How to Properly Prune and Shape Your Tropical Plants
Does pruning seem sort of scary? We get it. Sharp tools. Pretty plants. That time you cut your own bangs.
Pruning tropical plants is super important here in Florida, with so many
plants that sport fantastic flowers. The last thing you want to do is prune at the wrong time and risk cutting off all the buds — that means no beautiful blossoms.
How to prune tropical plants? Start with the right tools. Use nodes as your guide. Know that timing is everything. Don’t cut off the buds that will become flowers later on.
Let’s learn more about how to trim plants, including:
Pruning Tropical Plants: Why Do It?
Pruning Basics: How to Trim Plants
Tool Talk
Where the Heck Do You Cut?
What to Prune?
Proper Shaping
Timing is Everything
Why Pruning Tropical Plants Happens Throughout the Year Here
Time for Cleanup
Call In the Pruning Pros
Pruning Tropical Plants: Why Do It?
So many good reasons.
Plants need pruning to keep them healthy, control their size and shape, to encourage more flowers, and to remove dead or diseased parts.
Pruning also encourages air circulation by thinning out dead or old branches, for a healthier plant.
If they’re not pruned regularly, plants get leggy. All the new growth will grow at the top and will shade the bottom. Then the bottom won’t get the sunlight it needs for photosynthesis and healthy growth.
Ever see a hibiscus with leaves only in the top 8-10 inches? Somebody forgot to prune it.
Pruning Basics: How to Trim Plants
Want to give it a go? Check out a few basics on how to cut back plants:
First Up: Tool Talk
You’ll want a good pair of sharp hand pruners or shears for small shrubs and hedges. One-inch pruners will work for most needs.
Did we mention sharp? We give our Tropical Gardens crews new blades every month whether they think they need them or not.
You want to make a clean, precise cut. If your blade is dull and you tear or crush the branches, you’ll leave behind damaged tissue that’s susceptible to pests and diseases.
Where the Heck Do You Cut? Meet the Nodes
Before pruning tropical plants, you need to know about the plant’s nodes —the points on a stem where leaves, buds, and shoots grow.
You want to cut above a node.This encourages new growth to form in the right direction. If you cut below a node, you leave behind a section of plant that can't grow new stems.
So aim for a clean, straight cut just above a leaf node.
What to Prune When Trimming Tropical Plants?
Remove any dead, damaged, or diseased branches. Pests and diseases can lurk here, and you don’t want these problems spreading to the rest of the plant.
How to Cut Back Plants: Proper Shaping
This is your chance to encourage your plant to grow into an appealing shape. (Reciting positive affirmations to it every morning isn’t enough.)
Prune back any overgrown branches. Thin out dense areas. Trim any branches growing in weird directions.
Remove any suckers — new shoots growing from the base of the plant. Also prune off any “water sprouts,” which are fast-growing, upright shoots growing from the branches. You want all your plant’s energy going toward new desirable growth.
But don’t prune too much. A general rule is to take off no more than a third of the plant.You don’t want it to look naked. That’s embarrassing. Kind of like when you cut your own bangs.
Timing is Everything When Pruning Tropical Plants
Some plants have their own specific timelines, but in general the best time to prune most shrubs in Florida is in late winter or early spring, when the plant is dormant.
Another good reason to keep your pruning to earlier in the season: When you prune, your plant instinctively puts out a spurt of new growth. That new growth is tender and more susceptible to injury from cold than the rest of the plant, so you don’t want to
prune in late summer or early fall, too close to chilly weather.
Big exception when cutting back plants: spring-flowering shrubs. They should be pruned right after they finish blooming.
Do a bit of research on the exact flowering plants you’ll be pruning. You need to know when each shrub sets its flower buds, so the buds don’t get pruned off. Prune at the wrong time and you won’t have those stunning tropical blossoms — the reason you wanted that shrub in the first place.
That hibiscus you drooled over should offer you spectacular 10-inch flowers. But not if you don’t prune it right.
Some homeowners and landscape maintenance companies trim hibiscus shrubs every month. Big mistake. That cuts off the new buds.
Tropical Gardens Landscape crews trim hibiscus a foot from the ground in spring and a foot from the ground in fall. That sets the scene for bountiful blooms.
An azalea can be stunning in February and March — but not if it was pruned back in summer — pruning cuts off the buds that will turn into flowers.
Got Your Calendar Ready? Sorry, That Won’t Help When Pruning Tropical Plants
The proper time to prune everything is really important. But you can’t write the dates in your trusty calendar. Nature doesn’t work that way.
Here in Sarasota, the temperature and amounts of rain we get help guide plant growth and pruning timing. Bloom cycles aren’t exactly dependable. They fluctuate.
And…Pruning Actually Happens Throughout the Year Here
Pruning is actually a near constant task here. You can’t just prune in the winter or spring. Things grow too fast.
How to trim plants here in Florida? Tropical Gardens crews trim and prune every month. That’s much healthier for plants — and makes them look much better — than chopping them way back once in a while.
Ta-da! Time for Cleanup
When you’re done, take some time to tidy up the area. Remove any branches or debris you’ve trimmed. Clean and disinfect your pruners before using them again to prevent the spreading of diseases between plants.
Better Yet, Why Not Call In the Pruning Pros?
We can’t stress enough how important proper pruning is, and how dangerous bad pruning is — especially for tropical flowering plants in Florida.
A well landscaped property will have a variety of plants and shrubs with different bloom cycles, so there’s something in bloom all the time. That means keeping track of lots of different pruning timing.
You don’t have time for this stuff. You have bangs to trim!
How to trim tropical plants? You want a Sarasota landscaping company with tropical plant pros who know when each shrub sets its flower buds, so the buds don’t get pruned off.
Ready for Perfect Pro Pruning? Talk to Us
Pros know things you don’t know — like small and thin-leafed plants like podocarpus and viburnum can be hedge sheared instead of pruned. Oh, man, there’s more to know?!
Yup, pruning is trickier than it looks. You need detailed knowledge of exactly what to prune when, how much to trim off, and when not to prune at all.
We’ve got you covered, with tailored, full-service residential landscaping for Sarasota homeowners that includes expert pruning that’s always perfectly timed.
Give us a call or fill out our form today! Our team of Sarasota landscape experts can’t wait to help you set aside your panic about pruning tropical plants and breathe easier about your landscaping.
