“Pruning Houseplants” by David Tarrant
January is a good time to prune certain houseplants, particularly such vigorous growers as hibiscus and bougainvillea.
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis (Chinese Hibiscus) is a beautiful and easy houseplant.
With the many indoor cultivars of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, if they are in a well-lit sunny window, they continue to send out the odd blossom even at this time of the year making the decision to prune a difficult task. However, the shrubby stems should be pruned back by at least two thirds by the end of the month. If it is a standard on a single stem, just the top bushy branches should be pruned. If you have to prune back into leafless branches, always prune directly above an outward facing dormant bud (as for roses outdoors).
Bougainvillea glabra and its many cultivars are often grown as houseplants which are put outside for the summer and brought indoors for the winter months, where they often lose most of their leaves. It is a rambunctious, thorny vine in nature and tends to form quite a dense mass which should also be pruned and thinned out this month. With most bougainvilleas, there are definite main branches which should be left unpruned; however, all the side shoots coming from them should be pruned back to within a couple of leaf buds from the main stem.
Pruning your woody houseplants at this time of year will encourage plenty of healthy new growth during the next six to eight weeks leading to great blooms later in the year.
Bougainvillea with a collection of other houseplants makes a great window display. Shown here are also a Calamondin orange (Citrofortunella mitis ‘Varieta’) at left; Crimson Bottlebrush (Callistemon citrinus) lower centre with the red flowers; and Rosette succulent (Aeonium arboraum ‘Atropurpureum’) at right.