Prayer Plant Pruning

Question:

I’m afraid I have neglected my plants at times and now my prayer plant is getting long stems with a multitude of beautiful leaves at the last half of the stems.  Should I prune it?

Answer:

Pruning is the most neglected part of plant care. Most plant owners avoid it because they are afraid it will kill the plant or that they will do it incorrectly. Meanwhile, they repot their plants with impunity not understanding that repotting is much more likely to kill their plants and is much more complicated to do properly.

It certainly is better to prune your plants before it is obvious that they need to be pruned, but it is still better late than never. You can prune all the stems at once or one at a time over the course of several months. The former will cause your Maranta to look terrible until new growth comes in. The latter will take longer, but will keep your plant looking presentable in the short term. Your choice.