Key Points
- Squash plants don’t need regular pruning, but it’s helpful when dealing with mildew, overcrowding, or at season’s end to boost fruit growth.
- Prune only when needed—like when leaves are diseased, touching the ground, or vines are overgrown—to improve airflow and reduce disease risk.
- Always prune with clean tools early in the day, avoid removing flowering stems, and sanitize between cuts to protect plant health.
Growing squash? Then you’re likely familiar with how spread out the plant becomes as it grows. Squash plants are known for their sprawling growth, which may lead you to ask yourself when is the right time to prune the plant?
Turns out, unlike other vegetables and flowers that require regular pruning, squash plants are more forgiving when it comes to this garden maintenance task.
That doesn’t mean you should never prune your squash plants, but only do it when it’s absolutely necessary. We were curious to know what the best practices are for pruning a squash plant to keep the vines producing, so we spoke to two gardening experts.
Here’s what they had to say when we asked the question, “Should you prune squash plants?”
Meet the Expert
- Lindsey Chastain is a gardening expert at The Waddle and Cluck.
- Siobhan Shaw is a gardening expert and Co-founder at Growing to Give in Brunswick, Maine.
Should You Prune Squash Plants?
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According to both of our experts, yes, you should prune your squash plants on certain occasions.
“You don’t need to prune squash on a regular basis,” Lindsey Chastain, garden expert at The Waddle and Cluck says. “There are really only two reasons I prune squash: one is to get rid of mildew, and the other is at the end of the season to direct growth to the squash and not the vines.”
While it’s beneficial to prune your squash for several reasons, Siobhan Shaw, gardening expert and Co-founder at Growing to Give, says it’s important to only prune when necessary because the big, flowering leaves serve a purpose for your plant’s overall production.
“Squash plants are designed to spread out and create a big, leafy canopy,” Shaw says. “Those leaves aren’t just there for show. They work hard to shade the fruit and prevent sun-scald, reduce water evaporation from the soil, and power the plant through photosynthesis, fueling fruit growth.”
However, there are benefits to pruning dead or mildewy leaves. The first is that it enhances the airflow to the plant, which reduces the potential for plant disease to set in.
Pruning also helps encourage more growth since you’re creating more sunlight for the plant to help stimulate production.
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5 Signs It’s Time to Prune Your Squash Plants
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So, what are the signs that it’s time to prune your squash plants? Here are things to look out for, according to our experts:
- Signs of mildew, which sport a powdery appearance on the leaves.
- Vines that are overtaking the plant.
- Leaves that are touching the ground.
- You’re approaching the end of the harvest season.
- Your plant has dead, diseased, or discolored leaves.
How to Prune Squash Plants Safely
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Before you start chopping at your squash plant, there are certain practices you will need to know so you can cut the plant safely and properly.
Wrongly pruning your squash plant can cause severe stress that damages the growth and production, and can also encourage diseases to take over.
To prune your squash plant, you will need a pair of clean, sharp gardening shears or pruners and protective gloves. Then, follow these steps from our experts to properly cut the stems you plan to prune.
- Prune early in the morning before it gets too hot, which can cause damage to the plant.
- Find the base of the stems that need to be removed and make a clean cut.
- Clean your pruners or shears in between cuts, especially if you’re removing mildewed or diseased stems.
- Keep flowering stems on the vine.
- Prune sparingly and not often. Only when it’s necessary.
FAQ
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The best time to prune your squash plant is when you start to notice any dead or diseased stems, or if the plant begins to overtake others around it. You don’t want to prune squash plants routinely as they need the flowers for healthy squash production.
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Yes, pruning squash plants can increase your harvest. By removing dead stems, you’re opening the plant up to more sunlight and improved airflow, which helps to encourage more production.
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Squash plants produce flowering leaves that are crucial for the plant’s growth, but yellowing, dead, or diseased leaves should always be removed. These plants hinder the plant’s harvest by blocking sunlight and keeping pollinators from flocking to the plant.
