A Plant’s Life: From Seed to Seed Producer
The vegetative stage of plant growth
is also the best time to do any pruning.
Pruning can be stressful to the plant as
well and should be done at least a couple
weeks prior to flowering. Some gardeners
prefer to prune the bottom third of their
plants as these lower branches are older
and receive less light than those above—
since they photosynthesize less efficiently
than the newer top branches, this can
focus energy on the healthiest branches
that will produce the best fruit.
Many edibles that are grown indoors
will not flower. Plants such as basil and
salad greens can be harvested gradually
during the grow phase—leaves can be
taken a few at a time and the plant will
continue to grow and will replenish the
leaves that are picked.
Fruiting and Flowering
The final phase of plant growth is the
fruiting and flowering phase, which is
the reproductive phase of plant life. M