Pinching is an art of stimulating new growth in plants by pressing and removing the ends of the stems. Let’s have a deeper understanding of the ones that benefit the most from it.
If you want your plants to grow dense from earlier stages of their growth cycle – pinching is the way to go! This practice involves removing the terminal growth of the stems using your fingers (That’s why the term – ‘pinching’).
If you’ll do it just above the node, it will be more beneficial as it will promote more lateral growth – however, just taking away the ends from the soft, new growth at the top, right above a set of leaves (10-12 cms from the main stem) will do the magic.
It is also a great way to shape and train the plant into the size you want it to achieve.
Botanical Name: Ocimum basilicum
Basil gets better and bushier with pinching. It helps to produce more leaves – meaning, you will have more for your kitchen!
Botanical Name: Fuchsia magellanica
Fuchsia, recognized for its lovely hanging flowers, becomes bushier and fuller when you pinch it, encouraging more branching – which equals more blooms.
Botanical Name: C. X Morifolium
Trimming these favorite ornamental plants encourages them to grow bushier and produce more mum flowers. It also helps to keep them in a perfect shape.
Botanical Name: Solenostemon scutellarioides
Coleus, the colorful leafy plant, gets bushier when you pinch it at the early stages of its growth. Start when it develops 4-6 sets of true leaves. Also, repeat the process every 4-6 weeks till you see it becoming dense.
Fact: Pinching also suppresses the production of <a href=«https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=» https: target="_blank" rel=«noopener»>auxin, which can cause slow bud growth.
Botanical Name: Impatiens
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