Pinching Forced Tuberous-rooted Dahlias1

Abstract

Abstract Pinching of forced tuberous-rooted Dahlia ‘Park Princess’ and ‘Miramar’ was evaluated as a method for increasing flower production and plant quality. Pinched plants produced more flowers, flowered later, had smaller flowers, and were taller than unpinched controls. On an individual plant basis, pinching at node 4 generally gave the best results, while pinching at node 2 resulted in the greatest delay and fewest flowers. The more distal the pinch, the greater the number of laterals formed on both cultivars and the higher the percent of laterals flowering on ‘Park Princess’. On a population basis, pinching only those plants with a single strong shoot at node 3 or 4 resulted in the best compromise between increased flower production and the deleterious delayed flowering and increased plant height.