What and how do I pinch???

15 years ago

I posted under a different subject the other day and realized I should probably start my own subject, so if you read my other post, just ignore this one.

I have over 700 geraniums grown from seed...hubby got a little over zealous and now I'm determined to keep them all alive so we can sell them. Last year we had about 200 plants but we started them too late and I couldn't sell a plant when I was uncertain as to whether or not it would flower. They did and were gorgeous and HUGE, but they did have more foliage than flowers. Still very stunning.

So....this year we tried again and now I think we waited too long to pinch, but the problem is that I haven't a clue what to pinch, or if I'm to snip off the leggy leaves or what. And can I do it with my fingers or with regular household shears? (I hope so since I've already tried it on a few.) I've looked everywhere for step by step instructions with pictures that show exactly what and where to pinch, to no avail.

Some of the plants are leggy, some are fuller and some have HUMONGOUS dark green leaves and are really nice looking plants, but will they flower if there is so much foliage sucking the life out of the soil? They are all transplanted into 4" pots, where I'd like them to stay for selling purposes. I'm trying to keep them so the leaves aren't too crowded, but seriously, that is nigh to impossible with over 700 plants growing in a basement under grow lights. It's getting crowded in there. We put up portable greenhouses today but we aren't sure it's safe to put them in there yet because our weather is so unpredictable and I'm really not wanting to drag them in and out every night, as I did last year.....

Sorry this got so long. I feel like the clock is ticking and if I don't pinch/prune/whatever soon it will be too late and I'll have inferior plants. And if I don't do it, will it be the end of the world and will I still get flowers? Help, please!

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Comments (5)

greenhouser2
15 years ago
In your climate you need to heat the GH. Snip off the tips of the branches of your plants just above a leaf node. Give them a rounded look if possible. The snipping can be rooted and you'll have even more plants. I think you need a real GH if you want to grow plants to sell.
karenbrockman
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks for your response. What about the plants that have huge leaves. Some are very full plants. Should I just cut the leaf stem off to reveal more of the stem? When you speak of 'branches' do you mean the main stem of the plant that everything grows off of? If I snip when the plant is as well established as it is, will it delay flowering, or speed it up? I'm sorry to seem so ignorant. I'm just learning. All of the plants I have are about 8 inches tall and have a good amount of leaves but some are on long, spindly stems and I'm not sure if there is any benefit in snipping off the leaf stem instead of snipping off the entire top of the plant.
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Make sure the light source is very good. Make sure they are not too hot nor too crowded, all of this makes them leggy. Do not pinch the 2 leaves off. Let them get 2-3 sets of true leaves. Then pinch one set off to the next set of true leaves.
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remove the growing tip it will encourage branching & will delay flowering.....
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Hi Stir_Fry, Wow! I have never seen zinnia damage like that. " Now.... what to do. Can they be saved? Should I cut them to the ground or just keep watering them???? " Well, if you didn't have any further attacks from a Tyrannosaurus Rabbit, they could be saved. For the one in the photo, cut off what remains of the flower (it is a drain on the plant's meager resources) and water and foliar feed what remains of the plant with Miracle-Gro Tomato Food (its extra Magnesium is also appreciated by zinnias, because Chlorophyll contains Magnesium.} New branches will sprout at the base of what used to be the leaves. But as long as whatever did the damage remains "at large", reviving and restoring the plant(s) seems pointless. If damage like that happened to one of my zinnias, I would be tempted to invest in a game camera and mount it so as to keep my zinnias in the frame so that I could get photos or video footage of the villain(s). " We have rabbit problems around here. " Do your neighbors also have problems like this? This doesn't look like damage that a neighborhood would tolerate. We live in a rural area and rabbits are common here (along with raccoons, possums, wild turkeys, squirrels, feral cats, foxes, coyotes, bobcats, deer, and the occasional mountain lion) and nothing has bothered my zinnias. My kohlrabi are the only thing rabbits have damaged. Occasionally deer will leave deep tracks in my zinnia beds, but there is no evidence of them eating zinnias or anything in our gardens and the deer tracks cause very minimal damage. It looks like you will have to protect your zinnias with something like a chicken wire fence. But the problem there is that chicken wire isn't very ornamental. I have found that a 2-foot high chicken wire fence will stop a rabbit, even though they could probably jump over it. A guess they don't think it is worth the effort. I guess you have to decide whether growing zinnias in your area is worth the effort. ZM
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karenbrockman
Original Author
15 years ago
Help. I posted under a different subject and got valuable help....but I need to know if I should snip off the really big leaves on my geranium plants (they are huge disks)...the plants don't yet have flower buds. And what about the really long spindly ones? I don't want to end up with bare stalks in May! I did what greenhouser2 said on some of the plants but I don't know if I did it right, that's why I didn't do it on all of them. I'm getting stressed!
sheltieche
15 years ago
why don't you take one or two plants to nearest nursery and ask them. They do not have to know you are becoming their competition. There are few professional tricks how to get lots of bloom and how to sheer. Or you might want to pay someone to help you out first time so you know in the future if you want to make a business out of it.
homemommy
15 years ago
It sounds like your Pelargoniums are growing along a single main stem and putting off leaves only along this main stem. (I am going to call it the "trunk" like a tree trunk, although this is not its technical term). What you want to do, is get them to branch out, just like a bush. This is done by pinching them back. A lot of flowers will grow up like this and not put off any off shoots (branches) unless they are pinched.

The leaf stems are not branches, they are only leaf stems that support one single leaf. If you cut off the leaf stem, most likely a new leaf and a new stem will grow from the base of the leaf stem, where it joins the "trunk" or main stem of the plant.

So, you can very safely pinch off or cut off the large leaves you don't like the look of on your plants. I am not sure if it will put them back from flowering, but I really don't think so. However, you will likely see in a few days that a new leaf is forming.

To get the plant to branch out though, you will need to cut off the growth node on the top of the plant. This is done by pinching the top off. The best place to do it so that it does not look odd, is right above the next set of leaves. Then you are not going to get an odd looking stump. The plant will then be forced to branch off to the sides if it wishes to continue growing, which it will. Because there are two growth nodes now (or meristems,) you will get two branches. Let them grow a bit more, and pinch back the branches again. After a few pinches, you will get a fairly bushy plant.

Even if they are not flowering, I would still suggest selling them. Undercut the local nursery prices, and you should find buyers!

What and how do I pinch???

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greenhouser2

karenbrockman
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What and how do I pinch???

Comments (5)

greenhouser2

karenbrockmanOriginal Author

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karenbrockmanOriginal Author

sheltieche

homemommy

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