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Kansas City, MO

I'm off to my best season ever and it's almost time to terminate some secondaries. Could someone give me a step by step on how best to do this? Thx. Greg

6/29/2005 10:41:15 AM

Minnesota([email protected])

I'll add a question as well.
Last year I terminated secondaries, and the last leaves on some developed to full size, while the last leaves on others only got to about 6" across. I'm thinking that I likely terminated the secondaries at different spots. Where is the best place to terminate the secondaries(cut the growing tip, cut after a half sized leaf, or cut at the last full leaf?)
Greg, I thought answers to this question would help you as well.
Please answer Greg's request for step by step instructions if you can.

6/29/2005 12:06:22 PM

Montoursville, PA

I terminate for the easiest maintenance cutting the vine about half an inch ahead, of any leaf. I leave the open cut out, in the open, for a day and bury when it has healed. In my hip pocket there is a mustard condiment bottle loaded with a little captan. Each open cut gets a little poof.

Sometimes these ends want to go straight up. I use crossed sticks to "ease" them down. If they refuse "gentle" nudging I leave them up and out of the ground. No need to terminate and then snap the vine too.

Most leaves increase dramatically, in size. Leave yourself some room to get past the point of termination, for servicing the plant, for any reason.

6/29/2005 12:33:43 PM

Western NY

i reach into the growing tip and pinch off the main at a very small point. giving it that much time to adjust makes for some huge leaves at the ends.

6/29/2005 12:37:16 PM

I like the huge leaves at the end Andy! I think they look neat!

Anywho, I like to wait till the vine grows a little past where I'm going to cut it off. Then the part where I cut is layed down a little bit. I cut right after a node. Sometimes I just take the shovel and hack off the end of the vine. Really, the plants don't seem to know the difference. Then I dig a small hole and bury the end of the vine that I just cut. Be sure to remove the tertiary growth tips if you don't want them. As soon as you cut the secondaries tips, the terts will want to grow (cutting the growth tip removes the source of auxin that prevents the terts from growing out; after you cut the tip the cytokinins cause the terts to grow out).

6/29/2005 5:20:35 PM

[email protected]

Brigitte is my kind of grower. Some things are best kept simple.

6/29/2005 7:59:15 PM