How to Prune a Money Tree That is Too Tall

I have had my Money Tree for nearly a decade. During that time, I had to prune it back several times because it eventually becomes too big for my space. Money Trees that are well-cared for can grow fairly quickly. It's common for a Money Tree to need pruning every few years and they generally take pruning like a champ. In this post, I'll walk you through how to prune a Money Tree that is too tall.

Is Your Money Tree Too Tall

Tallness may be in the eye of the beholder. Maybe you like a tall tree. Here are some scenarios where it may be beneficial to prune a tall Money Tree.

• Your Money Tree is so tall that the stems are flopping over or leaning. You may stake them to a pole to provide support, but pruning could also address this.
• Your Money Tree has grown so tall that it's touching the ceiling. Pruning is really the only way to address this unless you can somehow raise your ceiling (sounds $$$).
• Your Money Tree is too tall from unhealthy growth. When a plant isn't receiving enough light it stretches and grows taller and thinner to be closer to its light source. Unhealthy (stretched out) growth will have a lot of space in between leaves and the stems will be thinner. Pruning back to healthy growth and providing more light is the only way to address this.

My Money Tree has become too tall and so I will use it as my example of how to trim a tall Money Tree. It ticks two boxes: it's getting too close to the ceiling (see picture above) and it has some unhealthy growth. Sometimes people mistake leggy plant growth for health. A lot of the top of the plan is so tall it's no longer getting adequate light. The plant is growing an impressive amount, but it’s really growing longer because it's struggling to be closer to the sun. The result is an overgrown Money Tree that has some unhealthy growth which I will show you next.

The best way to identify unhealthy growth is by looking at the spacing between leaves. As you can see from the red circles in the picture above, the bottom area has leaves that are very close together. That is what healthy growth looks like. Then there are about six inches of stem to the next leaf. That's leggy, or unhealthy, growth. Which most likely happened from inadequate light.

Best Time to Prune a Money Tree

It’s best to prune plants in the winter while they are dormant. Pruning can trigger growth and you don't really want to trigger growth when the days are short and there's not much sunlight. The worst times to prune are usually late summer or fall. If you are using a grow light for your plant this may be less of a concern for you. However, if you can plan it, it’s best to wait for winter dormancy.

Equipment for Pruning

Most Money Trees are easily pruned with garden pruners. Some people use a sharp knife, but I've honestly never had good luck with making clean cuts with one. Either my knives aren't sharp enough or I'm too weak. Whatever cutting tool you use, just make sure that it is sterile and sharp. Dirty tools may introduce unwanted bacteria or fungus to a new cut on your plant. In addition, sharp tools make clean cuts that are better looking and less susceptible to disease. My go-to tool for pruning is this inexpensive pair of Fiskar pruners. I've had them for years. (If your garden pruners are dirty and rusty follow my tutorial on cleaning pruning shears.)

How to Prune a Money Tree That is Too Tall

I’m doing a pretty drastic prune for this post. I’m going to remove close to 2/3 of the green growth. I’ve pruned this plant many times and know what it can take though. Generally speaking, it's best to remove no more than 1/3 of a plant in a single prune, especially if you're new to it. Most of the green growth that I’m cutting away is leggy anyway. When you begin to prune, make the cuts just above a leaf node.

I will prune a few stems almost all the way down to the trunk so that I can promote new leafy growth close to the trunk. I’m also trimming about three stems with some healthy leaf growth about a foot to foot and a half from the main trunk. It's good to keep some green leaves if you can, although they can survive a prune all the way to the trunk.

This was a drastic prune, so to some, it make look a little sad. I know from experience it will fill out pretty quickly though. In the next few weeks, new growth will emerge from the nodes that were just below where I made a cut. Money Treestypically only put out a single stem from the pruned spot. The new growth should grow vertically, rather than branching outward like other plants.

Do You Water After Pruning?

Continue to water your Money Tree in a similar manner that you did before you pruned. However, your plant will need less water than it did before pruning so be cautious about the amount. In general, you want o keep as much of the environment the same after you prune your plant. So don't move it to a new spot where it gets more or less light right after pruning. It needs time to adapt to the prune before you change anything else.

I also recommend against fertilizing sooner after pruning for the same reasons. You do not want to shock the plant. People new to pruning may want to encourage new growth but it's best to wait. Definitely do not fertilize if you have followed my earlier instructions to prune in the winter. You don't want to encourage your plant to grow yet.

Have any questions or tips to share? Leave them in the Comments section.