Before winter arrives, prune your potted plants with these 3 cuts, then fertilize, and next year they will burst into a full pot

"The weather is getting colder and colder. Do my few pots of flowers need pruning? What if I prune them wrong?" Actually, potted plants really do need pruning before winter, but not random pruning. Remember these "key 3cuts." Each cut has its own reason. After pruning, add some fertilizer, and they will get sick less in winter and sprout new shoots directly in early spring!

First, let's talk about the first cut1cm above the buds. Cut at an angle, not straight across, so water does not collect easily. Also, those dry, blackened dead branches, no matter where they are growing, should be cut cleanly from the base. Keeping them only wastes nutrients and may harbor pathogens.

The second cut needs special emphasis. It is called "the cut for overly dense and crossing branches." Have you noticed that some potted plants grow too wildly in summer, with branches tangled together and leaves stacked densely? For example, jasmine and bougainvillea have thin and messy branches, and both airflow and light are poor. Before winter, these "messy branches" must be thinned out: first cut away half of the branches that grow crossing each other and block each other's sunlight, then shorten the especially thin and weak "leggy branches," leaving only 3-4

The third cut is "the cut for height control and shape correction," mainly for potted plants that have grown too tall and messy, such as the happiness tree, fiddle-leaf fig, and potted fruit trees at home. If they are allowed to grow freely, not only will they hit the ceiling, but the lower branches will also become sparser and sparser. When pruning, look at the overall shape. If you want it shorter, find a suitable branch from the top downward and cut above the branch. Do not cut too hard all at once. Cut off at most 1/3 of the total height. For example, with a fiddle-leaf fig, if all the lower leaves have dropped, shorten the bare trunk to encourage new side branches, otherwise a bare stick looks awful.

After these 3cuts, do not think it is over! Pruning leaves wounds on the potted plant, and growth is slow in winter, so you need to add some fertilizer to "heal the wounds," otherwise it will not have the strength to bloom next year. But fertilizing has its rules. Do not use nitrogen fertilizer (like urea), because it easily makes new branches grow too tender and freeze in winter. It is best to use decomposed sheep manure, chicken manure, or diluted monopotassium phosphate. These are phosphorus and potassium fertilizers, which can make the root system strong and improve cold resistance. When burying fertilizer, do not place it too close to the roots. Dig a small hole and bury it at the edge of the pot, then water a little so the fertilizer effect is released slowly. If using liquid fertilizer, be sure to dilute it more than 1000 times, and water once every half month, twice in a row is enough.

So which plants are suitable for autumn pruning? Don't prune the wrong ones and waste effort!

First are flowering plants: roses, hydrangeas, jasmine, bougainvillea, and gardenia. Pruning them in autumn can reduce nutrient consumption, and next year they will grow more flower buds. Especially roses: after autumn pruning, do not let them bloom again. Save their strength to bloom explosively in spring.

Next are foliage plants: happiness tree, fiddle-leaf fig, Monstera deliciosa, and Philodendron selloum. Pruning these in autumn can control their size, make the branches and leaves neater, and make yellow leaves less likely in winter due to overly dense branches and leaves.

There are also vines: pothos, ivy, and clematis. In autumn, shorten overly long vines and cut off yellow leaves. This can make the plant shape more compact and also make it easier to move indoors in winter, so it does not sprawl everywhere.

But note that plants like succulents, orchids, and cyclamen should not be pruned randomly in autumn! Succulents have few leaves, and cutting them makes rot easy. Orchids may be growing flower spikes in autumn, and once cut there will be no flowers to see. Cyclamen blooms in winter, and pruning in autumn will affect the flower buds.

3 points: "cut spent flowers, thin dense branches, control height." After pruning, add some phosphorus and potassium fertilizer. Your potted plants will surely get through winter well, and next spring they will definitely grow more vigorously than your neighbor's!