Protecting Yourself and the Plant
Sterilize your cutting tool with rubbing alcohol or bleach before pruning. Wipe or spray your cutting blade or pruning shears with rubbing alcohol. If you don't have rubbing alcohol, you can use a 10% bleach solution. Disinfecting the cutting tool prevents the transfer of disease to your plant. If you're pruning more than 1 desert rose plant, sterilize the cutting tool before pruning the next plant.
Wear gloves to protect your hands when pruning. Use gardening or leather gloves when you begin to prune the desert rose. You'll notice sap ooze from the cuts on the plant. It's important to protect your hands because the sap can irritate your skin, causing a rash or itchy sensation. Remember to keep kids and pets away from the desert rose as you're pruning it.
Dispose of the branches after removing them. Once you've pruned your branches or blossoms, place them in your yard waste bin. Remember to keep wearing the gloves when you're handling the cut pieces. They'll still be sticky and the sap would irritate your bare skin.
Pruning the Branches and Flowers
Do a hard prune to reduce the size of the rose plant. To dramatically cut back your desert rose, do a hard prune. This will allow you to clear out leggy branches or reduce the size of the plant. Limit hard pruning to once every 2 to 3 years. If your desert rose is planted outside, it's still a good idea to do a hard prune since this will help it flower in the spring.
Do a minor prune to encourage new growth. If you want to keep the plant healthy or trim away a few branches that seem out of place, do a minor prune. Depending on the growing season in your area, this can help your desert rose blossom again within the season. You can do minor pruning every year.
Make strategic cuts to shape the desert rose to your liking. Desert roses take a long time to put on growth, but if your plant is in the ground, it could grow to the size of a small tree or shrub. Decide how big you'd like your desert rose to become, so you know how much to prune. Because desert roses can be shaped like bonsai, it's up to you to choose if you want 1 or 2 distinctive branches or if you want a natural-looking rounded shape. If your plant is in a container pot, it will slowly grow to fill the space. You may want to do minor pruning to encourage your plant to produce more flowers.
Do hard pruning in winter and minor pruning in spring. Plan on hard pruning at the beginning of winter or before you bring it inside (if it's in a container). Since the plant won't put on growth during this time, it can store its energy more effectively once it's been cut back. Wait until the end of spring or beginning of summer to do minor pruning to give your plant a chance to heal before it blooms
Making the Cuts
Cut at a 45-degree angle above the flower nodes or junctions. Once you've decided the shape you want the desert rose to have, you can identify which branches you'll need to cut back. Use your sterilized cutting tool to cut about 1 inch (2.5 cm) above the flower node or junction where the branches split. Cutting at a 45-degree angle allows the branch to heal more quickly. If you cut at a 90-degree angle, water can collect in the branch and cause it to rot.
Remove diseased branches. Look at the desert rose for any rotting branches that are black, dark brown, or yellow. Cut off these branches at a 45-degree angle. When you prune these branches, cut enough of the branch that only the healthy part remains For example, if you cut away a rotten branch and see black or brown in the branch close to the caudex, make another cut that's closer to the caudex so you get to healthy tissue.
Prune damaged or crossed branches. Check the desert rose for any branches that are tangled or growing into the center of the plant. If any branches are broken, thin, or leggy, you might want to prune them too. Remember to prune these away at a 45-degree angle.
Cut 1/3 of the way down each branch if you're doing a hard prune. Use your disinfected pruning shears or cutting blade to cut back each branch at a 45-degree angle. For example, if 1 branch is 6 inches (15 cm) long, you'd cut 2 inches (5 cm) off of it. Or if another branch is 9 inches (22 cm) long, prune away 3 inches (7.5 cm). If you're cutting a desert rose that's the size of a small tree or shrub, you may want to use sterilized loppers to make pruning easier.
Make cuts that shape the desert rose. If you're cutting to dramatically change the shape of the plant, step back and look at which branches will need to be cut. For example, you might need to completely cut back branches that stick out to the side if you're trying to create a small, rounded desert rose.
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