposed to be very sharp. The blades are supposed to be kept sharp as these sharp blades will enable the cut to be clean and swift. If the edges are blunt, the plant will not be pruned well, and many exposed ends will be left in bad conditions, and make sure that you sterilizer it as well.
4. Start Small
Now we come to the actual pruning part, so you must make sure that you are wearing your protective gloves and eyewear for this step because the strays can fly away from your eyes and cause you to harm, or the broken snips cut your hand, so make sure that you are fully covered. Take your scissors and look over the plant that you want to prune.
Start with smaller pruning strokes that will ensure you are not cutting off more than required. Remove any parts of the plant that you want to achieve renewing or shaping.
Go with bigger strokes that will help you complete the process. After a few strokes, step back and look to see how the plant is looking. This will help you understand how you want your plant to look and what more you can achieve in it, which is why you should explore and be creative in this.
5. Remove the Pruned Parts
The last step that we have is removing the pruned parts from the plant. This includes removing all the dead leaves, broken stems, and anything that came off during the pruning session. This is important because the damaged parts can become infected and cause harm to your plant, and you should also be mindful that after pruning, remove all the unnecessary stuff and dispose of them.
For example, in the case of the devil’s ivy plant, after pruning, remove all the vines that are broken off during the process. This will help keep the plant clean and keep the plant away from swaying bugs and insects.
You must also keep in mind that this section is where you can complete the pruning process for one plant and start for another. The pruned tips will begin growing normally in no time, so keep the watering and sunlight going.
Conclusion
In this article, we talked about how you can prune your house plants and why it is necessary for them, but in case something was unclear, here are the most important points for you:
- You can prune house plants by choosing to shape the plant or just renew its ends, then select the right tools, start with smaller cuts, and remove all the material you have cut.
- The tools for pruning come under many different names like pruners, snippers, scissors, or pruning blades.
- Dull plants will need renewing by pruning, and for beautifying, you will need to shape the plant via pruning.
- Remember to wear protective gear like gloves for gardening, gloves for hands, and eyewear to save yourself from harm.
- You can use pruning for plants, including herbs, shrubs, and all types of trees, but the tools may change.
Here we come to the end of the article about pruning the house plants, and now, we hope this was one that will boost up your interest to go and prune your house plants.
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