Pruning Dracaena Reflexa

How to prune dracaena reflexa

Hi Diane, thank you for sharing! your question was:"Should I prune my house plant?

Pruning Dracaena Reflexa - With your permission, before I answer, you wrote "house plant" so I assume you're not familiar with your plant's name. Well it's: Draceana Reflexa (and you get points for being able to pronounce it) :-) Now, onto your question.

Your plant looks very happy, green and fresh so I don't see any reason to prune it at all. On the other hand, it is really high and I can see that the stems are a little bit thin. So, before pruning Dracaena Reflexa know that it is a very slow grower. What will happen at some point is that the stems will grow up like they have been and they will begin to bend, losing leaves from the lower part of the stem. And that is a good enough reason to prune!

Pruning Dracaena Reflexa

Pruning time

Pruning Dracaena Reflaxa will give you four advantages:

  1. It will make the stems thicker and strong
  2. It will encourage new growth (usually at least
    2-3 new stems)
  3. It will give your plant new look
  4. It will prevent the process I mentioned above (dropping leaves and potentially broken stems)

As you can see, I have marked for you the best places to cut. It isn't rocket science, but that is the average height if you're planning ahead - pick one, as both are fine.

I have only marked one stem, as an the example, but you can prune them both at the same time and at the same or different height. You will enjoy the same advantages to both stems. 

The Final Cut

Just to be very clear - If I had to chose where to prune, the marks will show you my choice. But I would make two cuts, one in each stem - at different heights. 

Why? pruning in this way will allow the plant to grow 2-3 new stems from each of the existing stems growing and developing at different heights - I promise the result will be future growth that will be stunning! I promise.

Please note: No need to rush.You can prune now or in a few months from now, this slow grower is going nowhere. And because it lives indoors, cutting time is not crucial.

One last thing - please don't change the plant's location, it seems to love where you put it, so leave it right there.

I hope that helps.

Cheers, 

Eyal

Pruning shears 
My personal recommendation

My preferred pruning shears would be the sharpest bypass pruners I could find, or even better, a pruning knife. 

Providing general guidelines on 'how to prune' any kind of plant is important, but there are plants, and there is YOUR plant. So despite there being loads of information on this site, I also provide specific and personalized support. If something wasn't clear, or you're not sure of your plant's name, simply send me a picture with your question. Use the form below and I'll get back to you. In the mean time, see what others are asking.