Pruning Succulents Outdoors

Pruning your succulent plant may sound a bit intimidating, especially if it’s your favorite. However, they need a little trimming to thrive even better. And on the brighter side, you don’t need to do this often. 

By trimming them, you are helping these plants keep their shape. As such, they will not get too leggy or tall. That means if you want your plant to maintain its compact size and cuteness, you’ve got to prune it. 

But that shouldn’t scare you, because trimming these plants is very simple. And in this article, we will guide you on how to manage that effectively. Therefore, read on to learn ways of pruning succulents outdoors:

How to Prune your Outdoor Succulents 

Why you should Prune Succulents?

Keep it Small

Pruning succulents is important for various reasons, for instance, the jade plant. You can trim it to prevent it from growing bigger. To manage this, you will need to trim back the whole plant. That means removing nearly a third of it annually during springs. Prune all its branches to a desirable size. When pruning, do it near a lateral branch or a leaf. 

Guide their growth

Also, you need to prune your succulents to guide their new growth. With the right tools, skills, and patience, you can train them to grow the way you desire. For example, when you notice a bud or branch following your desired pattern, trim the parts above it. This will enable it to keep on following that path. This is a common pruning technique that botanists use to tame the growth of jade plants. 

Eliminating dead parts

Trimming your succulent plants helps keep them healthy. This step involves getting rid of dead parts like leaves and stems. Also, it helps the growth of healthy buds, branches, or leaves. Most importantly, it helps contain the spread of fungal diseases due to rot. 

When is the best time for Pruning Succulents Outdoor?

If you’re ready to prune your succulents outdoor, the best time is spring. Most of them begin to grow at the start of spring. Thus, ideally, this is the best time. It allows you to identify new growth, and the plant gets time to recover from the stress. You will need a pair of pruning shear to manage this. Spring marks the growing season, as such, your plants may overgrow and become leggy. 

How do you trim succulents?

Blooming succulents will tend to go wild, especially in springs. Whether they’re on the ground or in flower pots, they will overgrow their space. And when they grow tall and bulky, they lose that striking appeal. As such, it pays to trim them back. Trimming allows you to restore their compact shape. Besides shape control, pruning is important for propagation and reshaping. 

Not to mention that pruning is important for damage control. It’s a chance to keep the plant healthy by eliminating the ailing part. Thereafter, new and healthy parts will grow back. 

Pruning Tutorial

Pruning starts with choosing the right tools for the job. And while a pruning tool may be good for one plant, it doesn’t mean it’s good for all. It’s important to consider the shape of the succulent plant when you’re picking your tool. 

But that’s not all, you must account for the growing nature of the plant. Is it a hanging, trailing, or upright plant? Most importantly, don’t forget about the plant location. Is it in the ground or a container? 

If you’re dealing with small potted succulents in your garden, then a pair of tweezers will help. It can handle small and delicate plants easily. Using the tweezer, you can reach between the branches, stems, and leaves and remove dead plant matters. Also, you can use it to pinch off unhealthy parts of the plant. Lastly, tweezers are also great for uprooting weeds around the plant base. 

• Controlling Size

The major need for pruning succulents outdoor is controlling their size. They are cute plants when they’re small and compact. However, when they overgrow, they become leggy and lose shape. With size control, your target is overgrown steps, branches, and leaves. If you see any of these parts growing too close, trim to create room for new growth. When cutting parts off, ensure you observe a 45-degree angle. 

• Health 

If you’re pruning to boost the health of the plant, then you should identify the ailing parts first. It could be a leaf, branch, or stem that needs to be cut. When identifying these parts, look for those that appear abnormal, discolored, mushy, or shriveled. Use a sterile cutting tool to eliminate these parts. This should prevent the spread of the illness to other plants. If a bigger section of the plant is affected, cut the healthy part and propagate it. 

• Propagation

If the purpose of pruning is propagation, then you’ve got to do it carefully. In this case, you need to consider the healthy and plump part to prune. This will give your new plant a chance to grow and establish. If it’s the leaves you’re picking for propagation, ensure they’re healthy leaves. 

And the same goes if it’s the stems or branches you’ll be using. But when it comes to the stem, get the woody part. This part has a higher chance of generating roots and growing into an individual plant. 

When cutting either stem or leaves, use a sharp tool for a clean cut. And you must sterilize it first to avoid contaminating the cut part. Lastly, ensure the parts you retrieve comes with a node. This is the part where roots emerge from, therefore, if it doesn’t have it, the propagation is bound to fail. 

• Reshaping 

If you’re trimming to reshape your succulent plants, then you need a different approach when cutting the parts. Unlike controlling size, you’ve got to spare the nodes. Therefore, your cut must be a half-inch over the nodes. The idea here is trimming according to the direction you want to plant to grow. If you’re working on a trailing species, do not align the stems. Instead, allow each to have different lengths. Doing this will create a striking appeal. 

 

Getting Started 

Without further ado, you’ve got all it takes to start pruning succulents outdoors. Just get the necessary tools and follow the above steps for accuracy. However, if you have any more inquiries, simply reach us. 

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