8/28/2023 0 Comments Leggy sweet pea seedlings![]() ![]() Wait until sweet pea plants are 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20.5 cm) high before pinching them. Here is a list of plants that it may be useful to pinch… but even with these plants, do look before you pinch. The seedlings of peas should be thinned to a distance of 5 to 6 inches (12.5 to 15 cm) apart once they have sprouted to a height of 3 to 4 inches (7.5 to 10 cm). That said, there are still older varieties around… and I’ve never seen a cosmos seedling that couldn’t use a pinch or two. Likewise if the plant’s label suggest it branches well, is self-branching or “needs no pruning”. If your seedlings are producing secondary branches, they won’t need pinching. Old-fashioned basils and coleus, for example, used to shoot straight for the sky, but many modern varieties begin producing branches almost as soon as they have true leaves. Most modern varieties of annuals and herbs have been selected to be self-branching. Pinching is still used on more mature plants (shrubs and houseplants notably) to keep them in check, but pinching seedlings is a bit of a dying art. It also helps stop the seedlings becoming leggy and weak. It is not vital, but it can help to create bushier plants. Of course, you can also cut off the bud with scissors or pruning shears… and that is still considered “pinching”. Many people advise pinching out the tops of sweet pea seedlings. Since the bud is still soft, it comes right off. Traditionally, pinching really is done exactly like the term suggests: by pinching the growing point between the thumb and forefinger. It does slow the plant down a bit, but usually within 5 to 7 days, the seedling will be sprouting new growth. Usually, each pinch at least doubles the number of stems, giving a much denser and more attractive plant with more leaves (herbs) and more flowers (annuals). Use a good quality growing medium suitable for seeds. ![]() Sweet peas have long tap roots and they need depth. The latter are those long tube-like cells with vertically ribbed sides. I sow in deep fibre pots or root trainers. ![]() When the terminal bud is nixed, this stimulates dormant buds lower down on the plant to spring into action. It is worth soaking the seeds for a few hours before you sow. Pinching means removing the terminal bud, the plant’s growing point. (Snow peas are the flat ones. You used to pinch seedlings when they had 4 to 6 true leaves and it was almost universally applied to annuals and herbs, although rarely to vegetables. Sugar snap peas are a cross between garden peas and snow peas. When my father taught me how to start plants from seed some 50 years ago, pinching was a very common practice. Pinching is just what it sounds like: you “pinch off” the terminal bud between thumb and forefinger. ![]()
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