Tough Love: Petunias

I've never been a big fan of petunias, but before graduation we needed some color. Since spring had been so cold and dreary here, the nurseries were sparse and I hadn't been able to get my own pots of flowers going.

I found these wave petunias at Walmart for a great price. So pink petunias it was. (I rarely buy pink flowers or petunias!)

I knew it wouldn't be long until they were ratty looking which is why I don't like petunias.

Time for some tough love.

I watched this You Tube video, then this one, and got aggressive.

I have never been sure how to dead head a petunia. Do you just pull out the spent bloom? Or, do you need to pinch off the whole stem it came out of? Now, I know. It must all come out. I have never cared for them properly. Mine were so far gone though that I had to aggressively prune.

I also learned on the video that the are aggressive feeders so I will try to fertilize these often. They were so perfectly in bloom when I bought them, I assume they've used up the fertilizer they started with.

One little bloom showing what was...Now, hopefully, in a couple of weeks I can show you pictures of rejuvenated plants.

I'm still not sure that I will dedicate the time to proper dead heading.

Any thoughts, wisdom, or experiences with petunias you'd care to share? I'm always looking for tips and hints!

7 comments

LorrieJune 3, 2013 at 6:15 PM
I have one pot of petunias that were just starters when I put them in, so they are barely starting to fill out. They are great for lots of color. I know little about deadheading them.
lynn bowesJune 4, 2013 at 7:57 AM
Jill, what a great video! We're on a well, as I suspect you are, and never thought about adding an acid fertilizer to my pots to counter the alkalinity. I'm pretty good about giving my plants ruthless haircuts every month or so but the fertilizer thing . . . I learned something!

How's that stock tank looking this year?

:: lynn ::
trash talkJune 4, 2013 at 8:43 AM
Petunias do require a little work, but if you can find the ones that the scent hasn't been bred out of...so worth it. I just deadhead the flowers until they start looking lanky, then I get out the ol' pruning shears and give 'em a buzz cut. I've actually had them reseed a few times.
Give 'em a little time, love and Miracle-gro and they'll reward you.
Deb
Linda JoJune 4, 2013 at 9:47 AM
I've never been too big a fan either. But I did have one come back in a big pot of plants this spring. I was surprised! What if you put all of them in one big pot rather than the hanging baskets? Might make dead heading easier? Looking forward to future petunnia tales!
~*~Patty SJune 4, 2013 at 11:20 PM
Your post made me immediately think of a very special English friend, Paddy, she was amazing on so many levels.

I can hear her telling me why she decided to "like" Petunias when she never had before...she claimed that they did not need deadheading and was really tickled when she planted boxes of them up on a rooftop.

Love the view of your house with the pretty pink petunias...wish you luck and lots of blooms Jill!
oxo
UnknownJune 9, 2013 at 10:53 PM
I always water them with miracle grow - with every watering. As far as deadheading, I ignore them and they seem ok to me :)
jinxxxygirlJuly 18, 2013 at 12:31 AM
I LOVE petunias! They are one of my favorite flowers and i have them every year. My fave is a two tone purple variety called Sugar Daddy. Anyway....I make it an evening ritual at dusk to walk around my petunia plants and pull off the spent blooms. I find it relaxing and i get instant gratification by how good they look after i pull off all the dead blooms. Ones with scent are rare...definitely covet it if you ever find one. I never trim them the way you did. I guess i like lanky...:) though i never thought of them that way....Best of luck! deb