I have a vine (the mystery vine) that it about 4 and a half feet tall from seed. No buds or branching, just one vine.
Is it a good idea to pinch the top so that it will start filling out? Or are you supposed to just let vines grow to their hearts content?
It looks like it could be a Thunbergia alata, but I'm not sure about that. You can try pinching off the top, and it will probably branch. This is best done when the vine is small. My thunbergia greggii sends out new shoots from the roots, and yours may do the same after some time.
Clare - I'm a newbie to seedlings and don't quite understand how "pinching off" works. Do you know of a good thread or have any advice?
Tracey
Clare my clock vine got hot in this last little segment of heat we had, I moved it into semi-sun shade. How much sun should I give it. I made it into a mobile 15 gal trellis. It's not looking it's most healthy, although Ruby Glow is taking off. I have leaves that look like green tacos.
Tracey, the best advice I have is just pinch off the top of the seedling.
There is a terminal growth tip to a seedling, and only one place grows in the plant, which is why it keeps getting taller and not branching out. Once you pinch off (like literally take your finger nails, and cut off this tip) you cut the terminal bud and force the auxiliary buds to grow. The auxiliary buds are the places directly above the leaf or petiole (stem the leaf attatched to the stem) and they will start growth once the top of the plant is cut off. I dont know if that makes sense, but I'll put up pictures of what I did to my vine tonight.
Not the best pictures, but her is the terminal growth as it appeared before I pinched it--
Here it is after i pinched it
And here's a diagram of the lateral growth bud. Which will start to grow after a couple days of pinching the top. Before pinching, it was just a nubby or practically nothing.
This message was edited May 8, 2004 11:52 AM
Can't wait to see that thing bloom LOL.
Tracy, Art_n_Garden explained it better than I could have. I ususally pinch a little harder than he did. The pinching of the top growth forces side growth.
Monterey, I have my Orange Clock Vine in part shade, and it seems happy growing underneath a shady overhang. It is natural for some long vines to turn brown and finish because new ones start all the time. I just cut off the dead stuff. I have mine in a five-gallon container, and I know it is rootbound, but I have read that this vine likes to have its roots crowded. Since yours is in a fifteen-gallon container, I would water less often and also try to keep the container out of the sun.
Thank you Art, you really put some effort into helping me understand this and I truly appreciate it. I'm going to try this with a few seedlings I have that are getting too tall...they seem to be more concerned about growing towards light than branching out.
Clare, when you said you pinch a little harder, does that mean you would pinch more off...mayble closer to the existing leaves or something?
Thanks guys, this is something that is frequently talk about but has been a little puzzling.
Tracey
Tracy, that is exactly right. I would pinch down close to the pair of leaves, but the other way works just as well too. If you want it to branch out lower on the stem, then you have to pinch out close to the lower half of the vine. It will branch just below where it is pinched. Just make sure to leave several nodes below the pinch.
Clare this is Ruby Glow. The leaves are as much as 5.5 in. long. It is a grower!
