pruning for growth

billford

Member
hi everyone.i just bought a new 4ft. tall cage for my sambava.my sheffelera is about 1 1/2 ft tall.i would like to make it grow faster by pruning it.will it work?any drawbacks?under optimum conditions ,how long will it take to grow 1 ft?thanks
 
hi everyone.i just bought a new 4ft. tall cage for my sambava.my sheffelera is about 1 1/2 ft tall.i would like to make it grow faster by pruning it.will it work?any drawbacks?under optimum conditions ,how long will it take to grow 1 ft?thanks

I always start off with a tree that is way too big for the cage, then trim to fit. Just buy a new plant.
 
You can't get it to grow any faster than it does and pruning a sheffelera will make it ooze white, milky stuff and you don't want that to get on your cham. You could buy a 6500K tubular bulb at lowes, that really helps plants grow. You could get a plant stand to raise it up and you will want alot more plants than just that one. Get some pothos and more sheffeleras.
 
In my experience only some plants grow better. There are a lot, but as for safe plants, I only have experience pruning them.

Sheffeleras by no means will grow faster by pruning. Like Draetish said, they put out a white liquid, it is kind of like blood, it basically clots so it can close the "wound".

What I suggest is what Draetish said(buy the bulb) or if you don't want to spend the money on it, put the cage that it is in with your chameleon outside. This will be benefitical two ways. First- It gives natural sunlight to your chameleon. They would be so happy if you did this. Also- It gives the plant natural sunglight. Since plants need light for photosynthesis, this will make the plant grow faster.

You may ask, how is going outside going to help it make it grow faster? Well, natural sunlight is more intense, as well as it is "better" lighting. So, it should in theory grow faster.

Also- if you buy a second plant, you can switch them out every few weeks so they both get natural sunlight, and both will be used.
 
As Draet said buy some more plants. Then you can put the larger ones in the cage now and allow your smaller plant to grow outside for a few weeks. I rotate all my plants outside every month or two. Otherwise they start to get kinda beat up looking.
 
you could use fertilizer and grow it outside the enclosure, then repot it with safe stuff when it's bigger for use inside enclosure
 
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