- 1). Cut off the very tip of the branches. This inhibits growth of those branches in the direction that they were originally growing, and they will produce two new growth buds to replace the lost one. This will help the plant form more branches which will bear fruit.
- 2). Clip off the very small leaves at the top of the plant. This will help prevent the plant from growing taller on a single, slender stalk. The plant will form two new growth buds, much the same as tipping the branches. This will form two new stalks from the point at which it was cut, creating a shorter but fuller plant.
- 3). Cut off any branches that are showing signs of disease. Cut these branches off near the stalk of the plant. Removing diseased or infested branches can help prevent the spread of the problem to the rest of the plant.
- 4). Remove the suckers by pinching them off. Suckers are very small leaves or shoots that develop in the crevice where a branch joins the main stalk of the plant. Suckers are shoots that the plant puts out to create a new stalk. If the plant is allowed to create too many new stalks, nutrients will go to creating the stalks, instead of to the fruits the plant is bearing.
- 5). Cut off any branches that are not bearing fruit. Begin by cutting off all the branches that are below the lowest flowering branch. If it has not produced a flower by the time the rest of the plant bloomed, it is not likely that it will bloom later. Cut off any branches above this point that did not flower either. Removing these branches allows more nutrients to be sent to the parts of the plant that are producing fruit.
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