I'm still learning all I can about making my plants grow. I read in a book, that if your plant is getting tall and leggy you can pinch it by cutting it just below the leaf axle but I haven't the faintest idea where that is. Can someone please help me? I have a chinese lantern with 3 or 4 long stems. I thought if I cut off the tips, it might produce more flowers and get bushier but I don't know where to cut. I need to learn how to do this if I'm going to grow plants. Thanks everyone. ~Lily~
I think that chinese lantern plant Physalis alkegenki just grows the way they grow. I don't think pinching the chinese lantern plant will make more flowers grow. Is this a new plant? It will spread and you will get more stems. When you collect the stems then cut them off at the base, and leave the roots in the ground.
It may get new stems, but in order to produce more lanterns in fall it will also have to have time for those stems to mature and bloom, and set seed. I think it might be too late in the year for that. Generally pinching back would be done up to maybe late June...if it would work with Physalis at all, so give it a try next year with a few stems; since it is blooming now I wouldn't risk this year's lanterns. Also, are you sure you should pinch just BELOW the leaf axil? The dormant sprouts that will grow when you pinch are in the leaf axil, so I'd cut just above one.
Thank you all for your help. Globalist -Thank you for letting me know where the axle is. Much appreciated. Growing4it - It's not really a 'new' plant but it is to me. My neighbour had a bunch of it growing in her yard and she yanked some out and gave it to me. You said, "When you collect the stems then cut them off at the base, and leave the roots in the ground." - I'm not sure what you mean by "collecting the stems"? By the way, my chinese lantern is in a large container and not in the ground, does that matter? Thanks very much for helping me with this. Karin - When my neighbour gave this to me last month from her garden, it had little white flowers on it but they are gone now. I have a total of 6 lanterns so far. Also, I made a mistake, you're right...I checked the book and it does say to cut "ABOVE" the leaf axle. Oh yes, I forgot to ask if this plant is a perennial? I think it is. Thank you very much for helping me. I'm posting a photo of my chinese lantern. You can see new sprouts coming up through the soil. - Thanks again everyone! I love this forum. I'm learning something new everyday. ~ Lily ~
Those lanterns look great. I think Growing4it was thinking you might be planning to bring the stems inside for decoration, as many people do once the leaves have died off and the lanterns turn orange. The lanterns are actually the seed pods that are left from the flowers. And the plant is a perennial, which means it sprouts anew from its roots every year. Whether you cut the stems off or just let them die outside, new stems will emerge from the roots next year, and they will bloom, set seed, and produce lanterns again. This will happen as long as the roots are in soil, whether in the ground or in a pot, assuming the plant survives the winter. And again, it's "axil" not "axle" :-)
Thanks Karin, for all your very helpful information. Well, I guess if I'm going to learn to be a gardener, I should first learn how to spell "axil" - LOL I wonder if I will get more white flowers during this summer? I wonder how I can keep my plant from dying over the winter months? Any ideas? I can hardly wait to see the orange lanterns. When do they turn orange? Growing4it has a good idea, maybe once they turn orange, I'll bring them inside for decoration. Thanks again. ~ Lily ~
