The citronella plant is a fast-growing, aromatic herb that is commonly used in mosquito repellents. Pruning your citronella plant is essential to its health and vigor. Learn how to prune your citronella plant with these simple tips.
Checkout this video:
Pruning Basics
Pruning is an important part of plant care. It helps to remove dead or diseased plant material, encourages new growth, and can help to shape a plant. Citronella plants can be pruned in the spring or early summer. Pruning will also help to keep the plant from getting too large.
Why prune?
Pruning is essential to the health and vigor of your citronella plant. When done properly, it will encourage new growth, eliminate overcrowding and improve air circulation within the plant. Additionally, pruning will help to keep your plant looking its best.
There are a few things to keep in mind when pruning your citronella plant. First, always use clean, sharp pruning tools. Second, avoid pruning during the hottest part of the day as this can damage the plant. Finally, be sure to remove any diseased or damaged leaves or stems from the plant before beginning any pruning.
When you are ready to begin pruning, start by removing any dead or damaged leaves or stems from the plant. Next, trim back any long shoots that are growing out from the main plant. Once you have removed all of the dead and damaged growth, you can begin trimming back any remaining shoots to your desired length.
As a general rule of thumb, you should avoid removing more than one-third of the total growth from your citronella plant in any given year. With this in mind, plan your pruning accordingly and remove only as much growth as necessary to maintain the health and vigor of your plant.
When to prune
Pruning is a horticultural practice that alters the shape, structure and sometimes the growth of a plant. Citronella plants benefit from regular pruning, as it helps to promote new growth and can also improve the plant’s overall shape. The best time to prune citronella plants is in late winter or early spring, before new growth begins.
What tools to use
Pruning shears
Pruning shears are the most basic tool for pruning. They are designed to cut through branches up to ¾ of an inch in diameter and can be operated with one hand.
Loppers
Loppers are similar to pruning shears but have longer handles and blades, making them ideal for cutting branches that are too thick for pruning shears. Loppers come in two varieties: anvil and bypass. Anvil loppers have a sharp cutting blade that closes against a flat surface, while bypass loppers have two sharpened blades that slide past each other like scissors.
Pole pruners
Pole pruners consist of a saw blade or set of shears mounted on the end of a long pole, allowing you to reach high branches without the use of a ladder.
Pruning Your Citronella Plant
Pruning your citronella plant is important to encourage growth and to keep the plant healthy. You should prune your citronella plant in early spring, before new growth begins. Use sharp, clean pruning shears to make clean cuts. Make sure to cut off any dead or damaged branches.
Remove dead or dying leaves and stems
As with any plant, it’s important to remove dead or dying leaves and stems as you see them. This will help your plant stay healthy and prevent the spread of disease. You can also remove any leaves or stems that are significantly damaged.
In addition, you should prune your citronella plant regularly to encourage new growth. You can do this by trimming off the tips of the branches, which will cause the plant to branch out and become fuller.
Cut back leggy or overgrown stems
To keep your citronella plant from getting too leggy or overgrown, you’ll need to prune it back regularly. You can do this by cutting back the stems to about 6 inches (15 cm) above the ground. This will encourage new growth and help keep the plant compact and bushy.
If you find that your plant is getting too large for its location, you can also give it a hard pruning. Cut the entire plant back to about 6 inches (15 cm) above the ground. This will force the plant to put out new growth, which will be more compact and bushy.
Thin out the plant to promote air circulation
Thin out the plant to promote air circulation. Citronella is susceptible to fungal diseases, such as gray mold, if the air around the plant is too humid. Pruning also allows more sunlight to reach all parts of the plant, which will help it grow more evenly. Remove any dead, diseased, or damaged leaves, stems, and flowers. Cut back any leggy or spindly growth.
After Pruning
After you prune your citronella plant, there are a few things you need to do to ensure that it continues to grow properly. First, you need to water the plant deeply. This will help the roots to recover from the pruning and grow back quickly. You should also fertilize the plant to encourage new growth.
Apply a balanced fertilizer
After you finish pruning your citronella plant, it’s time to give it a little boost with a balanced fertilizer. You can find specially formulated citronella plant fertilizer at your local nursery or garden supply store, or you can use a general purpose fertilizer that’s labeled for use on foliage plants.
Whichever type of fertilizer you choose, follow the package directions carefully. Citronella plants are not heavy feeders, so you don’t want to apply too much fertilizer. A light application of fertilizer once a month is usually sufficient.
In addition to fertilizing your plant, make sure it is getting enough water. Citronella plants do best in moist, well-drained soil. During the growing season, water your plant deeply about once a week. Be sure to allow the soil to dry out slightly between watering.
Water regularly
Water regularly after pruning to help the plant heal. Citronella plants are drought tolerant, so you don’t need to worry about over-watering. Just make sure to water deeply enough that the soil is moistened to a depth of 6 inches.