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07-04-2006, 02:10 PM
Re: (0...)
Can anyone tell me about the care of petunias? When the flower is spent do I just pull the flower off, leave it alone, or snip it off back to the leaf?
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I usually just pull the spent blossoms off. Some varieties are better about dropping spent blossoms ('self cleaning') than others, too. If the plant is getting too leggy or blooming only at the tips and not at all in the center, you can try cutting the stems back a bit to encourage new growth. Again, some varieties are better about this than others.
Seed catalogs usually have good information about the differences between each of the varieties they carry. You may find some of those same plants for sale at your local garden center, or try growing your own from seed. They're easy to grow, although they need to be started about 8 weeks before your last frost date.
The great thing about gardening is that you always get a chance to start over!