Pinching back Petunias

I put in two large planters of petunias earlier this year. I go through and pull the dead flowers off almost daily, but now I notice that they are getting very tall and leggy. I know that I should pinch them back, but I have really never pinched anything back, so I am not sure how to do it. Also, if I cut them way back, will they continue to bloom since most of the blooms appear to be at the end of the stems. Finally, when I remove the dead flowers, all I take off is the flower, should I be taking part of the stem also?

Thanks.

Cut it back fairly hard and it should come back more full after awhile. Maybe fert. it too.
I have lots of pots of petunias, plus in the ground, and in the middle of the summer, they get unhappy, leggy, so I have to cut it back and fert. them and they response with more blooms later.
Just grab a handful of the stems and just cut in a round circle around the plant. It looks bad for awhile and it hard to do but it works.
Carol

Thanks for the information. I thought that might be the thing to do, but hated to do it only to find out that I cut off all of the buds and get no more flowers. Would you say that you cut them back about half maybe? I would bet that they are 12-15" long right now and just falling over.

When you deadhead them, do you remove only the flower or further back on the plant or do you deadhead them or not?

Sheila

I deadhead all the time. I just pick off the flower head.
Yes, I cut back the plant by like 1/2.
Yes, it is very hard since you think you might not have any more blooms. You don't get as many, that is for sure. When they get ready to wind down they just do it.
It must be getting hot there and that is why the pet. are slowing down. They don't like the extreme heat.
Carol

Yes, it is definitely hot. I think yesterday was 94 degrees and the weekend was like 96 degrees. The sun is amazingly intense. The ones that I have in the ground are doing much better. They don't look nearly as leggy and are don't seem to get the wilty look by the end of the day. The ones in the pots are well watered pretty much everyday, but the heat dries them out pretty quick. I even used the Miracle Grow Moisture Control soil. I do think it helps, but they still dry out. All of them are still blooming well, just the potted ones are looking a little rough.

Thanks.

Hi there :) Just wanted to pop in and say that even here in Ohio by midsummer, we have to water containers 2x each day when they're right in the sun. Can't imagine what TX heat must do to the poor things!! :) Maybe watering in the morning and checking them again after work would be a good idea?

Also, about the pinching. I'm not going to get overly technical on you, but remember that pinching encourages BRANCHING which means fuller plants and (unless the plants are naturally shutting down in the heat) should translate to more flowers :) Next year, try pinching a few days after you plant. Nip off all the pretty blooms at planting time. Ugh! Hard as anything! I planted my annuals last week and 3 days later every single bud was pinched off to encourage branching and more blooms later. Here the plants recover very well in about 2 weeks (with ample water and a little fertilizer). You may still need to pinched as the season goes on, but pinching at the get go can only help the overall performance of these little guys :)

You can get pretty good at visualizing where you want to pinch. I try to pinch just above a leaf, by the way. Then you'll get 2-3 branched off stems originating from that point just above the leaf :) Above meaning that if you held the trailing stem upright, you would pinch just above the leaf you've chosen. Hope this helps :)

It's not the most conservation-friendly answer, but your tunias may just want to drink more than once a day :)

Huga

Here is my Dolci that REALLY needs some new branches!!!!

James

Oh yeah, nip that baby down! :)

My dolces look just like that! I wonder if it is part of the particular cultivar...