The Ultimate Guide: Pruning Indoor Plants
Indoor Plant Pruning Menu
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Why Prune Houseplants
Pruning houseplants can be daunting when you don't know how, so in this guide, we'll give you all the mental tools that you need to attack your plants with real tools, with confidence. Pruning is an essential part of most houseplant's health, there aren't many that don't need pruning (we'll cover those later) so it's a skill that every plant keeper needs to learn how to master. Pruning houseplants is an essential practice for several reasons:
Promotes Healthy Growth: Removing dead or damaged parts directs plant energy towards healthy growth.
Improves Appearance: Pruning helps maintain a neat and shape, keeping your plants looking their best.
Prevents Disease: Removing diseased parts prevents the spread of infections, ensuring plants stay healthy.
Encourages Blooming: For flowering plants, pruning can stimulate more blooms.
Controls Size: Pruning prevents plants from becoming too large or overgrown for their space.
Improves Air Circulation: Thinning out dense foliage allows better airflow, reducing the risk of fungal diseases.
Encourages Bushier Growth: Cutting leggy stems encourages more branches, resulting in a fuller plant.
Green pruning shears
What Tools To Use For Pruning Houseplants
Rather than grabbing your kitchen scissors (we're all guilty of it) let's explore the proper tools to prune houseplants with. It's best to avoid contaminating everything you cut afterwards with stuck on plant sap, so we're going to look at the right tools that we can have to create our own houseplant toolboxes. Using the right tools helps maintain the health of your houseplants by preventing the spread of disease, and it makes the pruning process much easier. Buy a dedicated plant tool box or bag, and start your own houseplant tool kit:
Pruning Shears: Sharp and sturdy shears are perfect for cutting thicker stems. We like these Japanese steel pruners here.
Scissors: Use clean, sharp Japanese steel scissors for smaller plants or delicate trimming. Don't use them for other things!
Bypass Pruners: Ideal for precise cuts on green stems and branches. We prefer ones like this set here.
Floral Snips: Great for detailed work on delicate plants, such as removing dead flowers or small leaves. We like this set of snips.
Disinfectant Wipes: Important for cleaning tools between cuts to prevent the spread of disease. We like dettol wipes for this.
Gloves: Protect your hands, especially with sap or thorns. We use cheap vinyl gloves, and thorn proof ones for cacti.
Houseplant pruning tools
Reduce Stress Before Pruning In A Scientifically Proven Way
There are scientifically proven ways to reduce houseplant stress before pruning to ensure that your plant recovers efficiently, and has the nutrients that it needs to survive after losing foliage. Prevention is always better than a cause, so we recommend feeding your houseplants with the biofertilizers below at least 24 hours before pruning. We do this at our houseplant nursery to ensure the vitality of plants after heavy pruning, or even propagation. Here's why we recommend it:
Seaweed Extract Helps To Reduce Plant Stress After Pruning
These studies that suggest seaweed extracts can help reduce stress and aid in recovery after pruning. We use seaweed all the time on our plants when repotting, pruning, or propagating here at the nursery, and we highly recommend this to help your plants when pruning. These studies show how seaweed helps plants:
Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plants: A review article published in this journal highlights how seaweed extracts can mitigate both biotic (living organisms) and abiotic (environmental) stresses in plants. The bioactive compounds in seaweed, such as amino acids, lipids, and phytohormones, activate several signalling pathways and defence-related genes/enzymes, promoting plant growth and resilience.
Frontiers in Marine Science: Another study reviewed the use of seaweed extracts to enhance plant resilience to various stresses. The extracts were shown to improve nutrient uptake, boost growth performance, and activate defence mechanisms in plants.
Wageningen University and Research: Research from this institution summarized the benefits of seaweed-based biostimulants under abiotic stress conditions, such as drought and salinity. The extracts were found to enhance nutrient uptake and improve growth performance in crops.
