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How do i pinch / Should i Pinch Zinnia Seedlings w/Four Leaves

16 years ago

I know this subject has been beaten to death and I am double posting it as i'm not sure whether it falls under "from seed" or "annuals"

My Zinnia are 5 " tall and I won't be able to put them out for another couple of weeks. They have 4 leaves and then a little growth in the middle. Should i pinch the growth to get them to grow wider as opposed to taller?

Thanks!

Dale

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Comments (2)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
16 years ago
look at each leaf... get the magnifying glass.. and at the leaf connection to the main stem... you should be able to see a little bud ... pinch above any bud ...

pinch one.. get two .. pinch those two a week or two later.. and get four.. etc ..

if you have no faith .. pinch one plant at the first true leaves.. one at the second.. one at the third.. presuming you have many plants ... and note the differences.. all summer long ...

i learned everything by putting aside fear... and just experimenting ...

what you will find.. the lower you pinch.. the more stable the plant is in august... let it get too tall .. at each pinching.. and sooner or later it is top heavy and falls over...

this would be the same form all plants.. annual.. perennials.. shrubs.. etc ... generally speaking ... with exceptions ...

good luck
ken
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
16 years ago
thanks for the personal note... here is what i replied:

mums are the best example of pinching ...

if never p'd ... you get one flower on one scape.. and the thing falls over when it blooms...

so ... when it gets about 6 inches tall ... you pinch the single.. and get at least 2 new scapes ...

when those get another 6 inches .... you pinch again.. and at least double the number of scapes ... and double the structure ...

when all those get another 6 inches.. you do it again... again doubling the structure ....

mums only flower once.. in fall.. so you keep pinching.. until you have a nice mound.. and stop to give it enough time to set bud and flower ...

zinna will basically do the same ... straight up.. one flower.. fall over ... then side shoots will occur ...

by pinching back early ... you double the stems.. and the structure... and the resultant show ... but you stop much earlier because it is a summer flowering plant ...

if you cut your flowers to bring them in the house to enjoy .. guess what.. another system of pinching.. resulting in more stems... and more flowers ....

make any better sense???

ken
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