When cutting, the mimosa lives up to its name. It is particularly sensitive if you cut it back. Mimosa plants do not tolerate pruning particularly well. If you can avoid it, you should not cut back the houseplant at all or only cut it if you can't avoid it.
Can you cut back a mimosa?
In general, it is not recommended to cut back mimosas as they do not tolerate it well and look unkempt after cutting. Young mimosas should not be pruned at all. Instead of cutting, grow new plants from seeds.
Cut mimosa rarely if ever
If you only care for the mimosa as an annual, you don't have to worry about cutting it. The plant does not grow so large and bulky that pruning is necessary.
Even with perennial plants, you should think carefully about whether you really want to do this to the mimosa. After cutting, the plant looks very unkempt and torn. It can take a long time for her to recover from the stress.
It is also not certain that the mimosa will sprout again after pruning. In the worst case scenario, it will die and have to be disposed of.
Never cut back young mimosas
Young mimosas are generally not cut back at all. They will not sprout again if the shoots are shortened.
Leave withered leaves and shoots on the plant. They fall off on their own and can then be picked up and thrown away. Removing the leaves by hand puts stress on the mimosa, weakening it and possibly leading to disease.
Pruning roots when repotting
When repotting the mimosa, you should check the roots. If there are rotten or diseased roots underneath, you can cut them off with a sharp knife.
Sowing new mimosas instead of cutting
If the mimosa has become very unsightly and out of shape, it makes more sense to grow new plants from seeds than to cut or shorten the plant back into shape. In indoor cultivation it rarely grows higher than 50 centimeters anyway.
Growing mimosas is quite easy and you are guaranteed to get decorative plants that you don't have to prune.
Tip
Since mimosas do not tolerate cutting very well, they are not ideal for growing as bonsai. Only experienced bonsai growers occasionally manage to get mimosas into bonsai form by cutting them back properly.
