Neighbours talking over the garden gate has long been a tradition. They share gardening tips, complain about the weather and pests yet are ever eager to discuss their gardens. That is what I had in mind when creating this blog. So stop by my garden gate to find out the latest happenings in my garden.

Happy Gardening!

Garden Gnome
"All my life through, the new sights of Nature made me rejoice like a child." ~ Madame Marie Curie"

Tuesday, August 03, 2010

Pinching Back

where to pinch back on a plant
Chocolate Mint
July 31, 2010

An often overlooked part of gardening both indoors and outdoors is pinching back.  This is a very easy to do bit of plant maintenance that can give you healthier and bushier plants.  Unlike cutting back very little plant material is removed by a simple pinching motion removing the shoot apex (arrow).  This sends the growth hormone auxin to the axially buds located in the Y formation between stem and leaves.  As these secondary branches grow the shoot apex at the end can also pinched back to create a nice full, bushy plant rather than a tall, leggy one.    The method is used on soft stem plants like chrysanthemums, basil, mints, coleus and similar types of plants including tomatoes.  The more pinching back you do the bushier the plant so don't forget to do a bit of pinching back!


Happy Gardening!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010


Posted by Garden Gnome at 2:27 PM
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