Learn how to prune houseplants to make them bushy. See up close where to pinch so that the plants leaf out and become fuller.
Video on plant care for Polka Dot Plant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZp3j…
Hello and welcome to HealthyHouseplants.com, where we teach you all about gardening in the great indoors. If you’d like to support our show, please use our Amazon affiliate link below. Today, I’m doing another installment of “How to Pinch Plants Back to Make Them More Bushy,” and the polka dot plant is a great example of this technique.
You can actually pinch back the polka dot plant, as well as other fleshy-leaved and fleshy-stemmed plants, using your fingers. However, for demonstration purposes, I’ll use these pruners to ensure a clear view of the technique.
When plants become leggy, it’s important to prune them back. The polka dot plant, in particular, tends to get long and lanky quickly. Pinching it back will encourage it to become bushier and fuller.
One crucial point to remember is not to pinch back more than one-third of the plant at a time. Over-pruning can shock the plant or leave it with insufficient foliage to absorb water, leading to potential root rot. Regular, judicious pruning is best, especially for plants that grow rapidly like the polka dot plant. Waiting until the plant is out of control will result in less effective pruning.
To prune or pinch back a plant, always cut down to the next set of leaves. Leaving an empty stem will not stimulate new growth because there are no growth hormones in an empty stem. By cutting down to a set of leaves, you trigger new growth.
Here’s how you do it: Pull down the leaves and prune down to the desired point, just above the next set of leaves. Be careful not to cut off any new growth. This method will encourage the plant to become bushier as the new growth fills in the area.
For a practical example, two weeks after pinching off a leaf, you can see significant growth. The plant will develop new branching leaves and additional foliage below, leading to a much fuller and bushier appearance compared to if it had continued to grow upward without pruning.
In summary, pruning back your polka dot plant, also known as Hypoestes, will result in a healthier, bushier plant. Thank you for stopping by today. Please leave any comments about indoor gardening tutorials you’d like to see. Remember to like, comment, subscribe, and share this video. If you’d like to be notified when new videos are released, please check the bell icon.
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Good pruners for precision work: https://amzn.to/3hISuI4