Trimming The Rainforest

My rubber tree, although lush and green and gorgeous, was threatening to evict me from my living room.

It's growth is uneven too (not enough turning over the years), giving it a lean I am unhappy with.

My scissors are rather woefully inadequate when it comes to trimming the thick branches, so, rather than mangling all the cuts, I borrowed the pruning shears from my parents' garage. I cleaned them up first, since they were kind of grungy, and I didn't want to transfer any outside diseases to inside. (Wow... I didn't know they were spring-loaded! I really should take better care of these more regularly. And the other tools too, I suppose.)

I readied my other supplies: a large garbage bag for the trimmings, and a box of kleenex for blotting the cuts. Then I started pruning.

It's a little, um, homely? But it will come back to its former glory. Hopefully better balanced. And, at least for now, my living room feels much bigger. I can once again get back into that corner to swiffer too... should I ever have time for swiffering.

I'm guessing that's about two years worth of growth I took off... I think the rubber tree was this size when I first moved into my apartment.

Once again, here's "before" and "after", side by side: