pinching is okay, but i would wait until spring when new growth ensues and the plant begins its growth spurt. treat the pinched end with cinnamon or turmeric to avoid any fungus from setting in. you might even use wood glue or superglue the cuts (cut or pinch at an angle) … research this forum for great info …..

Peter,

Here are a couple pictures hopefully you can see them okay. Also, when is a good time to transplant them into their own pots?

Trav im probably not the one to comment on hydro grown plants one of the hydro experts may give you better advise. But as they would be growing all year long you could tip them whenever they are big enough. But i do think they could do a bit more growing i personally would wait a little longer to tip and go to a larger pot .can someone into hydro give trav some advise:×)

Peter, sorry for the confusion. Those aren't in hydro, that's just my light hanger on a white table I made using some PVC pipe I had around. I planted those in a larger plug tray I normally use for starting my veggie seeds. For the seeds I used a more water retentive mix using 1 part peat, 1 part vermiculite, and 1 part perlite. It's the same I use for my African Violets. I've been slowly decreasing the watering and letting them dry out in between. I've been reading that after they get going they're prone to root rot.

What size pot would be a good next size up? I was going to use a faster draining mix for them next.

Ok trav i usually go up to a 40x40x60 deep i go for square pots they stack better but they do topple easier than round but as bragu said dont do anything untill spring when i tip the DR i use a pair of small sharp scissors for a clean cut it also allows me to get in close to the tip spring will be the go ahead to do all above there is no rush . Anyway if you let them go abit bigger they will be easier to tip and repot:×)

Thanks Peter! Wow I was thinking I'd have to go up to a bigger pot than that. That'll same me some space! I just ordered some more seeds that I'm itching to plant.

trav i have led you up the garden path the pot size is wrong

sorry for wrong info i was looking at the smaller size.these are the scissors i use they are curved baby nail scissors.this plant is a bit bigger than the size i like to pinch as a seedlingi just take the top new growth out now i will seal it off i have nipped the top out because i like the cautex and the secondary growth some i dont tip or pinch good luck

Thanks for the great pics! What do you use to seal the cut off with? Also, would you give them a couple weeks after transplanting to clip them so they get established a little first?

or super glue just the cheapest one u can get yes wait a week or so to repot in spring

Peter

Thank you for your helpful comments. Great

I agree with the others. I only pinch those that are getting long necks, then I trim them back and seal the wound with a dab of super glue. I bump mine up to 3 inch pots once they are out of the seed tray or out growing the little 3 oz cups.

And here is where I will add my 2 cents and insert the very useful illustration on correct pruning technique for multi branching, created by our very own Martin (Denmark). The key is to cut where you have tightly stacked nodes to activate multi branching.

For the record, I get a lot of rain and have never dealt with rot from pruning using this slant node to node cut. I do not seal off my cuts ... They disappear into the stem over time.

Maria Elena

Nice

Thank you for the advice and the diagram. Here are a couple pictures of a few I took tonight.

Travis

Nice job looking nice and healthy:×)

Happy New Year, Travis!

Your plants look spectacular. Keep doing exactly what you have been to keep them warm. Considering that it's literally 2 degrees where you live, be very careful with watering ... You never want the substrate to remain cold and damp. They likely will not grow much between now and April ... Don't worry about that. The issue is to keep them warm and alive for now.

No one will advise pinching or pruning right now ... You want to prune only when the plant is under optimum growing conditions, when the plants are actively growing. As these are tropical plants, that means great sun, great warmth. Otherwise, you will likely get weak branching. By the way, many times, branching occurs on its own. Unless the tip was damaged, I only cut my plants when they turn into a one foot, single branch stalk. As correctly advised, do not repot until warmer temps.

All the best to you.

PS: I know the feeling and experimentation goes along with our own need to learn and understand what works for us. If you are itching to prune one, I would prune the 1st on the left or the 3rd one half way down. The others are too beautiful to disturb.

Happy New Year as well! We have been in a deep freeze the past couple of weeks. It finally got above 0 degrees F today! I'll take your advice and avoid the temptation to mess with them right now until spring comes. They're in my basement on a heating mat with a light on them. Hopefully they'll stay nice and warm until summer!