How to Prune And Trim your Anthurium

The anthurium plant is one of the most common house plants. Their popularity is due to the fact that they are very easy to take care of, and they produce flower blossoms on a year-round basis. Their flowers are heart shaped, and they have large, broad leaves. They can bloom in red, pink or white varieties.

An anthurium plant is very easy to maintain. If you give them bright indirect light, a little water, and some plant food once a month, you can enjoy the plant for years to come. The pruning and trimming of your anthurium is also a job that should be done on an as needed basis. Here’s how to properly prune your anthurium.

Step 1 - Inspect the Plant

Pruning and trimming your anthurium encourages it to sprout new leaves and new blossoms. Before you begin, you should first inspect the plant. If the plant seems to be overgrowing the pot it is in, or starting to droop a little, it will need to be trimmed back. If you notice discolored leaves, some white spots, or even withered flowers, you should also think about trimming back the plant.

Step 2 - Use Small Pruning Shears

Choose some pruning shears that fit your hand, but are not too large. You want to have control over your pruning and see where the blade is cutting. If you are using shears that are too large, you can easily cut into a leaf that you want to keep. This will cause the plant to have to heal from this injury, instead of grow new blossoms.

Step 3 - Start at the Top

Begin pruning your anthurium plant from the top and work your way around the plant. The anthurium can be cut back to only four leaves and still grow. While you do not need to go to that extreme, you should always remove any leaves that you see a discoloration on. Remove the dead and withered blossoms, and prune back some of the longer, overhanging leaves. This will help the plant to stand back up straight again (and not be drooping to one side).

Step 4 - Hold Shear Blades Downwards

When you are pruning back the leaves of your anthurium plant, hold the pruning shears so that the blades are pointing at a downward angle. You will leave the plant stem at an angle, which encourages multiple new stems from that area.

Step 5 - Mist Plant with Water

Once the pruning has been done, the plant will be in a healing mode. There will be open wounds on the plant where you cut off the leaves. Using a spray bottle, lightly mist the plant so that it can soak water directly into the leaves and stems. Mist enough so that droplets of water are formed on the leaves, but not to the extreme where the water is running off the leaves.