Pruning Precedes Flourishing by Conni e Arme rdi ng
I grew u p i n a home w ith si lk p lants.
There weren’t a lot of them, but there
In August, a friend of mine came to town
were enough—enough to cause me
for a visit before the close of summer.
to never want any of my own. In my
She is the thoughtful and thorough type
adult commitment to live greenery, I’ve
who shared my disdain for silk plants,
realized maintaining these living things
but didn’t share my uncertainty with
is a bit harder than I thought. Regardless,
how to treat Ms. Fiddle Leaf. “I know
I couldn’t pass up a perfectly-priced
how to deal with those,” she offered,
fiddle leaf fig tree I found at Costco last
and proceeded to tell me that she has a
January.
“plant guy” who comes to make house calls to help instruct her on caring for
I had the perfect spot to showcase my
tropical plants.
beautiful tree; the corner of my living room with floor-to-ceiling windows.
“Of course you have a plant guy,” I
She was happy and thriving, at least for
retorted.
a while—until the brown spots started to show up.
Nonetheless, I gladly received the wisdom she gleaned from this plant
Oddly enough, the tree was growing
expert, and we spent the afternoon
and
lopping
producing
new
leaves
while
off
leaves
and
trimming
brown spots began to overtake some
back others, helping to reshape and
of the older ones. I knew I should be
strengthen my tree by eradicating the
concerned, but was confused about
brown spots. Albeit a bit lopsided, my
what to do. So I wondered and I worried
tree was looking greener than it had in
and I did nothing.
months.
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