What to Do If the Goldfish Plant Becomes Leggy? Causes and Solutions

1. Treatment methods

There are two ways to deal with a leggy goldfish plant: the first is pinching back, removing its growing points. This means pinching off the tips of the branches so they cannot grow; the second is leaf removal, taking off 2 to 3 pairs of leaves from the leggy branches. Both methods are meant to make its stems thicker and stronger, dwarf the whole plant, and preserve nutrients for the stems and side buds so they grow better.

2. Prevention methods

① Sunlight: One of the causes of legginess is a lack of light. Although this plant does not need too much sunlight during its growth, it easily becomes leggy if kept without sunlight for a long time. In spring, summer and autumn, give it some sunlight appropriately, but shade it from the midday sun, while in winter it can be placed in full sun. This can effectively prevent legginess.

② Nutrients: Another cause of legginess is nutrients. Fertilizing too frequently or in too large an amount can also cause legginess. If you have already over-fertilized, you can pause watering and fertilizing and let the plant verge on hunger and thirst, which can bring it back to a normal state. And when there are too many nutrients, it also affects the plant's flowering. Once it returns to normal, fertilize as usual, preferring weak over strong.

③ Water: In fact, watering and sunlight need to work together. If it gets no sunlight for a long time but is still given plenty of water, it will also become leggy, so avoid watering it too much.