Pinching for bushier plants
One small snip, and two stems grow where one was
What pinching is
Pinching means removing the soft growing tip of a stem with your thumb and finger, or with small snips. It's pruning on a small scale.
The tip makes a hormone that holds back the buds below it. Take the tip away and those side buds start to grow, so one stem becomes two or more. Pinch young plants often, and they branch before they get tall.
How to pinch
It takes seconds per stem.
- Find a node, where a leaf or a pair of leaves joins the stem.
- Pinch or snip just above it, taking 1 inch (2.5 cm) or less of new growth.
- New shoots grow from the leaf joints just below the pinch.
- Repeat on the new shoots once they have grown a few sets of leaves.
Plants that love it
Basil, mint and most soft herbs respond well. So do coleus, petunias, garden mums and arrowhead plants. Pinching young plants often is how growers get round, full shapes instead of tall, floppy ones.
Removing flower buds works on the same idea. On young plants and fresh cuttings, it keeps the energy going into leaves and roots instead of early blooms.
Basil, step by step
Pinch basil tips just above a pair of leaves as the stems lengthen, and keep doing it all season.
Pinch off flower buds as soon as you see them. Letting basil flower slows new leaf growth and changes the flavor of the leaves.
Every harvest is a pinch
When you pick herbs for the kitchen, snip whole stem tips just above a pair of leaves instead of pulling off single leaves. The plant branches after every harvest, so the more you cook, the bushier it gets.
Know when to stop
Garden mums are pinched when the shoots are about 6 inches (15 cm) tall, and again as the side shoots reach that height. In northern areas, stop by early July, or the flowers come late. Your local extension service can tell you the best date where you live.
Related plant problems
Sources
- NC State Extension: Extension Gardener Handbook, 3: Botany
- University of Maryland Extension: Grooming Indoor Plants
- Iowa State University Extension: Growing Chrysanthemums in Iowa
- University of Illinois Extension: Basil
General guidance, not a diagnosis. Written by PlantWiz in our own words from the sources above.