You probably have had your fair share of witnessing some brown and dying leaves on your plants. And you may have even been faced with the task of having to decide whether to remove them or not. Is this process necessary, or can you simply leave it be?
Simple answer, yes. Removing dead leaves, as manifested by browning and wilting, is an important process for the plant. This is particularly important if 50% of the plant’s foliage is dead. You’re giving your plant a fighting chance to grow when you cut off the dead leaves. Since your plant doesn’t have to focus on the dead leaves anymore, it can now put all of its energy into the healthy and living leaves.
Reasons Why You Should Remove Dead Leaves on Your Plants
While some people might think that removing dead leaves is tedious and unnecessary, there are several good reasons why you should do it.
Keep Your Plant Healthy
For one, removing dead leaves helps the plant to stay healthy. If you don’t remove them, the dead leaves can actually harbor diseases which can then spread to the rest of the plant. In addition, pests are also attracted to dead leaves. By getting rid of them, you’re also getting rid of potential problems for your plant.
Promote New Growth
As discussed earlier, removing dead leaves allows the plant to redirect its energy to new growth. It’s useless for the brown leaves to stay on the plant as they’re not doing anything anyway. If you want your plant to grow healthy and strong, then you need to get rid of the dead weight.
Dying leaves just leech off the plant’s energy and resources, preventing new leaves from getting the nutrients they need to grow.
Makes Your Plant Look Better
This one is pretty self-explanatory. Nobody wants a plant that’s covered in brown and wilted foliage. Getting rid of them will give your plant a neater and healthier appearance.
So there you have it, some good reasons why you should remove dead leaves from your plants. The next time you see some browning and wilting leaves, don’t hesitate to cut them off. Your plant will definitely thank you for it in the long run!
How to Properly Remove Dying Leaves
It might seem a simple process, right? Just remove the wilted ones, and that’s it. However, there are actually some things that you need to keep in mind to ensure that you’re doing it properly.
For this, you won’t need a pair of sharp shears. You’ll often see that you can easily tug off the leaves with your hands. If the leaves are too big, you can also use a blunt knife. Just be careful not to damage the healthy stem in the process.
If you have a leaf that’s less than 50% wilted, you cut along the edges of the leaf, only removing the affected parts.
Be sure to clean your tools before moving on to the next plant. This is to prevent the spread of diseases from one plant to another.
There’s no right or wrong timing for doing it. As long as you notice that the leaves are wilting, you can go ahead and remove them immediately.
Should You Remove Dead Leaves from Plants: Final Thoughts
Dead leaves on plants can be unsightly and harbor diseases or pests. Removing them is important for the plant’s health and allows new growth to flourish. It’s a simple task that anyone can do, and your plant will definitely thank you for it in the long run!