Where To Buy Seaweed Extract: Maxicrop, Envii, Doff, Empathy, Empathy Ready Mixed, Alga-sol, Multi-Mite, and Vitax
Houseplant pruning shears and tools
Humic Substances Strengthen Plant's Resilience To Stress After Pruning
These studies suggest that humic substances can play a significant role in aiding plant recovery by enhancing growth, improving nutrient uptake, and strengthening plant resilience to stress. Humic is an organic compound derived from the decomposition of plant and animal matter that aids in plant recovery and growth after pruning. These studies discuss the importance of humic acid in recovery:
Frontiers in Plant Science: A review article titled “Humic Substances: Determining Potential Molecular Regulatory Processes in Plants” discusses how humic substances (HSs) can strengthen plant tolerance to various kinds of abiotic stresses. The study explains that HSs trigger various molecular processes in plant cells, which can help plants recover from stress.
The Pharma Innovation Journal: This review article explores the significance of humic substances in agriculture, emphasizing their stimulatory effects on plant physiological growth and development. It mentions that HSs can improve total plant biomass and enhance plant development, which can aid in recovery after pruning.
MDPI: A study on pasture recovery periods evaluates the carbon content in soil fractions and the role of humic substances in soil recovery. While this study focuses on pastures, the findings can be extrapolated to understand how humic substances aid in plant recovery in general.
Where To Buy Humic Extract: Available as a soil additive and in a liquid form.
Amino Acids Promote Growth After Pruning
These studies suggest that amino acids can play a significant role in aiding plant recovery from pruning by promoting growth and improving overall plant health. Here are some studies that highlight the role of amino acids in aiding plant recovery from stress, including pruning:
Pruning Intensity and Amino Acids Tryptophan and Glycine on Growth: This study investigated the effects of pruning intensity and foliar application of amino acids. The results showed that light pruning combined with the application of amino acids, especially glycine, promoted better growth and flowering.
Amino Acid Transporters on Amino Acid Absorption, Transport, and Distribution: This review article discusses how amino acid transporters mediate the absorption and transport of amino acids within plants, which is crucial for maintaining growth and development. Application of amino acids was found to improve plant growth.
Where To Buy Amino Acids: Good quality plant fertilizers like our favourite Formulex Nutrient Solution come with them premixed in, but you can buy them separately sometimes.
How To Handle Poisonous Houseplants
Handling poisonous houseplants requires caution to ensure the safety of both people and pets. Here’s a guide to help you manage these plants safely:
Guide to Handling Poisonous Houseplants
1. Identify Poisonous Plants: Before purchasing a plant, check if it’s toxic. Look for toxicity warnings on plant labels when buying, if available. Check online on our A-Z plant species guides tell you if each houseplant genus is poisonous or not, so check our guides for your houseplant species for more information on plant safety. Common poisonous houseplants include Dieffenbachia, Euphorbia, Caladium, and Begonia, and to a lesser extent: Philodendron, Peace Lily, Aglaonema, some Aloe Vera, and Epipremnum.
2. Keep Plants Out of Reach: Place poisonous plants out of reach of children and pets. Consider hanging plants or placing them on high shelves. Cats and dogs can easily nibble poisonous houseplants when left unattended with them, so always keep them away when you're not around to supervise.
3. Use Protective Gear: Wear gloves when handling or pruning these plants to avoid skin irritation. Use safety goggles if there’s a risk of sap or plant parts getting into your eyes.
4. Clean Up After Handling: Always wash your hands thoroughly after touching poisonous plants, several times if you're exposed to sap. Disinfect pruning tools after use to prevent accidental transfer to other plants.
Pruning with thick protective gloves
5. Educate Household Members: Inform family members, especially children, about the dangers of these plants. Keep the number for a local poison control centre, or your local emergency services handy, in case of accidental ingestion.
6. Monitor for Symptoms: If someone ingests part of a poisonous plant, seek medical advice promptly. It's no joke to get Dieffenbachia or Aglaonema sap on your hands—we know this from first-hand experience with those plants. After even 30 seconds of exposure, your hands start to tingle and feel tight and swollen. We've learned the hard way, many times over now, to always wear gloves when handling poisonous plants, especially Dieffenbachia. If you do get sap on your hands, wash them straight away with a grease-removing washing-up liquid several times. Run your hands under cold water, and try not to stress about the way your hands feel. The sensation typically goes away after around 30–45 minutes, unless you have cuts on your hands. If you do get exposed, call emergency services immediately, as you can lose the ability to speak when the poison kicks in. Watch for signs of poisoning in pets, such as vomiting, drooling, or lethargy, and contact a veterinarian immediately.
