Zinnias

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jan Mobile, AL(Zone 8b) Apr 07, 2002

Recently a friend told me that she pinches back her zinnia seedlings. When they get true leaves, she pinches that back to the first two leaves. This is suppose to make the stem stronger. Admittedly my zinnias were spindly and sprawled over the flower bed last year. Does anyone else do this? Does it work?
Jan

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Aimee Georgetown, TX(Zone 8a) Apr 07, 2002

Yes! And when they have been blooming awhile, and you no longer like the look of them, you can get them to look fresh again by pinching them back. Be careful not to pinch more than about a third, though, they might not be able to muster the strength to put out enough top after they have already performed. Pinching makes them branch out for a more bushy look. This works even better with mums, which really require it if they are to make a good display.

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jan Mobile, AL(Zone 8b) Apr 07, 2002

Thanks for the tip Aimee! I'll pinch back the seedlings tomorrow. I know what you mean by starting to look bad after the've bloomed awhile. I'll pinch them this summer too.
Thanks
Jan

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jan Mobile, AL(Zone 8b) Apr 07, 2002

I was wondering if there is anything else I should pinch back too, sunflower, cosmos, coneflower etc? Does anyone know?

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Aimee Georgetown, TX(Zone 8a) Apr 07, 2002

Not knowing what all you have growing, I would offer this as a guideline: if it has a woody stem, it isn't likely to be a good candidate, though there are exceptions. If it has a soft stem and is growing fast it might benefit, but you should approach this with caution, as the shape of some plants can be lost when pinched. The idea is to force it to put out more side growth so as to avoid the leggy look, and to provide more places for blooms to form. Try a few, see what they do and go from there. Go online to find sites dealing with the specific plants you are growing. Personal sites are great for this kind of information. Of the ones you mentioned, I don't usually pinch any, but others might. My purple coneflowers have been chewed off and broken off accidentally, but I didn't notice any benefit. They are several years old and rather large clumps. If you don't find better info, email me and I will look up whatever my books have for you.

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Joan Belfield, ND(Zone 4a) Apr 07, 2002

Will this work with cosmos? I have them under growlights, but they just keep growing taller and they don't even have any true leaves yet.

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