to pinch or not to pinch . . .

Zinnia, nasturtium, balsam - I think those are the only three I am questioning currently. My seedlings have grown up, and I am not sure what the common practice is on these three guys.

I seem to be getting lateral buds breaking without pinching on the zinnias and to a lesser degree on the nasturtiums. I am guessing that pinching the zinnias will make them more floriferous. I have no clue on the nasturtiums. They are supposed to have a mounding habit, but they are starting to trail right out of their little 3" pots!

Does anyone have some sage advice regarding pinching?

I'm glad you asked this question.

I have been wondering about "pinching" myself.

I don't know what it means and or how to do it.

OR

And what gets pinched and what doesn't.

I'm anxious to find out.

In my experience, pinching will depend on the plant and what you are trying to accomplish.
Of the three, I have not grown balsam.

Zinnia is one of those 'cut and come again' flowers. Don't pinch it just dead head or cut flowers to take inside and they'll put out more blooms.

Nasturtium has a vining tendency with some running longer than others. It makes them very popular for hanging planters because they trail. I'd pinch them if you have set boundaries you want to keep them in. Otherwise I let them puppies do their thing.

If you're not familiar with Nasturtium, then here's another freebie. Eat them! Of course you don't want to be using chemicals on them. They have a nutty, peppery flavor. I've used the leafs in salsa and salad. The flowers are good to munch on the run or throw in a salad as well. The flowers are fun because initially you'll get a little taste of sweet from the nectar. Then you get the spicy peppery flavor. I've found there's a difference in flavor between the flower colors as well. The nasturtiums are always a stop when I'm leading someone around the yard: "Here, eat this!!"

I know basil and other herbs should be pinched at a fairly young stage. With basil, I leave 2 or 3 pairs of leaves (true leaves, don't count the cotyledons) and start pinching.... subsequent branches get pinched back to 2 pairs of leaves also. This makes for maximum harvest & a nice bushy plant, but of course you should stop pinching a few branches toward the end of the season if you want to let them flower & produce seed. I also pinch back coleus, whether grown from seed or cutting, because they are like basil in producing a new pair of stems whenever you pinch them just above a pair of leaves -- in fact, you can usually see a tiny set of leaves at the base of the pair you're pinching, just waiting to take off!

I wish I knew more about whether to pinch any other seedlings! Maybe somebody else will chime in with their own lists of things that benefit from pinching!

Oh, yes, 8ft, edible flowers are great fun! I like pansies too -- some of the blue ones have a great flavor, don't know whether to call it cucumber or bergamot or what, but similar to borage. I love introducing people to the concept.... "Here, eat this!" That sounds familiar! I had pansies out front the first year we were here, and they "made" my reputation with the neighborhood kids. One young girl brought a couple of friends over once and introduced them to me, saying, "This is Miss Jill. She eats flowers!!!"

Avallidis, I would have to say with Zinnias that I recommend pinching them off. I have grown zinnias from seed the past 2 years, and both years I haven't pinched off and they have gotten literally 7 feet tall. They begin to droop over and grow back upward at about 3 ft. So I would say if you want bushy zinnias, pinch, if you want long stringy zinnias, dont pinch. Are your lateral buds actually growing, or are they just there? Once you pinch they should take off.

Darrell, pinching is what you do to plant (quite literally pinching/breaking off the top of the plant) to encourage it to grow from the lateral buds. It helps the plant not just have one stem, but be branchy and bushy. Some plants, like my zinnias, would never branch without being pinched.

Here's a thread where I explained it with a vine- its around the middle of the thread. Hope that helps!
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/429121/

Susanne

Zinnia, nasturtium, balsam -- all benefit tremendously from being pinched back.

The only leggy zinnia I've ever had was not getting the full sun they love. Never heard of a 7ft zinnia either. That must be some powerful fert you're throwing on them. :)

KD, do you pinch them back when they are still small seedlings, or do you wait until they've been transplanted to the garden?

I'm growing all three of these again this year, so this is great information -- thanks!

I dont know what I did to them! Both were planted in completely full day full sun, once in Houston and once here in Lubbock. Now I'm confused! Well I guess maybe they liked whatever I did to them :)

Pinch, pinch, pinch! That's half the reason they call it a "green thumb", the other half is dead heading which is more pinching, just a different reason.
I pinched a whole tray of coleus seedlings no more than 2" high. It gives the plant "Body". I just get the little pair of leaves most recently sprouted.
The reason we deadhead is because the plant's whole job is reproduction and if you remove the seedpod, or rather spent flower the plant feels compeled to put out another flower so the plant can reproduce.
I use scissors to deadhead roses, but the thumb nail for most others.
I hope this helps.

Love it. Pinch Pinch Pinch :)

One plant that always requires pinching is chrysanthemum. If you buy it in the spring with all those lovely flowers you must remove them all to have the plant survive and bloom in the fall. Then they need more pinching. The general rule is 3 times before the fourth of July. Jessamine

Thanks for all the advice. I just won't hesitate to pinch from now on. I deadhead regularly, but I have not dealt with this volume or diversity of seedlings before. It starts to get a little overwhelming! They are little babies one second, and then the next they are needing all this space and individual attention... :)

Jill - This is your balsam and zinnia seed that you sent I believe. Holy cow did it do well for me! They are huge and healthy.

And, I've already eaten some of my nasturtium. Here I am afraid to pinch it, but I have no problem EATING it...

Amy

Amy,

Are you growing your nasturtium inside? Thinking of starting these inside as I think the night temps (40's) might be too cold for them. I've never grown these before, but have 3 kinds of seeds.

--Emily

You can put nasties in the dirt now. They like cooler temps. Soak them 24hrs in H2O2 and don't pamper.

Emily - I did grow them inside under lights, and they were super easy. But I agree with sugarweed, in that at this point I would go on and seed them outside.

Amy, I'm glad those seeds did well for you! I started half a flat of balsams that are heading up to my BIL in Boston next month, but I'm direct seeding zinnias, nasturtiums, and marigolds this year. The 'Lemon Gem' marigolds I direct seeded last year did better than the transplants! I think I sent you some seeds... try them.... even if you're not normally a "marigold person," I think you'll like them.... they have little edible flowers and ferny, lemon-scented foliage (none of the musky marigold scent). The marigolds might respond well to pinching too, although I did no such thing to them last year, and they grew into perfect little mounds in my railing boxes.

Thanks for the tip on chysanthemums, Jessamine! I've started a few, and I've never grown them from seed before.... I shall pinch the seedlings back when I transplant them!

Jill, I am definitely going to be sowing the marigolds you sent!

Thank you :) Will be direct sowing these guys tomorrow. At a local nursery, I noticed they are now selling different varieties of Nasturtiums. Is there a minimum soil temperature these guys prefer?

Speaking of marigold, anyone want any orange calendula seeds? I have a ton (2 ziplock bags full) and many of mine never stopped blooming so there's no way I'll be needing even a smal portion of the seeds.

I pinch back first time when they have 3-4 sets of true leaves. Then again after the new sprouts (after pinching) has grown another 2-3 sets of true leaves. Usually only one pinch is required except for plants which look very well when really bushy or if you need to hold them back. Balsam does very well pinched back a lot.

Thanks, KD! Sounds just like what I do with basil. I'll pinch more this year. :-)