Help for a houseplant

June 10, 2013 6:57 AM

I've had this houseplant for about six years. It grows like a vine, straight up, so I have always tied it to a bamboo pole because at the garden center I have seen this type of plant look like a tree when it gets bigger, so I have been trying to facilitate that. Now it is four feet tall and I fear it will be a long vine before it becomes tree-like. Any ideas how to help this plant meet its best potential for growth and long life?
posted by Jason and Laszlo to Home & Garden (3 answers total)

I'd pinch off the leaves at the top, so that it is forced to send its energy into growing OUT, not UP.
posted by belladonna at 7:29 AM on June 10, 2013

Looks like dracena to me, and ditto to pinching it back.
posted by Ideefixe at 7:57 AM on June 10, 2013

You could not only pinch it back, but take the cutting, strip off the lower leaves, and see if you can get that to root. Hey bingo: two plants.
posted by Emperor SnooKloze at 9:20 AM on June 10, 2013 [3 favorites]