I hear people saying thinning out plants. What do you understand under that?

I have Iris, Dahlias, Sunflowers, Marigolds, Snapdragon, Margaritas, Tropicana Canas. Lilies. How do I thin those out?and how do you do that?

I hear people saying thinning out plants. What do you understand under that?
I don't think I would do anything, With the exception of the canna and dahlia, which get put away for the winter. You didn't say how long ago the Iris were planted but I dig mine up and divide them every 4 yrs. The rest of your plants should bite the dust as soon as you get frost. Too late for any thinning this year. If left in place for the winter your sunflowers and marigolds should re sow themselves. RScott
Reply:Well depending on where you live, you might not have to wrry about it. Dahlias, sunflowers, marigolds, snapdragons and canas are all non-hardy plants in the north. However, if you live in a warmer climate and find your plants are overcrowded, jumbled or over-running each other, simply dig up a portion of the plants and relocate them. This gives the plants more room to flourish and produce more flowers for you. It's also a great way to get more landscaping bang for your buck.
Reply:What that means is to remove some of the plants that might be crowded together (pull them out). When plants are too close together, their root systems compete with each other for water and nutrients. This causes the plants to be spindly or otherwise sickly-looking, or they don't produce as many flowers, as big of flowers, as much fruit, etc.





If you have plants that are crowding each other such that they are not growing right, pick the sickliest looking ones and pull them out to relieve the crowding. If everything looks fine and healthy, don't worry about thinning them out unless you just want them to look less crowded together.
Reply:If you grow things from seed you either station sow (one seed every so many inches) or you sprinkle and then thin later.





Even if you station sow, you might sow 2 together and just pick out the weakest one, which is thinning. If you are growing by sprinkling, you pick out all the excess ones, so that the plants are the right distance apart (according to the instructions on the packet).





If you don't thin, you end up with weak, spindly plants that will not look anywhere near as good, or for vegetables, will not produce as good a crop.
Reply:Thinning depends on how long the plant has been in the ground.





Lets begin with the plants you don't thin:


Marigolds


Snapdragon


Sunflowers





Last I heard, Margaritas were an alcoholic beverage, but there may be a flower or plant named a margarita and I've just never heard of it. I'll look it up.





As for the plants you can thin:


Iris


Dahlias


Canna


Lilies


These only need to be thinned every 3-4 years or if they are spreading into an area they are not wanted. All you have to do is dig them up, separate them, replant them where ever you like or give some away. That's about it. Nothing special.





The only thing I found for margarita flowers were flowers in a margarita glass. However, I did find a plant called Fortunella margarita, (kumquat) no thinning required for those.

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