Pinching in the Cutting Garden: How to Get Maximum Blooms

Cutting gardens bring so much joy, both to the life of the gardener and to anyone who receives the gift of a home-grown floral arrangement. It’s so nice to be able to gather a beautiful bouquet straight from the backyard or the side yard, in my case. I won’t say that it saves money over purchasing flowers from the supermarket, but there is a satisfaction in growing your own that the grocery store can’t match. 

A problem that many gardeners run into is the volume of flowers that bloom for each seed they plant. It can be frustrating to plant what feels like a hundred seeds only to end up with one flower for each seed you planted. It’s a lot of work, and if the payoff is disappointing, you might just decide to go back to grocery store flowers and save yourself the labor. 

What if I told you that there is a simple trick to making your plants produce significantly more flowers? You don’t need to plant more seeds; you can do this one simple thing, and you’ll end up with a far more bountiful harvest. That one thing is pinching, and it doesn’t hurt one bit. Let’s talk about pinching your plants to maximize the number of blooms this season. 

What is Pinching?

Pinching is a simple pruning technique that flower growers use to increase the number of blooms each plant produces. It applies to other plants in the garden as well. It’s also commonly called tipping. It involves removing the top of the central stem, either by hand or with a small tool, such as hand pruners. 

This pruning technique encourages fuller, bushier growth. More growth and more branches mean that there are more places for your plants to set buds. It can also extend the bloom time, leading to more flowers over a longer span of time. Additionally, it increases air circulation, helping reduce the occurrence of fungal diseases. 

How Does It Work?

When plants are young, they apply their energy to root development and upward growth. Those with a branching nature will eventually begin to branch out, but it usually doesn’t happen until the plant is already setting buds. Pinching speeds up this process. 

By removing the very top of the plant (apical bud) just above the next node down. This is where the next set of leaves grows from. The plant takes this as an instruction to apply energy elsewhere. It’s similar to what happens when you deadhead flowers. The plant understands that there is no more growth there to support, so it moves on. 

While the plant ultimately continues its upward growth, this redirection of energy signals causes it to begin branching. It sends nutrients to the lateral buds, which then begin to grow. You will notice a few days to a few weeks later that those lateral buds begin to grow, and the leaves at that node may begin to die off. 

The objective is to create a bushier plant with increased branching right from the start. This way, the plant will be sturdier than if the branching starts to occur farther up the stem, making it top-heavy. 

Pinching will ultimately result in shorter, stronger plants with more branches and more blooms. They will be more vigorous and stand up better to inclement weather and wind. In general, it’s a good thing to do even for plants you don’t intend to harvest flowers from because it creates a more attractive form. 

It’s important to note that pinching delays bloom time. It can also result in slightly smaller flowers, but in my experience, it’s not a significant difference. 

Which Plants Should I Pinch?

Before you head out to your cutting garden to start popping the tops off of your plants, it’s important to know that this is not a universally successful practice. Some will benefit, but for others, it could equal disaster. 

Pinching only works on plants that branch and produce multiple flowers on each branch. Anything considered a ‘cut and come again’ is one that will benefit. It also works with some vegetables that will branch, as this increases your yield from these, too. 

Some of the more common cutting garden flowers that respond exceptionally well are zinnias and cosmos. Both of these will readily branch and produce a great deal more blooms as a result. Sweet peas, marigolds, calendula, snapdragons, and celosia all benefit from pinching. 

Plants to avoid pinching are any with terminal flowers that produce only one bloom per stem. Many sunflowers fit this description. Steer clear of stock, irises, dianthus, larkspur, ranunculus, and poppies. Any plant with a basal rosette of leaves is one you should avoid. 

How and When To Do It

Timing and method are the two factors that determine how much success you’ll have with this technique. In some cases, you may repeat the process on the lateral stems if you want a more significant effect. 

When

The first pinch is the most important in terms of how sturdy the plant will grow. Wait until your seedlings have at least two sets of true leaves. If you wait much longer, you will end up with branches that start too high and a weaker central stem.

You may have noticed that your seedlings grow an initial set of leaves that don’t look like any of the leaves that come after. These are not true leaves; they are cotyledons, and they won’t bud the way that the rest will. Allow two sets of true leaves to grow before you pinch. 

Likewise, if you are going to repeat the process on the new lateral branches, wait until they, too, have two sets of leaves. Some stems produce nodes, where the leaves grow closer together than others. For these, wait until you have an additional set, as you may have to pinch off two due to their proximity. If you pinch too close together, you will stunt the growth and end up with stubby stems that are not good for cutting. 

How

For most plants, I prefer to use my fingertips to do this. As long as you have a bit of fingernail, this is the gentlest method. For those with tougher stems, a small pair of snips or small scissors may be more effective. We call it pinching because it’s usually done by hand. However, as most seedlings are tender, a well-placed thumbnail should pop the tip of the stem off cleanly. 

Branches form just above a node, which is where those initial sets of leaves grow. Where each leaf grows, it will produce a separate branch. You may be able to see the tiny buds forming here, or maybe not. 

You want to remove the top of the stem directly above the node directly below. Make sure that you don’t damage the node itself, or those branches won’t develop. The key is to leave just a tiny bit of stem so that you don’t end up with an unsightly stump. Leaving a long portion of the stem leaves your young seedling more vulnerable to diseases.