I am gearing myself to poinsettia season and I had trouble last season with shimmer surprise
not branching well. Does anyone out there have any good tips for this variety? I am thinking maybe a soft pinch? I do use florel before pinch and after. I am growing in Oregon climate. Any suggestions for success on shimmer will be appreciated.

Dawn Carroll

Hi Dawn -

There are several reasons why you could see poor branching on Shimmer or any other varieties so let’s first review those reasons and see if anything applies.

Poor branching can result when:

The cuttings are excessively hardened at the time of pinch. This may be the result of the way cuttings were toned in propagation or growth regulators that were applied.

Light levels are low and the plant is not able to support all the shoots that initially develop after pinch.

The plants are spaced tight for too long. Tight spacing inhibits good light penetration to the lower shoots on the stem and the top two or three shoots will become dominant.

No growth regulators are used. Growth regulating helps produce plants that are toned with more even shoot growth. Here's where the Florel application comes in. You are probably familiar with the Florel "sandwich" technique - applying 5 days prior to pinch and 5 days after pinch. The first application is to stimulate branching and increase the numbers of breaks that immerge after the pinch. The second application is targeted at evening up the new breaks and reducing the likelihood of dominant shoots. You B-Nine/CCC sprays after pinch are also important for toning and evening up growth.

The pinch height is too high and a high node count is left after pinch. When the pinch height is too high the upper nodes that form can be several inches above the lower laterals. The upper nodes receive all the light and dominance occurs. The key here is not to allow the cuttings to stretch before pinch so that a soft pinch will leave a sufficient node count after the pinch.

Finishing temperatures are too warm. Warm finishing temps create large, soft bracts which crowd out smaller shoots and bracts. Cooler finishing temps result in a more even canopy where all bracts contribute to the final floral display.

Review these items and look at all the aspects of your production. Shimmer is not more sensitive to any of these items than other cultivars but maybe these things will give you ideas for aspects of your culture that can be changed to improve Shimmers branching. Good Luck!

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