How to Remove Leaves on a Lady Jane Anthurium

Allow the leaves of your anthurium plant to turn yellow or brown and naturally decay entirely before attempting to remove them. Anthurium plants rely on their foliage to perform photosynthesis, and removing too many healthy, green leaves causes problems. The University of The West Indies notes that anthuriums may experience stunted growth or deformities or fail to produce flowers if their photosynthetic capacity is reduced.

Sterilize the blades of your garden shears or scissors by wiping them down with rubbing alcohol before pruning. Wipe down the blades of your pruning tool after each snip, recommends Anthurium Hawaii, to prevent the spread of bacteria or disease from infected areas of your anthurium to the rest of the plant.

Snip away any dead, brown, yellow, diseased or damaged leaves from anthurium at the end of its growing season in late fall. You can remove some foliage by gently tugging them away from the live, healthy plant, but don't pull them if they don't come off easily. Anthurium plants can be pruned down to four leaves and are still able to produce flowers and new growth.