My father grew exceptional roses before many of the varieties had been discovered or reached their current prominence. One thing he did to get special blooms was to restrict the number of flower buds by pinching out the runts.In many circumstances a good big one is more important the several also ran small ones.

Several plants flower too much for there own good at times. They produce buds, like the Peonie above, in greater profusion than you may want. To get a really good flower you want to channel the energy into a ‘king’ flower so you ‘pinch out’ any superfluous buds. It may seem cruel to be kind but I think of it as survival or the fittest.

Disbudding or thinning is easy,  just nip out the extra buds before they develop too far. This technique can be used to get a great Rose flower for a show or on Carnations, Dahlias and Chrysanthemums. I have spoken previously about disbuding Apples and fruit trees.

See Tips for Pinching Out