Pinching plants help branch out

When new gardeners hear about "pinching" plants, they're understandably puzzled.

Just where do you pinch them? And why?

The "where" is the growing tip. You can literally pinch off the tip between your thumb and forefinger, or - if you have a lot of plants - you can speed up the job by using scissors or grass shears to remove many growing tips with one cut.

The "why" is that cut stems branch out, resulting in a more compact plant with many more blossoms.

Chrysanthemums are one of the classic plants that gardeners pinch, often several times during the spring and early summer. Mums that aren't pinched back tend to topple in autumn under the weight of their blossoms. (Some of the new varieties, which have been bred for compact shape and better branching, are an exception. Pinch only the mums that grow tall and straggly.)

Gardeners who want to grow prize-winning dahlias like to pinch out all the side shoots and buds, allowing only one big flower to form on each stalk.

Annuals like snapdragon and lisianthus also respond well to pinching, resulting in bushier plants with many more flowers.

It's always good to pinch off growing tips of any annual that tries to bloom before it's well established in the garden, no matter how eager you are to see those first flowers. Over the long haul this summer, only strong plants with good roots will deliver top performance.

While pinching and shearing are great gardening techniques for producing more flowers, compact shapes and stronger stems, these procedures are not for every plant. If astilbe is cut back, for example, it may not bloom at all. The same goes for goatsbeard, foxglove, gas plant and queen-of-the-prairie.

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