Question
Dear Darlene,
          I have had a Cut-leaf Philodendron, Selloum (Philodendron bipinnatifidum) for about 8 months now and it is doing pretty well.  It even survived a repotting. However,it is growing slightly out of control with the leaf span being a foot long and the total height of the plant at 4 feet.  The plant is really spreading sideways ( 5 ft) and it is becoming difficult to contain it.  Is there any way I can prune/trim the plant without damaging it? I really like the plant and I want to keep it healthy.
Thanks
Aditi

Answer
Aditi,

A tropical plant such as this will grow as larg as you allow it to. By repotting it into a much larger pot you gave it permission to grow out of control. You can prune the outside leaves off and I would suggest that this summer you repot it back into a smaller pot, even back into the original pot. Contrary to popular belief it does not hurt plants to be somewhat rootbound. In fact many rootbound plants will stay a lot healthier and will bloom more than plants that are in too large of pots.

To repot it into a smaller pot you will need to take a long sharp knife and cut the outside of the root ball down to the size it needs to be to fit in the pot you are using. If the pot has a diameter 4 inches smaller than the one it is in now you will nee to cut 3 inches off the root ball all the way around and you will also need to cutt some off the bottom off the rootball so it will sit down in the pot. Once you get it in the smaller pot you will need to fill in around the sides with fresh soil. In the future when you feel the plant is to rootbound and needs repotted you should remove it from the pot and cut 1 to 2 inches off the outside of the rootball and fill in with fresh soil. This is a practice called root pruning practiced frequently by bonsai artists that allowas the plant to continue growing without outgrowing it's space. When you prune the roots also remove some of the outer leaves of the plant. This should always be done in June when it is warm and you can do it outside in the yard or on your patio. If you have more questions feel free to write again.  Good luck.

Darlene