We Pinched our points 2 weeks ago. They are very uneven with some breaks much longer than others. I used the florel sandwich and have since sprayed b-nine ccc combonation on them. Should I seperate the taller plants from shorter plants and treat them differently.
Thanks

The uneven breaks may be an indication that you need to evaluate your pinching techniques. Let's talk about the things that cause uneven breaking and stretch after the pinch.

Tips for successful pinching:

Don't allow cuttings to stretch prior to pinch or delay pinch date. If the cuttings have stretched and it becomes necessary to perform a hard pinch to leave the desired node count the tissue will be hard and woody at the pinch. Woody, mature tissue will not break as evenly as less mature, softer tissue.

Remove 1 or 2 immature leaves with a soft pinch for more uniform branching. If these immature leaves are left they can express some apical dominance. They will also continue to expand and can become excessively large which comprises light penetration to the stem. Good light penetration to the stem is the driving force behind even breaks and breaks that form with a nice v-shape angle.

Do not pinch too high. If cutting have been allowed to stretch prior to pinch and resulting pinch height is high there will be several inches difference between the upper nodes that form and the lower nodes. The top shoots continue to become dominant, the lower shoots fail to catch up, and the result is finished display of flowers that is not very uniform and stem breakage of the lower shoots due to lack of light.

The Florel application is designed to promote even branching so you may also want to evaluate your rates and application technique if you did not get the results you were hoping for.

There are a number of growth regulator options you can consider now to control the stretch. They include:

For light control - Cycocel 1,000-1,500 ppm or B-Nine at 2,000-3,000 ppm

For moderate control - a tank mix of B-Nine (1,000-2,500 ppm)/Cycocel (1,000-1,500 ppm)

For strong control - a spray application of Bonzi at 10-25 ppm

*Remember that B-Nine use should be discontinued at flower initiation.

Spray applications can be made to the entire plant or in the case were some shoots have stretched, spray applications can be targeted to control those shoots only.

We also recommend that you are utilizing height tracking to make sure the plants are on track height wise and help make your decisions to growth regulate easier.

In the case where some plants are all together taller than the rest of the crop there are some strategies to use to avoid unwanted vegetative growth and stretch. Maintain adequate light levels and good spacing. Avoid excess of use of ammonium based nitrogen which will promote soft growth and now that the plants are established well make sure the plants are going through a good wet/dry cycle between irrigations which will also produce more toned growth and shorter internodes.

Please let us know if you have further questions. Thanks!

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Byron, Yes the next time you spray your growth retardants you can skip the shorter poinsettias on each bench and let them catch up with the correct sized poinsettias or just spray the taller ones to slow them down a bit. "Evening" up the crop is done by most growers I know whether they use a spray or a drench for height control and is not an unusual tecnique to ensure the whole crop turns out the same height.
...Michael Pawelek