How to Trim a 'Massangeana' Corn Plant

A tropical evergreen from sub-Saharan Africa, the corn plant (Dracaena fragrans) develops upright trunklike stems topped by a mop of wide, lancelike leaves. Cultivar Massangeana produces arching leaves with gray-green streaks and a broad, longitudinal yellow band. If given enough very bright light, it bears a drooping cluster of fragrant flowers below the leaves in winter. Pruning maintenance often isn't needed on corn plant, but trimming can tidy the plant. Use restraint when trimming the obvious but few leaves.

Things You'll Need

Scissors

Bypass or hand pruners

Instructions

- 1
  Cut off any lower yellow leaves in each rosette on the tan-colored stems. The oldest leaves are the first to yellow and brown, and using a scissors to trim these thin, paperlike leaves as low as possible on the rosette helps tidy the plant. Use care to avoid accidentally cutting into the base of a upper leaf that's in the rosette.
- 2
  Clip off any sprouting buds on the stem-trunks of the corn plant with a scissors or bypass pruners flush with the trunk. If the moplike leaf rosettes on the plant already look lush, removing any new buds that arise from the trunks prevents overcrowding. If the bud appears on a barren part of the stem, retain the bud so it sprouts into a rosette of leaves and fills out that area of the corn plant.
- 3
  Remove any dry brown or unattractive yellow areas of any leaf. Trim the edge or tip of each individual leaf. When making the cut with a scissors, mimic the shape of the leaf. Make as small of a cut as possible with smooth, rounded edges to mask any trimming on the leaf blade. If a leaf is too yellow or blotches with brown spots, remove the entire leaf. Make the cut as low as possible on the leaf blade in the rosette so no leaf stub is visible.

How Should You Care for a Jalapeno Pepper Plant?

How to Grow Aloe Vera From Stems

Growing Plants