Should Chlorophytum's Whiskers Be Trimmed: Expert Opinion

24.01.2023 02:00
Updated: 13.04.2023 14:48

Chlorophytum is loved by gardeners for its beauty, ability to grow quickly and easily reproduce. Long tendrils with lush rosettes have become another way to decorate a room. They often look more luxurious than the mother plant.

The tendrils hang down, turning the chlorophytum into something like an ampelous plant.

Many people leave a cascade of small chlorophytums so that they decorate the interior with their greenery. But there are also adherents of a different opinion, who believe that the whiskers must be cut off. To resolve this issue, you will have to take into account the opinion of experts.

What is a mustache

Chlorophytums reproduce using seeds and "babies". If you have a chlorophytum growing at home, you have noticed that white flowers appear on the tendrils, and then "babies" - small plants with the beginnings of roots.

The flowers are of no ornamental value, they are rare and almost unnoticeable. After they have faded, a seed pod may appear, in which several dark seeds will eventually ripen and can be sown. They germinate well.

Chlorophytum, plant
Photo: Pixabay

Also, "babies" are formed on the whiskers - mini-bushes that can quickly take root. While the rosette is small, it is fed by the mother plant. In nature, young bushes lie on the ground and quickly take root, turning into independent plants. But on the windowsill this is impossible.

Each small chlorophytum must be provided with moisture and nutrients by an adult plant, since they are not able to do this themselves. An old chlorophytum is exhausted, loses its decorativeness and splendor. Seeds also take away strength, but there are usually few of them and they ripen quickly. While rosettes require more and more nutrition and water every day.

Should I trim my mustache?

The answer to this question is different for everyone. If you want to have a beautiful lush chlorophytum bush, then the whiskers need to be trimmed.

If you like the cascade of "babies", do not trim. But remember that such a plant needs increased attention. The plant will have to be watered more often, as the absorption of water and the area of moisture evaporation increase. Each leaf evaporates water, and a plant with "babies" has much more green mass than a single bush.

The same applies to feeding. Remember that a chlorophytum with an abundance of rosettes is, in fact, a nursing mother. And if the mother is starving, then the child is poorly fed. As a result, both suffer.

It would be good to spray the adult plant and the rosettes with water, and also to carry out additional feeding of the “babies” on the leaves in order to reduce the load on the adult chlorophytum.

Elena Gutyro Author: Elena Gutyro Internet resource editor


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  1. What is a mustache
  2. Should I trim my mustache?