Pinching is done for two reasons. It causes the plant to bush-out. Two,
pinching is used to keep the plant a desired size. For a light pinch,
remove the first two new leaves at the end of the branch. For heavy pinch
remove the first four new leafs. This is done on chrysanthems to make them
bush out, otherwise there might be only one flower at the end of the stem.
Hope this helps

Gary

wrote in message
oups.com...
I have a Schefflera Arbicola umbrella tree or I belive. Each stem has
eight ovalish looking leaves. Not sure if this will come out right but
below is what the leaves look like. Anyhow, please describe how this
works. What is pinching? How do you do it? and When should I do it with
this type of plant.
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