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Cutting back balloon flower stems

14 years ago

In this forum, there are frequent references to cutting back the stalk of tall balloon flowers, but it is not clear to me what the effects of this will be, apart from shortening the plant... Will it encourage sprouting at the base of the plant ? Will the stem divide at the cut and produce a double harvest of flowers that same season?

I intend to experiment with a couple of stems, but in the meantime, I would appreciate information on the consequences, positive and negative, of doing so.

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Comments (7)

mwieder
14 years ago
"Will the stem divide at the cut and produce a double harvest of flowers that same season?"

That's correct - if you cut back early enough several shorter stems will grow from the leaf node below where you cut and you will have more flowers. In zone 5, at this time, it may be too late for this to work as buds are already setting and you risk losing your bloom altogether.
lepages
14 years ago
I always pinch my ballon flowers. If I don't they get really tall and flop here. I pinch them in May, they get really bushy and don't need staking. They are just starting to set buds and I expect them to bloom in the next week. I would think that it may be a little late this year but you can experiment with a couple of stems and see how it goes.
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mxk3 z5b_MI
14 years ago
Wow, I learned something today - I didn't realize pinching helped taller balloon flowers :0)

All I have at this point are "Sentimental Blue" dwarfs (which really are dwarf!) so the only cutting I do is after flowering in order to tidy the plants, as I hate the look of the spent blooms.
andre_z
Original Author
14 years ago
Thank you. I have many plants of different sizes. Some of them have flower buds,others don't. It will be interesting to see how each type reacts to being truncated !
tammyinwv
14 years ago
I have a tall white one. its not flopping, but I wouldnt mind it bushier. So If I cut it back in May next yr, how much do I cut it? Or do I just pinch the tips of the growing ends?
Tammy
judyefd
14 years ago
Quite a few years ago I bought a dwarf variety of balloon flower. Eventually, it started getting taller and floppy. Pinching them back by one third in early June really does control the height, increases blooms, and delays the blooms a bit. Always worth the wait!!

Judye
lepages
14 years ago
I usually pinch 1/2 of the plant back by 1/2 in late May and then pinch the other half back by 1/3 2 weeks later. I'm not sure if this increases bloom time but it does keep the plants from flopping.

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