Indoor Plant Care - How to Houseplant Care

How to Prune Your Umbrella - Plant  Schefflera Arboricola, Umbrella Plant Schefflera Arboricola I recently received an email from a visitor to my website asking how to prune her Umbrella Plant. She sent along the picture to the right. Here is her email and my answer: Hello, I'm just wondering how to prune an umbrella plant. My plant is getting out of control, growing upwards and I can't seem to get it to grow like a bush. I'm afraid to cut it to shape cause I might kill it. I've had this plant for over 10 years and from the picture I sent you can see it's still growing good. I just want to trim it down but I want to do it properly. Thanks! Hi Julia When pruning an Arboricola (umbrella plant), cut just above a leaf stem or node. I usually cut the tallest stem back into the center of the plant, leaving some leaf nodes for new growth to start. Doing this every once in awhile keeps the plant fuller and shorter. You can cut the really ta...

Dracaena Warneckii Plant Plant Questions and Answers Here is a recent email question from Grace, someone looking for some help with her houseplant... "I got a plant for my moms funeral and now it's very tall and don't know if and how to split it. Any help? I attached a picture of it. Card that came with it says it's a dracaena but couldn't find any helpful information on line." Hi Grace, Thanks for the picture. Your plant is a dracaena Warneckii . You can cut back the stem any place that you want to and it should regrow from that point. Is that what you wanted to know? Your plant looks nice and healthy! Good job. Let me know if you have any other questions or if I did not tell you what you wanted to know.... Hi again Grace, Forgot to mention that you can root the piece you cut off in moist sand, then you can plant into its own pot when the roots get a few inches long. You should remove the leaves (from the cut piece) when yo...

My Little Dracaena Marginata Question from Gilbert:   I have a marginata house plant, It's about 2 1/2 feet tall, my question is: can I cut it in half and if I do will It continue to grow or will it die? And can I replant the top half? Also, will the trunk grow in diameter?   Answer: Yes you can cut back the trunk of your Dracaena Marginata . It will put out at least one new shoot, if not three to four or more new shoots. It will not die as long as you are taking good care of it. You can re-plant the cut-off top, but Dracaena can be a little harder to root than say, a  Pothos  plant that you can just leave in water and it will grow forever. You can  air-layer your plant . Another option is to root in moist sand. You can lay the piece of Marginata trunk down on its side in moist sand and it should eventually root, although it may take some time. This has worked for me before. If you want to root it in its upright position, try some rooting hormon...