Very important 14 practical tips for trimming and cutting plants from your garden

Growing and starting a garden is one aspect and Maintaining your garden is another! Very important practical tips for trimming and cutting plants from your garden-

Trimming garden plants

1) Check for insects , pests and creatures first in thick growth plants. Trust me there are many who make homes in the bushes as the plants also grow into quite a thick foliage. If you are trimming for pests then apply face mask to cover and protect yourself from mites and mealy bugs. 

Cutting thorny plants

Trimmed yellow leaves 

2) wear gloves, I didn't know this earlier but really important, you accidentally get scratched by the bark or stem and some thorns plants and sticky liquid gum oozing plants can give you serious skin issues. Gloves are very important to prevent skin rashes and cuts.

3) Take extra care to cut plants with spikes and thorns, wear spectacles to protect eyes. 

4) Cut plants need to be disposed off carefully. Very extra care required to pack them before throwing. wrap in news papers so that the garbage collector does not get hurt.

5) Check for buds, please do not trim stems with buds and growing flowers, yes we have to some times in case of pest attacks, just request the plant, thank it for the beautiful blooms and trim it. Once I did accidentally trim a bud branch and felt really bad.., still feeling sad, but it was accidental.

Trimming overgrown roots of large container plants

6) Check for plants with fine hairs and sticky oozing liquids. This makes the skin burn and also develop rashes, red patches.

7) Timing is important avoid winters as it is harsh climate already for them to survive. I have trimmed them frequently during the rainy season months, to prevent over growth , this is necessary as leaving them off hand the plant loses nutrition and it affects its health, many huge plants in small containers also do not survive if they outgrow pots with overflowing roots.  

8) Many plants like champa, Magnolia, that have very thick fleshy stem are really difficult to cut with scissors, I had a trying time with trimming these, as I did not want to give much pain to the plant, but they can be bent by hand and cut off easily.

Trimming roots of bulb plants

9) They do feel the pain, remember this. Most important choose sharp tools, scissors and knives for cutting to reduce and minimize pain to your plants.

10) talk to them before trimming and even after trimming to send love and healing so that they recover fast from the trauma of cutting wounds.

11)Please take extra care for yourself after the trimming of garden plants process.  personal care, wash hands and take bath with antiseptic soaps after trimming garden plants. Apply generously moisturizers and antiseptic creams on cuts, bruises. Also do check for allergies in case you accidentally came in contact with oozing liquids from cut plants. Apply antiseptic creams and also take anti allergic medicines if required. 

12) See that you have free time safe time during trimming of garden plants. Protect family, children and pets while you are at this trimming cutting task and see that they do not get accidentally hurt in this process.

13) Pack and cover all cut plants , share if possible cuttings to neighbors and friends, each one makes into a new life! Neatly wrap them in paper and dispose them, or if you have a large yard let them dry and then burn them to make recycled fertilizer. 

14) Immediately after trimming cutting a branch or stem apply some soil. This helps heal the wounds of cutting faster. 

its every time an emotional time to see a bit barren smaller stems, after trimming and cutting,  but then there is so much hope with this process as they spring into fresh shoots and lime green leaves and grow healthy and happy again! 

Happy Gardening from Rizwana!

I do not sell plants, this is my passion! I am a healing artist since year 2000 making original hand painted reiki symbol paintings. The Red Pilgrim @Razarts.