Pinched out dahlias too early?

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jenzuk manchester, United Kingdom Aug 06, 2011

I sowed 12 dahlia seeds in may. When they got to 3inch tall, i pinched out the growing tip as many people all say that better to pinch it out early to encourage bushiness. Anyway, i just read somewhere that i should have stopped them after 3pairs of leaves. But i remember mine had 2pairs and maybe 1 pair were the baby leaves.
Problem is, i didnt pinch out the tips on 2 plants. Now they are almost 10inch tall. But the other 10 plants have not grown more than another inch since.
Now im too scared to pinch out the 2 nice plants or should i? They now have over 4pairs of leaves and the first baby leaves have dropped and looking really nice and healthy.
What about the other 10? Have i ruined them or could i keep them and overwinter them for next year? Any ideas? Everyone says different things about pinching out seedlings. Please help

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Smokey_SC Piedmont, SC(Zone 7b) Aug 08, 2011

I would not pinch out the other 2. For the ones that are still small, try a half strength fertilizer once a week for a while. Good luck

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WeeNel Ayrshire Scotland, United Kingdom Aug 08, 2011

I have to admit, I have never pinched out any Dahlias, I've nipped out some flower buds when they are still tiny to give larger flowers on the buds left on the plants, but, all the dahlias I know send out side shoots on there own, it is August now and my dahlias are not yet in flower as they all flower end of summer which is what I like about them, they add some colour to the beds when everything else has finished flowering and looking a bit tatty. WeeNel.

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