Tips and Tricks to Fix Leggy Petunias
Petunias are great summer flowers; they are beautiful and relatively easy to care for! However, sometimes you may notice the stem is growing long with minimal flower growth. This is referred to as a plant becoming “leggy." Legginess in your petunias can be easy to fix if you are taking the right steps in your care for them.
Watering Routine
When in doubt, water more often than not. A lack of water can be the beginning of the end for your petunias. Depending on the weather, you may even need to water them multiple times a day. If the weather is particularly hot and sunny, we recommend watering twice a day for the best results.
Conditions
Sometimes having your petunias in the optimal condition can help reduce legginess. Petunias need full sun, as they don’t do well in shade. The shade can greatly reduce the number of flowers you see. We also recommend using a soil that drains well. Especially with any extra watering, you may need to do, you don’t want the soil to retain too much of it for a long time. Petunias are also susceptible to iron deficiencies, so using a fertilizer with iron chelate in it can help protect petunias against this and help them grow.
Pruning
Pruning can be a key part in maintaining healthy and full petunias. Regular deadheading (the removing of dead parts of the plant) helps the flower look its best and grow better. For petunias, you will want to remove the entire seed pod from the plant (which is a small green nub that is there once you take off the flower itself). Pruning your petunias every few weeks is a great schedule to set. When pruning, cut off the top 1/4 of some stems. This does mean you will have to cut back some fully bloomed stems, but trust me, it will be worth it. You want to make sure you always have some stems in full bloom and some that are currently growing.
Make sure you keep up with your new routine, so that way everything is kept healthy and full, and nothing gets out of hand! If you have any questions about how to care for your plants, you can contact our expert team here at Selmi's!
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