FRIDAY JULY 25, 2008


Pondering Petunias and Towering Tomatoes
We're in the thick of summer and things are growing tall, from the corn fields that I think my car could disappear in, to the tomatos on my deck which are now as tall as my husband. I've had several cherry tomatoes already and our 'great' pumpkin, Humperdink is over 8 feet long and has blossoms all over the vine. Plants have loved this summer.

I've got a few thoughts on my petunias from my observences. I have several pots filled with petunias on my deck. I have hanging baskets full of petunias that I bought full and lush from my favorite local greenhouse in May, and I have petunias in pots that I planted from sixpacks purchased in May and I also have my hanging fountain that I packed with six pack size petunias.

From my observences, I am getting the worst show now from what were my showiest early in the spring, the baskets of blooming petunias are now growing leggier and blooming less and their blooms are much smaller now. I've fertilized them once this year and try to keep the soil moist... I am wondering if it isn't that they are getting root bound in their lovely pots. They were crammed in there so tight in the spring and the plants were so big, they could have been growing all winter to get to that fully grown full bloom by May. I haven't quite decided what I want to do about it. Should I try to divide them? I've certainly tried trimming them but my results are mixed. The plants that I planted this spring are really lovely and full and the blossoms are huge. Not a disappointment at all but I am sort of wondering if I possibly am paying now in a lack of a show for the full grown show that I had this spring.

Note to self: Next year plant your petunia baskets from six pack flowers in the spring.

Went to Garden Guides and found an interesting thread on this exact topic. While I had been giving hair cuts to my petunias on a regular basis and that certainly has worked on most of my plants, the pre-planted hanging baskets from the greenhouse are now root bound and I'll have to see what I can do about it tonight. Time to DIVIDE and conquer. I won't let my petunias stop their show in July. There is still plenty of summer left to bloom.

"That is the problem; they are rootbound. The roots are taking up far too much room in the pot and there's no room for the soil to hold the moisture you're trying to give it.

Take the plant w/rootmass out of the pot. Divide the plant, by cutting through the rootmass, into three or four pieces. With each section make a crosscut in the shape of an + about 3/4ths of the way through the root mass. This will give you four sections of roots for each piece. With your hands, spread the four sections of roots apart.

Transplant the four pieces into four separate containers with plenty of room for the roots to flourish. Look for containers at yard/garage sales where they're cheap. Be imaginative in what you use for growing "pots", but be sure they have drainage holes in their bottoms. "

THURSDAY JUNE 5, 2008


Growing Good Petunias

This year I have pots galore with lovely petunias all over my deck. The one thing I'm determined to succeed at however is to keep them looking this way. I've been researching how to dead head your petunias so they don't get leggy and stop blooming and here is what I found and my plan.

petunias General Petunia Plant Care
  • Annual
  • Light - Petunias do best in full sun.
  • Water - Petunias like to be kept moist so do not let them dry out. Keep well watered.
  • Fertilizer - Petunias in containers should be fed with fertilizer every 2 weeks.
  • Grooming - Petunias need to be groomed. They do best when the fading and dead flowers are removed immediately. The goal is to prevent the petunias from forming their seed pods, after which time the plant stops producing the same volume of flowers.
  • When you first get petunias or if they begin to get leggy, you want to cut back on 1/3 of the growth and deadhead all the flowers. This will make for a bushier plant and even MORE flowers.


    • Found this tip on deadheading on Gardenguides.com:

    When petunias get leggy and have several seed pods they think they have done their job and stop producing flowers as much and end up with one flower on the end of a branch. I keep mine pinched back several times thru the growing season. Sometimes cutting a branch back by a 1/3rd each time. This tends to make the plant put out more branches and to boom like crazy. I know it seems like you are cutting off all the blooms and you are! But it will be worth it in a few days. Pinching back at planting time does the same thing.. helps it get a better root system and makes it a bushier plant.     		petunia with squirrel
    Petunias in Lion Fountain The Magic of Pruning your Petunias

    The lion fountain planting to the left was cut back on June 6th. Plants were tiny, the size of a 6 pack of annuals fresh from the nursery. This picture taken June 17th, shows the bushy new growth on the plants. There are buds all over and the plants preparing to bloom again.
    When pruning the large hanging baskets, I am trying to do the following:
    1) Dead head all spent blooms and any prior blooms with seed pods forming
    2) Since the plant is so bushy I try to cut about 1/3 of the blooms around the plant back, leaving alot of the plant in bloom but giving the plants new rejuvenation that will hopefully pay off in a week or so. Then in a week or so I plan to do some more trimming on another 1/3 of the plant to keep it bushy and not leggy and in continuous bloom.
    Petunia, Geranium and Lobelia Container Planting