Topic: when to pinch out flowers

[manicscousers]

not being too good with growing annuals, I'm not sure which ones it's best to pinch the middle out of
we have petunia nemesia, alyssum, nicotiana, geranium, sweet william ,marigold, busy lizzie, linus, tagetes, lupin..
these are all for the plant sale so when do you do it?  thanks in advance  :)

[teresa]

I normaly do 4-6 leaves after the seed leaf if that makes sence. Helps them bush out if not already bushing out. Not sure on lupins never done them from seed.

[manicscousers]

thanks teresa, will wait a bit, only just making 4 leaves  :)

[Tee Gee]

With many plant if you look at the bottom of the leaf where it joins the stem and if you see signs of growth, you can generally pinch them out with safety as it is this growth you are trying to encourage.

Obviously if you allow more pairs of leaves to establish themselves the more secondary growth you are going to get.

Alternatively tip out on seeing first signs then as the secondary growths matures you can tip out these, and so on and so on. This is the classic method for plants such as Fuchsias.

[teresa]

Fuchias are a lore unto their own haha. I do two sets of leaves for a bush and three sets for a trailering one right or wrong as long as the plant grows its fine. The more pinching out the bigger the plants 3-4-5 times? will be but think its 6 weeks till flowering not sure. I end up doing it by what it looks like I dont do shows just for my fun.

[Marymary]

TG you normally explain things perfectly but i don't understand about this pinching out thing.  Apart fro broad beans & sweet peas I had no idea one was supposed to do it.  I have dozens of lovely healthy seedlings in my greenhouse, dhalias, gazinias, geraniums, asters, nastershums etc - al I supposed to pinch them all out?  Twould break my heart!  ???

[manicscousers]

my mum in law pinches all her flowers out, apparently it makes them bushier I only sow companion plants so leave them to do their own thing, it's the bedding plants for this plant sale day at the allotments I'm not sure about  ;D

[Tee Gee]

Sorry about that Marymary ::)

I wasn't intimating that it is essential to pinch them out all I was describing was; if you are pinching out this is how to do it.

Oddly enough having read what you tip out the two you mention I never tip out, at least at the time under discussion here.

I grow my sweet peas up in single cordons and I don't pinch my broad beans until the have five sets of flowers.

If I may point what I would do with the ones you mention e.g.

dahlias; I would definitely tip these out particularly if they are bedding varieties.

gazinias; same here!

geraniums; same here!

asters; Definitely!

nastershums; Not to bothered about these I find they do there own thing.

Strange isn't it how we all have our different views isn't it  ;D

I hope that clarifies what I meant!