7. Safe Disposal: Dispose of pruned plant parts safely. Do not compost them, as they can still be harmful. Never leave poisonous leaves (or houseplant leaves in general) in open-top bins or on worktops where cats or dogs can reach them. Small leaves can cause big issues in pets, so take the extra minute to walk the leaves to the big bin. You know you should. If a plant is too risky and your pet keeps hassling at it, consider removing it from your home altogether.
Back To Basics: How To Prune Houseplants
Let's say you've never pruned a plant before, and you have no idea how to do it. Boy, that must be a daunting thought, especially when you really love your houseplants, or they're super expensive. Let's explore the right way to prune houseplants so that your prized specimen doesn't end up in the bin:
Step-by-Step Guide to Pruning Houseplants
1. Gather Your Tools: Use steel pruners or steel scissors should be clean and sharp to make precise cuts. Gloves are optional, but helpful to protect your hands, especially with prickly plants. Use disinfectant or wipes to clean your tools before and after use.
2. Identify What Needs Pruning: Look for dead, yellow, or brown leaves. Identify any leggy or overgrown stems. Notice any leaves with disease or damage.
3. Make the Cuts: For dead or yellow leaves, trim these leaves off at the base where they connect to the stem. For overgrown stems, cut just above a node (shown in the included image to illustrate) which is the place where leaves or branches grow out of the stem. This encourages bushier growth. For damaged leaves, if the leaf is partially damaged, you can trim off the damaged part, or remove the whole leaf if it's extensively damaged.
4. Prune for Shape: Decide the shape you want for your plant. Prune back any stems that are sticking out or look untidy. For vining plants like Pothos, trim the vines to manage their length and promote fuller growth.
5. Aftercare: Water your plant as usual, but avoid overwatering. Place your plant in a spot with appropriate light and temperature. Keep an eye on it for the next few weeks to ensure it's recovering well.
Tips for Success: Make clean, swift cuts that remove the stem on the first try. Avoid mashing up plant stems, as this causes damage, and potential sap leakage. Some sap can be poisonous, so be careful and wear the recommended protection above. Always clean your tools before and after pruning to prevent the spread of diseases. Prune during the plant's growing season (spring and summer) for the best results. Be gentle and don’t remove more than one-third of the plant at once to avoid stressing it too much.
Image showing where a node is on a plant
Pruning a plant with scissors
Houseplants That Don't Need To Be Pruned
Rather than asking what houseplants need pruning, it's perhaps easier to ask which indoor plants don't need to be pruned. Some plants are so laid back that they're almost maintenance free. Let's have a look at all the houseplants that don't need to be pruned to thrive indoors:
Snake Plant (Sansevieria): This hardy plant rarely needs pruning, just remove any dead or damaged leaves as needed.
ZZ Plant (Zamioculcas zamiifolia): It grows slowly and doesn’t need pruning, just occasional removal of yellowing leaves.
Pothos (Epipremnum aureum): Minimal pruning is needed; only trim to control its size or remove dead leaves.
Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum): Prune to remove brown tips or propagate pups, otherwise very low-maintenance.
Lucky Bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana): Requires very little pruning, just remove any yellowing leaves.
Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema): Typically these don’t need pruning, just remove yellow or dead leaves occasionally.
Dumb Canes (Dieffenbachia): These easy going but poisonous houseplants rarely need pruning, except for dead leaves.
Dieffenbachia Versuvius, no pruning required
Pruning Aftercare: How To Get Plants To Thrive
After pruning your houseplants, taking proper care of them is essential to ensure they recover and thrive. Start by cleaning up any debris around the plant, making sure to collect and dispose of all the pruned leaves and stems to prevent the spread of diseases. Disinfect your pruning tools to avoid transferring any pathogens to other plants.
Adjust your watering routine slightly, as pruned plants may require less water due to reduced foliage. Keep the soil consistently moist but not waterlogged. Place your pruned plants in a location with appropriate light, typically bright, indirect light, while avoiding direct sunlight that might stress the plant further. Use grow lights if lighting levels are low.
