Pruning

[Old_Zircon]

So, my two plants have finally established themselves and are growing well.  I have noticed that the larger one has a lot of tiny leaflets on the lower nodes that never grow - all of the new growth is happening quickly at the top of the plant.  What is the best way to encourage the lower notes to grow leaves without stressing the plant too much?  Should I trim off the largest upper leaves every few weeks?

[Jupe]

Topping main growth point will encourage lateral growth, but at the expense of flowers , and it sets plants back about two weeks or more.
 Alternatives are gently and regularly bending over the top, without breaking it (tricky to do, string can help), or encouraging the plant to lean over, which it will do anyway, (once it gets larger....)

Get more light down to lower stem area,  if outside, move into brighter sun, if inside, more lights or white or metallic reflective panels can help.

I advise people to never pull shade leaves when plants are still under 3 ft or so, as the shade leaves  are the Primary Factories, which help the plant to grow.  The more leaves (surface area) the faster the plants will grow. They will drop them if they are suffering, but even large specimens tend to keep their shade leaves a long long time. When its time to take cuttings, those shade leaves will be pulled off, to help prevent wilting.

[TooStonedToType]

What Jupe said.  I'd add though, that fast growing top will root easy.  So you might want to top it, just for the new clone if you don't have many plants right now.

[jokergrin]

and ol' jupe knows what he's talking about!  I have a bunch of awesome cuttings from his enormous plants!

[Old_Zircon]

I'm not taking any cuttings until next spring (my plant's only 10" or 11" tall right now, although it has four main shoots so I should be able to get at least two good cuttings without damaging it too badly).  Good to know about the shade leave, it makes sense.  I'd already planned on adding an artificial light, since it has been growing lopsided with all the leaves on the window side.  I guess I'll try putting the light more to the side than above so it shines evenly on the top and bottom leaves.  Just have to pick up a flourescent bulb.

[Jupe]

.....a little household electrical timer, to add the extra hours, will really work wonders.   Turning the plants around bit by bit will also help them put energy into lower branches.  They seem to thrive with minor changes like that, as long as conditions don't get worse of course.

Little digression here to follow:

Remember also that even though these plants love strong indirect sun and light, they prefer cool moist conditions, kind of a weird combo, but their native climate is up in the cooler, cloud covered mountain regions.
 Many friends of mine lost plants this summer across the US, due to the  hot periods of 90 F and above.  Younger plants just struggle in those temps, older ones seem to have some resistance to brief hot spells.  

The cuttings I sent Jokergrin were just sticks, no roots, just a few leaves, as everything else people were receiving , from other traders and vendors, was dying.
 So how are those plants Jokergrin?  Did they root?

[Old_Zircon]

Yeah, I've got a timer, I just keep forgetting to buy flourescent bulbs when I'm near a hardware store, and it's dry enough here in the winter that I don't want to throw an incandescent bulb over the plant (although I guess that as long as I'm careful not to dry them out too much a little extra heat could be good when it starts getting cold - I'm sure the room they're in will be in the mid to low 50s most nights, if not colder - not freezing of course, but cold).

Anyway, they've been doing great, although there's a little leaf browning this week - I started misting them a bit in the morning, which they seem to like, but I think it's mainly just that it has been overcast.

In general, thanks again to everyone on this forum.  I probably would have thrown away the smaller plant before it recovered if it weren't for people's advice here.

[Jupe]

good luck this winter....they can handle down to below freezing if its not too long.  Cool nights warm days seems best.

Never give up up these guys as long as they are alive, I have seen little teeny brown stumps, sprout from just at ground level and turn into 6 footers over the summer.  ( I really had to try my best to ignore them, as this is when overwatering just seems to kill them)

[Old_Zircon]

Yeah, mainly ignoring them has worked wonders.  Last week the top leaves on both plants were doubling in size overnight for a few days.