Count Down to the Show!

My apologies once more - I am still not well and have been taking things very easy! I must say that I am delighted with the way the plants are growing - even though they have not had all the attention they might have liked. Long may it continue!

The show is looming as a reality in our lives now so I thought you might like to see my pinching schedule for the rest of the year. This only applies to mature plants that may be suitable for showing in December. The young plants continue to be pinched as needed until they are good big round plants, at which point they can be left to flower.

Pinching Schedule

22 August - 104 days to the show
Penultimate pinch large doubles

29 August - 97 days to the show
Last pinch for Triphylla types

5 September - 90 days to the show
Penultimate pinch for semi-doubles and small doubles

12 September - 83 days to show
Last pinch for large doubles

19 September - 76 days to the show
Penultimate pinch for large singles

26 September - 69 days to the show
Last pinch for Semi-doubles and small doubles
Penultimate pinch for medium and small singles

10 October - 55 days to the show
Last pinch for large singles

17 October - 48 days to the show
Last pinch for medium and small singles

This is only meant as a guide and weather conditions must be taken into account! If it stays very wet and cold late into the season you might need to leave longer for the plants to come into full flower after the last pinching. We will only be able to judge this as time moves on!

Good luck and I hope to see many plants on the show this year!!

Blog baby at 18 weeks

08 Blog baby 18 weeks, originally uploaded by pennyeast.

The dry sunny days that we have had have really helped the young plants to get going.

I have been feeding each week with a half strength solution of seagrow, and turning each plant 90 degrees each week. When the plants are so small I pinch as soon as I see anything ready - shaping and finally pinching all the tips at the same time will come much later. I also pinch out when the tip is only just available as I don't see any point in allowing the plant to use up energy to make stems and leaves that I am only going to remove!

The young plant at 18 weeks old has been pinched a couple of times and is filling out nicely. The root system is also growing well, and when I squeezed the pot a little and looked down the side I could see roots at the edge of the soil. This means that it is ready to plant up into a 15cm pot. I will do this during the week.

Catching up!

07 blog baby 10 weeks, originally uploaded by pennyeast.

I do apologise for having neglected this blog for 8 weeks!! Life ran away with me for a while! I will try to catch up and fill the gaps during this week, and then get back to the routine of posting progress once or twice a week. Many thanks to the many people who have sent messages of concern - your kindness and good wishes are appreciated.

This picture was taken on the 7th of June and never posted! It shows the young "blog baby" at 10 weeks old. I'm posting it now just to keep chronological order in the pictures, and will post a current entry tomorrow.

This little plant is now 10 weeks old and ready for its second pinching. Notice the new growth that has developed as a result of the first pinching. The number of side shoots and growth tips is multiplying and will result in a full round plant that can bear many flowers.

Not Much to Report

The Blog Baby is 8 weeks old. Tiny new shoots are developing in the leaf axils and all is looking good. No photograph today I'm afraid - I was determined to finish my pruning today as I have a very busy week ahead preparing for my son's 21st birthday party on Saturday. I'm pleased to report that I made it - just before the rain started!! Just a few bushes in the front garden to go but they are not that important as far as timing goes!

I also managed to get all the young plants in the kindergarten turned today. Some of them were ready for their first pinching which is exciting. The soil is still very wet so they haven't been fed yet - and now it's raining again!! I do hope that there is an opportunity soon. There is enough good stuff in the soil for a few weeks, but they do so much better if they get Seagrow regularly!

I probably won't be very active on here for this week, but I will be sure to catch up when all the excitement is over.

The First Pinch

The First Pinch, originally uploaded by pennyeast.

Our "Blog Baby" is now 6 weeks old, well settled into its soil, and growing well - a little too well if the truth be told!

It is quite tall and threatening to become a bit lanky. If it is left to its own devices it will just continue doing this and land up as a most unattractive plant with a few flowers right in the tip.

So, it must be "pinched" or "stopped" so that it will stop its headlong upward rush and start to make side branches. The growth hormones in the tip are sending messages to the buds in the leaf nodes down the stem to stop them from developing. We are going to remove the tip which will release the lower buds from bondage and allow them to develop.

1. This young plant is well settled and growing strongly. It is quite tall and in danger of developing into a lanky teenager.

2.It needs to be pinched out to force the development of side shoots. I'm going to cut quite a lot off it as it has grown quite tall and I prefer to leave only 2 or 3 nodes after the first pinching. Remember that you are aiming to produce a "fat, round" plant with lots of branches. We don't need the height at this stage. This cultivar, 'La Campanella' is a trailing variety so we want lots of side branches to fill a basket.

3. The deed is done! It look quite drastic, I know, but It is better to be a little daring now in order to keep the plant compact and bushy.

4. The piece that was removed will make a perfect cutting for rooting. I admit that I don't usually leave a young plant to get this big before I pinch it, but I'm trying to keep things in order of performance for clarity here!!

5. This is to show the plant as it is now - 'La Campanella' is a cultivar that branches readily on her own, so a couple of the lower nodes have already started to develop without our pinching them. Not all cultivars will do this!

We are on our way to a good bushy plant that will make a beautiful basket!

Remember to turn the plant 90 degrees each week, and feed it with a weak (25%) solution of Seagrow each time it needs to be watered.

"Pinching is an act of kindness!!" :)

More info on each picture can be found HERE