how to keep petunias from getting leggy

How to revive leggy potted petunias that are looking spindly. Pruning your petunias can bring them back to looking full and lush once once more. Super simple and yous go a bonus from them if you choose!

Learn how reviving potted petunias can make for more cute blooms all summer long! About mid-summer petunias can outset to await very spindly and sad. Give your petunias a practiced prune, a bit of feed, and enough of water. Refreshing your spent, leggy petunias brings them back to their full glory for months. Petunia maintenance 101.

Reviving your potted petunias and other annuals that may look like they are ready to give up the ghost. Refurbishing potted annuals is not hard but the rewards are more luscious blooms for the rest of the summer through Fall.

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I bought these big hanging potted petunias at a wholesale nursery in May. They were big and luscious, full of purple and white petunias. Diligently I watered and fed with an organic liquid plant food over the next weeks. I thoroughly enjoyed the gorgeousness they added to my side porch.

But later a while I noticed they seemed to be suffering, looking wilted and pathetic. I watered some more than, thinking that perhaps I simply wasn't keeping up with their needs. Later all, we were having an early heatwave and it was dang hot! (which I honey)

Reviving Potted Petunias

No matter how much I watered they did not bounce back. I checked for spider mites (nasty niggling critters) and other infestations but they were clean. Just ugly.

basket of leggy petunias that need reviving

The Problem

I felt the soil and noticed it was like a brick. The petunias were not simply root bound but the soil used for the hanging handbasket had turned into a rock. This can happen when peat moss is used in container mixes. It compresses and becomes a brick.

The soil has become what is called hydrophobic. This means information technology resists absorbing water thus the plants don't get what they need.

Thankfully this is simple to gear up.

To avert this state of affairs when I pot up my own hanging baskets I don't utilize peat moss, I brand sure there is enough of substance added to my potting soil to keep it loose and free draining. Additives like perlite (the little white pebble-looking things in good potting soil) works wonders. For my complete DIY Potting soil recipe, visit this post.

The Fix for Bedraggled Petunias

Give the plants a proficient soak. Accept a Garden knife shove the blade downwards into the moistened brick of soil in the pot. I jerk it to make holes throughout the solid chunk of soil.

I add some fresh practiced quality potting soil then water it in so information technology filters down into the spaces I created with the pocketknife.

Get Tough

I cut back this petunia establish severely. All the way to the rim of the pot.

If you are just doing a refurbishing prune-up (many annual potted plants may need one about mid-summertime) and they don't look as sorry equally these specimens, y'all can cut back to about the lesser of the pot and it is enough. You lot can use those cuttings to beginning more Petunias if you lot like, I bear witness you how here.

Merely reviving potted petunias that take gotten this lamentable demand a more than drastic haircut. So I whacked them off to the rim of the pot. I figured it was practise or die. Every bit awful as they were looking it could only go up from here.

Patiently Look

I hung them support and kept up with watering and feeding. My roses climbing the porch posts were in full bloom and stealing the show anyway and so the petunia baskets only showing a bit of green was not a huge loss for the time beingness.

What do you think happened? Did they kick upwardly their toes and phone call information technology quits?

Well, you lot be the gauge.

This transformation from pathetic stubby stems to gorgeous blooms took well-nigh 3 weeks and they continued to grow and bloom the rest of the summer.

So the moral of the story…. don't be afraid to prune upwardly if yous need to revive or refresh your potted petunias (or other annuals).

No need to do such a drastic complete prune back if yous go on upwardly with it from twenty-four hour period one. Deadhead regularly and cutting back at least a third of the stems every other week, even if they take buds on them.

This will keep the petunias from only blooming at the ends and you lot keep it lush and total of blooms from the top.

In this video, I show you step by stride.

Many of the Supertunias from Proven Winners don't usually demand this kind of pruning equally oft but information technology keeps them looking the very best too.