Pruning is one of the simplest ways to help your plants grow stronger, healthier, and more productive. By removing unnecessary branches or leaves, you can improve airflow, reduce pests, focus energy on more important parts of the plant, and is an excellent opportunity to take cuttings.
Whether you’re growing tomatoes, roses, or green plants, proper pruning can make all the difference.
In this article, we provide 6 reasons why you should prune, the diverse ways to do so, the benefits associated, and Atami’s 5 top tips to consider.
6 Reasons why you should prune plants
If you are new to pruning and are not aware of the benefits or reasons associated with it, then below are all the reasons why you should consider pruning. The various points below apply to herbs, tomatoes, peppers, roses, apples, cherries, pairs, and any other fruit or flowering plants.
1. Plant Focus Energy Where It Matters
As long as a plant has access to light, nutrients, and water, then it will be able to photosynthesize and produce energy with the sugars it creates. Pruning removes parts of the plant that aren’t contributing much, like older leaves or lower branches. By clearing these out, the plant has fewer areas to send this energy to, allowing more nutrients and sugars to go toward producing flowers, fruits, or new growth.
2. Top heavy canopy
As growers, we all want plants that yield an abundance of top-quality fruits, vegetables, or flowers. Pruning is one of the easiest and most effective ways to promote a top-heavy canopy, that bears its yields in the highest part of the canopy. This helps maximize light exposure and ensures your harvest is plentiful and easy to access.
3. Reduce Pests and Diseases
It is often in the lower parts of our plants, because they are darker and wetter, that insects and bugs gather and try to make a home.
By carefully pruning the lower growth areas and older leaves, the chance of pests appearing is greatly reduced. When old and damaged leaves are out of sight, it is easier to deter insects and avoid potential invaders. The growth that remains after pruning can be easily controlled and kept safe from insects.
4. Improve airflow
Not only does the chance of insects dramatically reduce, another benefit of pruning the lowest growth sites of your garden plants, is better airflow and circulation.
Pruned plants allow air to flow freely through the canopy. This reduces moisture buildup, which can prevent common plant diseases like mold and mildew.
If you are growing indoors or outside, plants that have been pruned will have more access to cooler carbon dioxide-rich air.
5. Prune and Take Cuttings for Cloning
Pruning is the perfect time to take cuttings from your plants.
A cutting is when a growth shoot is cut away from the plant, to grow it until it has roots. A genetic replica that will grow identically to the plant it was cut from.
Cuttings can save growers time and money and can allow them to continue growing their best pepper, tomato, rose, fruit trees, or flowering plants season after season.
6. It’s easy to do and highly effective!
Pruning doesn’t require fancy tools or advanced skills.
Compared to many of the other hands-on plant training techniques at a grower’s disposal, one of the main benefits of pruning your plants is the fact it is easy to do and even a first-time grower can get the hang of it. You do not need to spend much money, and the results are almost instant and highly effective.
How should I prune my plants?
When the goal is to cut away leaves, shoots, and side branches, there are different ways to do so. However, depending on the size, structure, thickness, and age of your plants or fruit trees, you may want to take a different approach, so below are some ideas on how to prune plants.
Using pruning scissors
Pruning scissors are great for most pruning tasks, especially for cutting away soft shots or small branches. Make sure they’re sharp to avoid tearing the plant tissue.
Make sure that your scissors are sharp and have enough force to cleanly cut through the growth shoots. Pruning established hardwood plants such as roses and fruit trees, may be better using a small, bladed saw.
Using a scalpel or a razor
A small razor-sharp scalpel is perfect for getting inside soft new growth and cutting them away with precision. A scalpel or razor is best suited for softwood plants such as herb plants, flowering plants, tomato and pepper plants.
Using a small saw
Hardwood plants can often take more work and time when pruning. Using a small sharp hand saw can allow a clean removal of older branches, prevent stress, and save scissors from becoming blunt.
Using your fingers
Seedlings and herb plants can be pruned using your fingers and thumbs. Once plants grow to a certain size, it is well recommended to use your fingers to rub away any unwanted growth.
It is important to fully clear away the area you plan to prune, and do not leave any parts behind, as they will only grow back.
When Is the Best Time to Prune?
1. Vegetable Plants (Common Garden Crops)
For fast-growing vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, and zucchini, pruning is best done during their early growth stages. Removing lower leaves and side shoots helps the plant focus its energy on producing fruits and ensures good airflow to reduce the risk of fungal diseases. As flowering begins, prune sparingly to avoid removing buds that will develop into fruits.
2. Trees (Fruit Trees and Hedges)
Pruning fruit trees like apple, pear, or cherry should ideally be done in late winter or early spring before new growth starts. This promotes healthy structure and encourages better fruit production. For hedges, light trimming can be done in late spring or summer to maintain shape, while heavier pruning is best reserved for the dormant season to prevent stress.
3. Indoor Plants
Pruning indoor plants like pothos, ficus, or peace lilies can be done year-round. Focus on removing yellowing or damaged leaves to keep the plant looking vibrant and healthy. If you want to control their size or encourage bushier growth, prune just above a leaf node during the growing season, usually in spring or early summer.
Atami’s top tips for becoming a pruning God
Now that we have covered the basics of pruning, below are our best tips that will set you on the path to becoming a pruning God and allow you to get the most out of your plants every harvest!
1.- Be Gentle and Precise
Use sharp tools to make clean cuts and avoid tearing plant tissue. This minimizes stress and helps the plant recover faster.
It is best to be as delicate and gentle as possible when pruning your plants. The reason is to not stress them out, because of a tissue tear, and to make life as easy as possible when it comes to shock and recovery time. Our tip here is to work with sharp equipment and be precise and as clinical as possible for the best results and happiest crops.
2.- Sanitize Your Tools
This is one of the most important pieces of advice of this list: Always clean your scissors, saws, or razors before pruning and between plants. This prevents the spread of diseases between plants.
3.- Take Your Time
Rushed pruning can lead to mistakes or damage. Work methodically and plan your cuts before you start.
Damaged plants that have been pruned abruptly can suffer unnecessary damage, such as tearing of tissue and plant fibres. Insects and pathogens deliberately attack weak plants and damage their growth, so our advice is to take your time and do not rush pruning, use sharp equipment and avoid tearing plant tissue with your hands.
4.- Don’t Prune Too Late
Avoid heavy pruning during the flowering or fruiting stages, as it can disrupt the plant’s natural growth processes and hormone balance.
During flowering, many plants, such as tomatoes, roses, or fruit trees, experience a surge in growth hormones like auxins, which help them produce flowers, fruits, or seeds. Pruning too aggressively at this stage can stress the plant, reduce yields, or slow development.
Our tip: Focus on pruning during the early growth stages to shape the plant and remove unnecessary growth. Once flowering or fruiting begins, limit pruning to removing damaged leaves or small shoots that block light to productive areas.
5.- Observe Your Plants
After pruning, monitor your plants for signs of stress, such as wilting or slowed growth. Give them a few days to recover before making additional cuts and support them with products such as Alga-C or Booster Uni, which help to condition the plant before and during stress.
