Do you know the proper botanical name? Googling "golden bell" plants only turns up references to forsythia, which is not a houseplant and looks nothing like your plant anyway.

find the latin name.. then take it to a search engine.. and then add PROPAGATION ... and then watch all the videos on how ot propagate all the pieces you cut off.. and hopefully they will also show you how to deal with the potted part ...

i give it a try on floras suggestions .. if we confirm its a croton ... the color of leaves.. or cultivar name relating to such.. doesnt really mater... you propagate any of them the same way ...

was the picture a late addition???

ken

: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=croton+codiaeum+variegatum+propagation&t=newext&iar=videos&iax=videos&ia=videos

btw.. cut it or repot it.. i wouldnt do both at once.. both will be significant stresses ... so do one stress at a time...

for me.. that would be the propagating.. then dont repot until you have new rooted pieces.. you may just decide to get rid of the ugly old plant.. and regrow THE EXACT SAME PLANT with the babes ... so if its grandmas old plant.. it will still be grandmas old plant... just rejuvenated...

ken

Cutting it back will force back-budding. That is to say it will force new branches with new leaves below the pruning cut. However, and this is important, WHEN you cut it back and how healthy your plant is, is what determines how enthusiastically your plant can/will respond. Cut it back now - you'll get a weak response with minimal back-budding. If you focus on increasing the plant's level of vitality (health + stored energy) and cut it back/repot in June, you'll find the plant much more willing to co-operate. Also, if you cut it back now, the plant will produce long/lanky growth (due to low light) you'll want to remove later. It's best to prune all the winter growth off in June. The plant will produce lots of tight growth during the summer. During that time, you should pinch the plant regularly, which will force more branches and leaves to grow, Stop pinching in fall and let the plant grow all winter w/o pruning or pinching, then remove the long growth June following and start the process over.

Questions?

Al

First find out what the actual plant is called . Easiest is to take a picture and then you can search on the net to name the actual plant . When was the last time you repotted?

Patricia, if you read the previous comments, the plant was already ID'd as a croton. It is lacking foliage color due to the low light levels. Al's advice is spot-on!

I have cut my plant back and there were NO new buds, leaves, nada. It's sad. I guess I'd need a Croton/Golden Bell expert on this. When I cut part off, it remained a stalk!!! Sigh. Thanks for your ideas.

Did you read Al's comments? Timing is critical for this process and the middle of January is not a great time in the northern hemisphere.

These aren't 'ideas', rather it's a description of how branching, leafy plant's are obligated to respond to pruning. Pruning removes the apical meristem located at the tip of all extending branches. A chemical/ hormone (auxin) is synthesized primarily in the apical meristem. Since one of auxin's jobs is to suppress lateral growth (branching), when auxin is eliminated from the equation by pruning, latent buds in leaf axil (crotch formed by leaf stem and branch) immediately proximal to the pruning cut are activated. This response is almost as reliable as the prediction that the sun will rise on the morrow.

That said, plants can only grow when they are able to create more energy during photosynthesis than they spend/burn during respiration. The reason they grow (create new cells) is because they need a place to store excess energy.

Now, ensuring the plant is capable of growing is the grower's job. It is the grower who is responsible for ensuring that cultural conditions are favorable enough that the plant is capable of creating more energy than it uses to maintain existing viable tissues. So, if you pruned by shortening branches and there was no conspicuous response, it's because the plant is unable to produce enough energy, which means cultural conditions are unfavorable.

Al

Denise, do you have a pic of it now? Trimming is not something that needs to be a drastic thing. For a plant with multiple branches, they can be cut individually, over time, so the plant never has to cope with a leafless period.