What do they mean by pinching the ends of my petunias?
Question:My mom's petunia's are very leggy. Mine look really good and she wants me to make hers look more like mine. Through doing some research I read that you should "pinch the ends" in order to make the limbs branch out to the sides. Only problem is that they never tell you how to "pinch the ends". What does this mean, and how do you do it??
Plus if you have any other tips on making petunias grow I'd love to hear them!
Answers:
Pinching literally means snipping off or breaking off manually. It sounds like a terrible thing to do, I know, but it works. I have done this many times with petunias, especially the old fashioned kind that can become quite leggy. (I have literally broken off a tip of a petunia plant with healthy blooms on it. To sacrifice a few blooms like that will reward you with many, many more flowers.)
The other [related] thing to do with petunias is to "deadhead" them or "de-head" them -- you snap off spent or withered blooms, which also promotes both branching and further flower bud production.
to "pinch off" means to use your fingernails to remove the part you want gone.
You can use garden nippers... but sometimes its just easier to use your fingers.
Pinching the ends means taking off any old or dead flowers. The more you remove them, the more the plant will flower and it won't get leggy.
You pinch off the tip of the center branch, where it is the tallest. You literally break if off. This stops it from growing upward & forces it to grow outward, instead.
I read you can cut them short when they get really long and have tried it and it does work.
You just need to pinch out the top growing tips of the stems. The new growth of the plant develops at the tips so by pinching the small leafy buds out at the top the plant starts to grow lower down and bushes out. With some plants this helps produce more flowers. Also a good feed every couple of weeks will hap, something like miracle grow :)
There are different types of petunias... I don't know what they are all called, but I do know there is one kind commonly called "barnyard" that comes up scraggly no mater how much you pinch it. I got ahold of some this year, I have two hanging baskets, and two planters, the first bunch of petunias I bought are all scraggly in the planters, and barely there, but the ones in the hanging baskets rite above are full and beautiful. Pinching your petunias means removing the flowers as soon as the blooms droop... you keep it from seeding by doing this, and you are rewarded with a nice full lush plant (unless you are unlucky and get some barnyards!) Just grab the little stem of the flower with your thumb and pointer finger and pinch it off were the stem meets the main stalk, trying not to pinch off the little leaflets there.
I love petunias and think its wonderful ,all the new colors that are available now,this year i found some beautiful pale yellow with pink edging and a silvery lavender id never seen before.
if you work with petunias much you ,ll have noticed that their stems will grow longer and hang over which can be nice for a hanging pot that has other bushy type plantings but in a ground container or border you might prefer them to be bushier.
you do this by (pinching) I start this early when i first get them by pinching off the ends of the longest stems,this causes the plant to put out more growth to the sides and middle of the plant making it fuller.but if you start later,s it okay too ,just cut or pinch back the longest stems,the bad part is that when you start later you can see the blooms you re cutting off.its sad.
but you will have a healthier looking plant. less scraggly .
good luck><>
oh! i almost forgot.I always remove the dead flowers, pinch them off right behind the flower head or pull the dead petals and they should slide right out.
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