Time, tips and tricks

When is the best time to cut?

Indoor plants of this size certainly do not fit into every apartment, so the pencil plant is well suited for a bright, light-flooded winter garden. If you don't have this, then you can cut back your pencil plant as soon as it gets too big for you. Balding of the plant is also a good reason for pruning. Ideally, cut at the beginning of the growth phase in spring.

What do I have to consider when cutting?

All parts of the plant are from the pencil bush poisonous, this also applies to the milky juice. It can cause severe allergic skin reactions. It is therefore best to wear work gloves if you intend to prune your pencil bush in any way.

Before and after the cut, clean your tools so that no germs can be transmitted. Juice of the pencil bush adhering to the knife could harm other plants that you then prune with it.

How should I prune my pencil plant?

If your pencil plant becomes bare from below, then a vigorous pruning can stimulate the shoot. To do this, shorten the plant by about a third. With each pruning, check your pencil plant for diseased and / or weak shoots and cut them off first. Then bring the plant into an appealing shape by further pruning.

If you would like to grow new pencil plants, then cut extra cuttings or use part of the pruning for this. However, not all cuttings necessarily take root. Use strong and healthy shoots and keep that up Growing substrate(€ 12.99 at Amazon *) moist, but not wet. It is best to root shoots that have been separated at a leaf node and dried for a few days.

The main tips for cutting the pencil bush:

• Use gloves - poisonous sap!
• use a clean and sharp knife
• regular pruning not required
• Cut back if necessary
• Cuttings can be used as cuttings
• Cut cuttings in summer