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Is it Ok to trim tops of leggy plants?

KmehKmeh Posts: 173
in Plants
I have plants that I have grown from seed and still in pots. Few more weeks till I can move them from the house to the borders. Many were planted far too early and are now huge- some over 60 cm tall. They are leggy though! The worst offenders are cosmos, dahlias, cleomes and scabiosa. Is it ok to lop off the top leggy shoots newer that they are quite developed or will this impact the plant/flowering? 

Many thanks 

Posts

  • KmehKmeh Posts: 173
    Newer = now
  • TopbirdTopbird Posts: 8,355
    Have you pinched them back at all while they were growing? Cosmos definitely need to be pinched back regularly to produce nice bushy plants. Not grown the others so not sure about them. Suspect scabious would be ok with a pinch back if they really are leggy.

    As Pansy said - a photo would enable us to give better advice.
    Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
  • KmehKmeh Posts: 173
    cleome looking very droopy after a morning in the sun with no water. 
  • KmehKmeh Posts: 173
    Cosmos and dahlia not much better. The dahilia stem is curling around. I know they all need more staking but have yet to get to that job. 
  • KmehKmeh Posts: 173
    Embarrassed to say I didn't pinch out any of them.
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