Do you have a friend at home? You have grown a lot and now you wonder how to prune a pothos? Well, you have come to the right place because we are going to give you the complete guide on this specific treatment so that you know when to do it, how and some tips that can be useful for you.
Pothos in general are very easy to care for plants and pruning is one of the easiest to do, plus it holds up very well to heavy pruning in case you overdo it. But what are the keys to getting the best results?
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When do you prune a potho?
A potho is one of the easiest plants to have around the house. It is very rare for someone to die (although it can happen) as they are very resilient. They are normally placed inside the house and are characterized by being climbing plants, which you can have hanging or vertical, depending on what you prefer.
Its predominant color is bright green, although you can find a few shades of green or yellow that give it a unique look.
For this ease of adaptation to any environment, the poto is one of the plants that must be pruned to prevent it from becoming “uncontrollable”. And that’s because it grows very quickly and this allows you to play around with it a bit to obtain a vertical potho (through a stake), whose leaves will be larger, or hanging down, with smaller leaves.
The key to telling you pothos is ready for pruning is when the stems are long and weak. These are too big for the plant and take away a lot of strength from the plant, so cutting them off will be much better for the health of the plant. But when to prune a potho? At any time of the year?
The easy answer is that At any time of the year, plus if we told you they grow fast; and although shoots or branches may be cut at any time, when pruning pothos properly, it is advisable to wait until the end of its vegetative season, that is, when the plant is less active. And when is it? specifically in the months between mid-March and the end of September. Instead of doing it when the plant is “hibernating”, in this case it is better to do it when it is most active, because that way you ensure that it will grow back and regain vigor very quickly.
Now, that’s not to say October through March you can’t cut it; yes you can do it but it is not recommended to subject it to a large pruning, only maintenance.
How to prune a pothos?
Now that you know when to carve a pothos, it’s time to learn how to carve a pothos. And that’s the simplest thing ever. Indeed, we give you the keys, which will serve you as well for a vertical as for a suspended one.
Choose the longest rods
These rods too they must have the characteristics of being weak. Try to find those that meet these requirements and when found, with suitable scissors, always cut below the nodes of the branch.
Make sure that whatever tool you use gives him a clean cut and is also sanitized as this will prevent him from getting sick.
Clean the leaves from the stem
Once you’ve cut the branch, you have two options: either throw it away or plant it. We always recommend the latter, because a new poto can be born from it, which you can have at home or offer to your loved ones.
If you choose this, you must clean the leaves that are close to this stem. Now put it in a glass of water. Be careful to change this liquid every few days because you will have to wait for it to take root before you can plant it in a pot.
What some do is plant it straight in and keep the soil moist. Not a bad idea, but it may take longer than using the glass of water.
Wait for the roots to come out
Are the roots already out? Well the last thing you should do is plant it, either in a new pot or in the one you had, share the space with the mother plant.
How to make a leafy poto?
Do you remember we told you to plant what you pruned with the mother plant? This is the trick many use to make leafy poto.
what they do is cut the branches, wait for the roots to emerge and place them around the original plant so that it acquires a condition of being more leafy than it is.
The reason a poto looks less leafy is because as it grows the stem is as if it becomes a trunk, causing it to lose leaves in that area. Instead, by placing the stems of the plant itself there, you hide it and give it the look you want.
How to prune an upright pothos?
In case you have a vertical potho, when they grow they lose their shape, whether round, oval, etc. To be able to make a vertical potho, it is necessary that keep this shape, so you need to cut off any protruding branches.
If you want, because the poto grows, so that it’s not so leafless at the bottom, what you can do is plant those stems at the base (once they’ve grown roots) for the hide, and once they start growing you get it tangled on the mother plant.
Sting poto: when and how?
Source: homemania
In case you don’t know, pinching is nothing more than cutting off new leaves emerging from a shoot. This is done with the hands, especially with the thumb and forefinger, and serves for a more compact growth.
In the case of pinching a potho, this would involve removing the first pair of leaves from a stem, as if cutting a tender twig, using your hands for this, although you could also use scissors or a knife . Of course, we advise you to do this when the branch is at least 15 centimeters long, unless your poto is very dense (if so, wait until it has 5-8 cm branches).
How to make a tutor for poto?
Want to turn a hanging pothos into a vertical pothos? Maybe the stake you had broke and you need a new one? Don’t worry, you don’t have to spend money to buy a new one, you can do it at home very easily.
The only thing you need is a reed stick, the height you need, a piece of plastic netting (e.g. mosquito nets), at least 30 centimeters wide and the height of the stick you have; dry leaves and some soil.
It is a matter of placing the extended mesh and, at one end of it, putting the stick and some earth and dry leaves. Now you need to wrap the mesh so that you have a loop. Take yarn, twine, or the like and tie it all together so it won’t come loose and is ready to plant in the plant.
Then you just have to help the plant wrap itself around this stake and it will start to grow around it.
As you can see, learning how to carve a potho is very simple, as well as all the activities that would include this activity. Do you dare to do it with your plant? Do not be afraid, you will surely not kill her.