If your plant's leaves are dried and blackened, droopy, yellow or discolored, or otherwise damaged (accidents happen, no judgment), simply snip off the affected area with clean scissors. If the whole leaf is bad, cut the leaf off at the base, taking care to not damage the main stalk.
It's best not to prune droopy, wilting parts of a plant until you identify and treat the underlying cause. The drooping leaves can still recover. If leaves eventually die, prune them to direct energy to new growth.
Solution: Misting, pebble trays, or a humidifier will perk them up. Repotting Shock: Damaged roots can cause droop. Solution: Be gentle when repotting, and give it time to recover. Rootbound: Droopiness + roots poking out the pot = time to repot!
It depends on why your plant is wilting. Different causes require different responses. If you've under watered your plant or have extremely low humidity, you can add water more and/or raise the humidity level around the plant. If you've overwatered, wait until the soil dries out before you water again.
Make Your Cuts
Make judicious cuts to encourage new growth. Cut just before a leaf node. Or when cutting back larger stems, cut as close to the main stem as possible.
Not pruning above a node
The node is where leaves, buds and shoots emerge from the stem. You should always cut just above a node, as this prevents 'die back' and therefore disease.
Good pruning includes removal of diseased, dying, or dead branches, crossing or rubbing branches, branches with thorns below eye level, sucker growth from rootstock, water sprouts from limbs, and other objectionable growth.
“If your plant's leaves are looking wilted and yellow, the problem is likely overwatering,” Cheshire explains. “Overwatered leaves will have a very soft, floppy look, because they're waterlogged.” Another, non-water-related reason why your plant might be drooping is because it's not getting enough light.
Literally just add water. If the soil is so dry that it pulls away from the pot, add a little bit of water slowly over time to allow the soil to absorb it. Otherwise, the water will just run out the bottom in the newly created gap between the soil and the pot.
Leaves curling down (tips)
When a plant is working to retain moisture, its leaves will curl down or 'cup' at the margins and tips. If you see this, ease off on the feeding schedule. Usually, this type of downwards curling indicates that the plant has been overfed or overwatered.
If the wilting is mild and caught early, your plant may start showing signs of recovery within a few days to a week after proper care is provided.
1. If a plant is overwatered, it will likely develop yellow or brown limp, droopy leaves as opposed to dry, crispy leaves (which are a sign of too little water). Wilting leaves combined with wet soil usually mean that root rot has set in and the roots can no longer absorb water. 2.
How to Prune. Any time you prune, make proper cuts so you won't damage your plant. All cuts should be made on the branch side of the stem collar, which grows out from the stem at the base of the branch. This protects the stem and other branches that might be growing, and allows the tree to heal more effectively.
If your plant is wilting, try giving it some water and see if it perks up. Sometimes it's as easy as that. Most plants leaves will begin to wilt when they need watered. As long as the leaves have not become crunchy, they will perk up within a few hours.
Leaves may wilt in response to poor drainage, high root temperatures, too much fertilizer, pests and pathogens, spiraling roots that are constricting themselves, and/or compacted soils. Several of those issues are a problem for the plant because of poor oxygen availability in the soil, which can lead to root hypoxia.
Potassium-deficient plants are easily distinguished by their tendency to wilt on dry, sunny days. The overall appearance of the plant is wilted or drooping. Deficient plants will have a stocky appearance with short internodes. Younger leaves' growth is inhibited, and they have small leaf blades.
It is the loss of water in the form of water vapour from the aerial parts of the plants. When there is increase in rate of transpiration than the rate of absorption, it causes the leaves and flowers to droop. The drooping of leaves and flowers is called as wilting.
On a hot, dry day (or after several days with no rain or watering), transpiration causes more water to be lost than is coming in, and the water balance within the plant can get thrown off. The dehydrated collapsing cells in the leaves and stems can no longer remain erect, and the plant begins to wilt.
The 1/3 rule involves cutting about 1/3 of wood during any pruning activity. This kind of moderate pruning is like giving your shrubs a good balance – it thins them out a bit and encourages new growth.