Pruning and pinching are essential gardening techniques for maintaining healthy and vibrant plants, and they may be particularly beneficial for polka dot and nerve plants.
The methods not only shape greenery but also promote bushier growth, resulting in fuller, more attractive specimens.
While many gardeners may feel hesitant about cutting back their beloved plants, mastering these techniques can lead to remarkable improvements in plant health and appearance.
Expert for the Plant app Monstera, recently shared: “For pruning to be effective, you need to follow a few rules.
Pinching the end of a stem also gives rise to branches
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“Firstly, use a clean, sharp tool to prevent the spread of disease and facilitate healing.
“Then, prune at the right time. Most of the time, you need to do it in spring. But sometimes you have to wait until autumn or the end of flowering.”
The experts added that pinching, also known as topping, can be just as effective for promoting new growth.
They shared: “Pruning isn’t the only miracle worker. Pinching the end of a stem also gives rise to branches.
“With hypoestes phyllostachya (polka dot plants) or fittonia albivenis (nerve plant), this simple gesture produces bushy plants in just a few weeks.”
Houseplant enthusiast Melinda Myers explained that a hard pinch involves removing the tip of the leafy stem.
“Make your cut just above a set of leaves so the plant remains relatively attractive while you wait for new leaves and stems to grow,” she advised.
Other plants that respond well to this method of pruning are basil, tarragon, thyme, sage, scented geraniums and marigolds.
Oregano and thyme, on the other hand, do best when pinched or cut back to about half their length.
Even flowers in the earlier stages of development can benefit from the pinching.
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Pinching is particularly effective on Polka dot plants
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Earlier this year, a gardening enthusiast encouraged fellow plant owners to pinch their younger plants to encourage more flowering.
The hack appeared on the Instagram page of gardening enthusiast Galena Berkompas, who goes by @microflowerfarm on the platform.
She said in a caption: “Easiest trick to multiply your flowers without planting more: also called topping, pinching means you’re removing the growing point when your flowers have five to seven pairs of true leaves.
“This triggers the plant to send more lateral stems which equals more flowers.”
