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The exotic and extravagant pencil bush requires little care and does not need regular pruning. However, it does not grow very slowly and can reach a size of eight to three meters without pruning.

The pencil bush can grow several meters tall

When is the best time to cut?

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

What do I have to consider when cutting?

All parts of the pencil bush are poisonous, including the milky sap. It can cause severe allergic skin reactions. It is therefore best to wear work gloves if you want to prune your pencil bush in any way.

Clean your tool before and after the cut so that no germs can be transmitted. Pencil sap sticking 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, a vigorous pruning can stimulate budding. Shorten the plant by about a third. With every pruning, check your pencil plant for diseased and/or weak shoots and cut them off first. Then bring the plant into an attractive shape by further pruning.

If you would like to grow new pencil plants, then take extra cuttings or use part of the pruning for them. However, not all cuttings will necessarily root. Use strong and healthy shoots and keep the growing medium moist but not wet. Shoots root best that have been separated at a leaf node and dried for a few days.

The most important tips for cutting the pencil bush:

  • Use gloves - poisonous plant sap!
  • use a clean and sharp knife
  • Regular pruning not required
  • Pruning possible if necessary
  • Clippings can be used as cuttings
  • Cut cuttings in summer

tips

If you want to prune your pencil plant that has grown too big, then use particularly strong shoots as cuttings for propagation.

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Category:

Vegetable garden