Poinsettia Production Update - Pinching Points!

Yesterday, 15-Aug-2011, we pinched the single plant pot, the double plant pots and some of the three plants per pot.  Our goal is pinch to 5-7 branches.

Branches are determined by the number of nodes. A node is the place where a leaf has developed off the main stem.  Having more than 7 branches or flowers on one plant can be undesirable.  The higher number of branches, the weaker the branches become.  The plant distributes its energy equally between the branches.

Conversely, if there are only 3 or 4 branches, the resulting flowers will be larger than a plant with 5-7 or more. Here are a few pictures of the poinsettias as they appeared this afternoon.