Indoor gardening: How to train your houseplants

Many houseplants look more appealing if their growth is controlled as it develops. Training can also be used to encourage flowering, prolong a plant's life, or simply improve its shape by keeping it neatly within bounds.

Training is best done in early spring, when growth is rapid. The specific method used depends on the habit of the plant: bushy, climbing or trailing.

Shrubby plants such as fuchsias or heliotropes can be trained to form elegant standard plants with a tall single stem and bushy crown. Give the stem support right from the start, particularly for the trailing types of fuchsia, which will form a spectacular umbrella-like head but tend to have weak stems.

Pinching out the growing tips on young stems of coleus (Solenostemon) and pelargoniums, for example, encourages more sideshoots and bushier growth. Unless training as a standard plant, pinch prune after a shoot has made about three leaves, and repeat several times early in the season. This technique delays flowering, and should not be done when the main crop of flower buds appears.

Plants such as upright-growing figs (Ficus), oleander, cordyline and dracaena can become leggy on a single stem if left to their own devices. To avoid this, remove the tip of the main stem when it reaches 45–60cm (11⁄2–2ft) in height. This will encourage branching from near the base, creating a bushier plant that will retain its lower leaves for longer.

Without regular attention to training, the shoots of climbers can grow very long and get into a terrible tangle. Training keeps the plants tidy but, more importantly, it also encourages flowering. When young, pliable-stemmed climbers, such as jasmine, passion flower (Passiflora), wax flower (Hoya) and stephanotis, can be controlled by winding their stems around a wire or cane hoop.

Climbers can also be grown through a wrought-iron support to make a screen or room divider. For this, the plants should ideally be grown in a long trough, but if this is not possible place individual pots close together. Suitable plants are cissus, ivies (Hedera) and philodendron. For the best effect use only one plant type. Stiff-stemmed climbers such as bougainvillea can be also trained as a standard.

For a few years, it is possible to continue winding and weaving pliable climber shoots around and through the hoop or room divider, but there comes a time when there is just too much growth. It becomes unwieldy and more permanent training becomes necessary over a more robust support. At this stage of maturity, it is best to tie the stems to horizontal wires or trellis fixed to a solid wall in a conservatory. To maximise flowering, train the stems horizontally and then downwards once they reach the top of the support.

Moisture-loving climbers

Some tropical and sub-tropical climbers such as swiss cheese plant (Monstera deliciosa), epipremnums, syngoniums and philodendron produce aerial roots that, in the wild, are used to support and feed them as they grow through tall trees towards the light. These roots can look untidy but resist cutting them off. Instead, train the stems round a moss-covered pole. These are available from most garden centres, or make your own with a cylinder of wire netting filled with moss.

Keep the pole moist by spraying. Tuck aerial roots into the moss or into the compost in the pot.

Ivy and other temperate plants with aerial roots can also be trained up moss or foam-covered poles.

Training a permanent climber

If a climber grows top-heavy and too big for its support, as with this jasmine, untie the stems and remove the hoop or support wires. Do this after flowering and be very careful not to damage stems or leaves. Attach a strong trellis panel or a series of horizontal wires to a sunny wall indoors against which the climber can be trained.

Cut back any damaged, diseased or dead stems to healthy growth. Repot the plant in a container 5cm (2in) bigger in diameter than the previous pot, using John Innes No.2 compost. Place a larger outer container beside the sunny wall.

Set the climber pot inside the larger container and fill the gap with shingle for stability. If the outer pot has no drainage, first place a 2.5–5cm (1–2in) layer of shingle in the base. If you cannot attach trellis to a wall, insert the support in the shingle.

Encourage the stems of the newly pruned and repotted plant to climb the trellis by tying the stems to the supports. Continue to train and tie in the new shoots as they appear.

So cut down on the mowing, plant some bee and butterfly-loving plants, put in some wild flowers and let your hedge go shaggy. You’re saving the world and shedding your garden guilt as part of the bargain.

You can find useful indoor gardening tools on Amazon.

Read more: Indoor gardening: Choosing plants

Read more: Indoor gardening: Getting the light right

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