Pruning for Shape in January: What to Trim Now (and What Not To) ✂️🪴

(𝐵𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑝𝑟𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑏𝑒 𝑒𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑎 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑓𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑏𝑜𝑜𝑠𝑡… 𝑜𝑟 𝑎 “𝑤ℎ𝑦 𝑑𝑖𝑑 𝐼 𝑑𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡?” 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡.)

January is a great time to tidy and shape many plants. Especially indoor plants and overwintering container plants, because growth is slower and you can actually see what’s going on.

But not everything should be cut back right now. Some plants need that winter pause, and some store their future blooms in buds you can accidentally snip off.

Here’s a friendly, no-drama guide to what to prune in January… and what to leave alone.

✅ 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐂𝐀𝐍 𝐩𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 (𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐞 + 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡)

𝟏) 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐠𝐲

If your pothos, philodendron, tradescantia, or spider plant is looking stretched and sparse, January is perfect for a trim.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐮𝐭:

* long, bare stems

* stems that are reaching toward the window

* any growth that looks thin or weak

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐮𝐭:

Trim just above a leaf node (a little bump or point where leaves come out). That’s where new growth will branch.

𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐮𝐬: Most of these cuttings root easily in water—free plants! 😄

𝟐) 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫𝐬 (𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐲)

Indoor herbs love a “haircut.”

𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬:

* basil (pinch the top above leaf sets)

* mint (trim often)

* oregano (pinch tips)

* thyme (light trims)

* rosemary (very light shaping only)

𝐑𝐮𝐥𝐞: Don’t remove more than about ⅓ of the plant at once if growth is slow.

𝟑) 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐝, 𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝, 𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 (𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞)

This is the easiest “yes.”

Prune off:

* yellowing leaves that won’t recover

* crispy brown leaves

* mushy stems

* anything moldy

* anything with obvious pest damage

𝐓𝐢𝐩: Use clean scissors/snips, especially if you’re removing questionable leaves.

𝟒) 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫𝐬 (𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠)

If you brought in things like geraniums, herbs, or patio plants, you can tidy them gently.

𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬:

* remove dead stems/leaves

* cut back long scraggly growth

* shape for a fuller form

Just keep it modest as most overwintering plants aren’t growing fast right now.

❌ 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 (𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡)

𝟏) 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝐨𝐧 “𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐝”

Some plants form flower buds on last year’s growth. If you prune now, you can snip off spring blooms.

𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬 (𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐫𝐮𝐛𝐬):

* hydrangeas (many types)

* lilac

* forsythia

* azaleas/rhododendrons

𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞:

Don’t do a major cutback in January. Wait until you confirm the plant type and bloom habit.

𝟐) 𝐀𝐧𝐲 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝

If a plant is:

* dropping leaves

* recently repotted

* recovering from pests

* dealing with cold window stress

…skip heavy pruning. A light tidy is fine, but major cuts can slow recovery.

𝟑) 𝐖𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐬 (𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 “𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐩” 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦)

Herbs like rosemary and lavender can sulk if cut too hard in winter.

✅ You can trim lightly for shape

❌ But avoid cutting deep into old woody stems with no green growth

𝟒) 𝐎𝐮𝐭𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐬 (𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬)

In winter, those dried stems can actually protect the crown from freeze/thaw damage.

If your containers are outdoors in cold weather:

* leave most structure alone

* wait to cut back until late winter/early spring (or when you see new growth starting)

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐏𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐮𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐛

✅ 𝐈𝐧 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤: “𝐭𝐢𝐝𝐲 + 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐞,” 𝐧𝐨𝐭 “𝐛𝐢𝐠 𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐭.”

Small trims now:

* encourage branching

* improve airflow

* reduce pests

* keep indoor plants looking fuller

Big resets are usually better saved for when growth speeds up again.

𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Which plant are you most tempted to prune right now? What’s the goal: bushier, less leggy, or just tidy?

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