Maintaining humidity levels is important for many houseplants. Using a humidifier or placing a tray of water near your plants can help increase humidity. Lightly misting your plants can also aid in their recovery, especially in dry indoor conditions.
Wait a few weeks after pruning before fertilizing. When you do fertilize, use a balanced, water-soluble fertilizer to promote new growth. If you don't want to use full strength fertilizer, consider using a mild organic fertilizer for a gentle nutrient boost. Regularly inspect your plants for any signs of pests or diseases, especially around the pruning wounds, and ensure good airflow to prevent fungal infections.
Be patient and allow your plants time to heal after pruning. Monitor them daily for new growth and overall health, adjusting care as needed based on their recovery progress. Your plants will appreciate the extra care and will reward you with healthy new foliage, and hopefully, a bushier, more dense plant!
Houseplant being pruned with scissors
Pruning: All Wrapped Up
To summarise pruning, it's a great way to encourage new, healthier growth on mature houseplants, and it helps to remove dead or damaged growth. It's both something that we do for aesthetics, and for the health of our houseplants. Pruning can seem overwhelming, but when you cover the basics and learn the right techniques, it can be easy to learn how to trim your houseplants.
In this indoor plant pruning guide, we've covered why to prune houseplants, and how it helps them to be healthy, and we've made a houseplant toolbox to work on our plants with. We've looked at scientifically proven ways to reduce stress when pruning houseplants, and we've learned about how to safely handle poisonous houseplants when pruning.
We've then learned how to prune our houseplants successfully, ensuring rapid growth and recovery. Not only that, but we've talked about which houseplants don't need to be pruned unless they've got some bad foliage, and then we've talked about aftercare for freshly pruned houseplants.
Throughout this houseplant pruning guide, we've dug deep into the topic of pruning, learning every aspect that you need to successfully prune your houseplants yourself in real life. We hope you have success with your houseplants after pruning. If you run into trouble, check through our plant care pages to help you diagnose what's wrong with your houseplant.
Trimming a plant with scissors
Edited & Fact Checked By: The Houseplant Shop
Article Published: 18th December 2024
About The Houseplant Shop:
Independent Houseplant Nursery
Horticultural Specialists
Managing Over 250 Houseplant Species Onsite
Over 15 Years Of Experience With Horticulture
As head of horticulture, Sarah manages the care and propagation of over 250 plant species at a commercial houseplant nursery. With over 15 years of experience in horticulture, specializing in houseplants, Sarah has extensive expertise in plant biology, soil science, and integrated pest management. She continually reviews and integrates the latest research into her plant care guides. Dedicated to educating others, Sarah has spent years diagnosing houseplant care issues and sharing her real-world experience. Her commitment to scientific accuracy and helping people diagnose plant health issues has established her as a trusted authority and expert in the field.
The Houseplant Shop is a dedicated houseplant nursery, growing all of their own stock from their botanical library of over 250 houseplant species. The nursery staff are horticultural experts who have dedicated their lives to cultivating and nurturing over 250 different species of houseplants, focusing on Aroids, tropical plants, and NOID collectables. All their plants are grown in house in Britain to be more environmentally friendly. The nursery is proud to have been featured by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) as a 100% peat free nursery.
Recommended Further Reading:
People also looked at: A-Z Encyclopedia of Houseplant Species, Artificial Lighting, Watering, Fertilizer, and Pests.
How We Reviewed This Article:
Our horticultural experts continually monitor the houseplant space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available. We are committed to providing current and reliable information. If you have some information that you think would be helpful in this article, we'd love to hear from you. Our team works hard to revise articles for factual accuracy, and we regularly update our pages with new information, techniques, tips, images, trade secrets, and real world experience from the team here at the houseplant nursery. You can find a list of the article updates below.
Written By: Sarah Brooks, Head of Horticulture
Article Received: 14th December 2024
Copyright: The Houseplant Shop (https://thehouseplant.shop)
The use, distribution, or reproduction is permitted, provided the original copyright owner is credited and that the original publication on this website is cited with a direct link to the article, only with these terms. Any other use is not permitted.
List of Article Updates:
20th December 2024: Minor UI updates
Author Bio:
Author: Sarah Brooks,
Head of Horticulture at The Houseplant Shop