Knowing how to trim a philodendron can help you grow your plant successfully. You will know how to trim a philodendron properly if you follow the tips in this article carefully. You should learn how to trim a philodendron so that the plant has room to grow and grows healthily. You should prune your plant regularly but you don’t want to cut off too much of the stem or you may find that the root system weakens. In fact, you don’t want to cut the entire stem, but rather trim away some of the dead or weak roots.
When learning how to trim a philodendron, you should first learn how to recognize the different stages of growth. The leaves will be small and miniature when the plant is new. As the plant matures, the leaves will become larger and the plants flowering buds will become more evident. Finally, the plant will grow into a bush shape and then a flower will appear. You must learn how to trim a philodendron so it grows in all these stages.
Some of the more common questions about how to trim a philodendron include how much of the stem should be trimmed off. Although many gardeners prune the plant regularly, they often find that too much of the stem is still attached to the base so they cut it off at an awkward angle. If you must trim a lot and don’t like having the stem cut off, hold on to at least three small leaves on each plant so it can survive. Keep in mind that some of these plants will have long stems so you may need to use two hands to help you trim them.
How long the stems of a plant need to be trimmed depends largely on how much water or fertilizer it gets. The Philodendrons with shorter growing stems don’t necessarily need as much trimming and don’t require much pruning either. Fertilizer helps to keep the plant healthy but it is not necessary. For this reason, some of these short lived plants will thrive on just a light frost. They also do well if you just give them a light brushing to clean off the leaves.
Trimming a philodendron requires patience and care because you are dealing with a living plant. It needs protection from the elements as well as proper circulation. Start by removing only two thirds of the stem and use a pair of sharp scissors to carefully cut along the stem line. The stem ends should be straight and even. You should make sure that all of the leaf nodes are removed because those are useless parts that won’t contribute anything to the flowers.
When the plant has been properly trimmed, you may notice that there is now a little overgrowth of the roots. This is normal and does not need any special care. In fact, overgrowth of the roots actually encourages flowering. Once you have removed the overgrowth you can clip off the remaining part of the stem. If you are planning on replanting the plant, make sure that you remove all of the overgrowth before you start the potting process.
After the stems have been removed, you can safely cut off the bottom of the flower and follow the leaf direction. Make sure that you prune back all of the dead leaves but don’t cut back too far as to leave the leaf bare. Then, just snap the stem right at the base. It is important not to prune back any of the flower’s foliage until after the plant has flowered or it will have a dead-looking appearance.
The third step in caring for your philodendrons is to check for damage when the weather changes. If you notice brown spots on leaves or plant damage immediately remove the plant from the area or take it to a specialist. You may also want to keep a small nail or sharp blade handy in case you accidentally damage the plant during the trimming process. In order to give your plant the best chance to grow back, it is important to always prune dead leaves at the base.
