---
title: "My curiosity poll today… Which school of thought are you in: A) When…"
description: "My curiosity poll today… Which school of thought are you in: A) When a leaf is dying off, it’s best to cut it off to avoid the plant expending excess energy on…"
url: "https://getplanta.com/community/lZ7uAE3pQ86jnFGxrCwLrg/6481f9bbf9c3eba6d694f7e6"
community: "Anything about plants"
author: "Danika"
published: "2023-06-08T15:54:35.039Z"
language: "en"
image: "https://images.getplanta.com/v2/cloudinary/global_data/communities/everythingHousePlants.jpg"
---

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# My curiosity poll today… Which school of thought are you in: A) When…

_Posted by Danika on 2023-06-08_

My curiosity poll today…  
Which school of thought are you in:

A) When a leaf is dying off, it’s best to cut it off to avoid the plant expending excess energy on that leaf anymore, and also thus avoiding any fungal issues etc etc that might be spread to other leaves.

B) When a leaf is dying off, it’s best to leave the leaf on until it’s completely shriveled up, dry and brown, to allow the plant to re-absorb all of the nutrients from that leaf for the rest of the plant to use.

## 5 comments

### MC commented on 2023-06-08

I’ve read that it helps to cut it bc then the plant isn’t wasting resources. At least that’s how I rationalize it in my head now.

#### Danika replied on 2023-06-09

Yes, I’ve heard that too. Found this online regarding that:

“Plants have meristems (apical, intercalary, lateral). So they keep growing forever until they die. If a leaf is cut, it will simply grow a few more at other places using the meristematic cells to differentiate into leaf tissues.  
Conclusion: No, leaf cutting will not kill the plant but if you cut all the leaves at once, the plant might die of starvation after a few days.”

…which kinda solidifies my earlier thought, that as long as I’m not cutting the few leaves that are left (preventing photosynthesis) or that its not suffering from being overwatered (yellowing), that’s its perfectly fine to cut off.

So many if/and/buts to consider!  
😜🤓

### Mia commented on 2023-06-08

I cut it off

### Anya commented on 2023-06-09

I am loving this convo! Maybe there could be a group that’s all about plant research/opinions/controversy etc!

### Em commented on 2023-06-10

My mom always taught me to cut it off to help the plant focus on saving the healthy leaves. I feel like if we are fertilizing appropriately, and watering as they need, they don’t need to rely on reabsorbing nutrients from it like they would “in the wild”.

Every year she comes and trims my day lilies back and they always look happier when she does, but I still can’t bring myself to chop back the long sweeping leaves.

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