Pinch Back Petunias To Keep Them Perky

By Phran Novelli

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - How can you keep your planters of petunias and such looking perky all summer? Keep them watered, yes, and fertilizer can help too, but one of the easiest things to do if you don't want your potted plants to poop out on you is to cut things back a bit.

A lot of us have trouble cutting back a plant when it looks great! If you have a hanging basket that's blooming like crazy and it's full of flowers you don't want to touch it. But if you just cut off a few tendrils of those profusely flowering petunias regularly, they'll put out new green shoots from the middle of the plant to refresh it. If you don't do it, they'll almost always get leggy, open up in the center, brown out, and end up looking lousy long before summer is over.

So, force yourself to snip some stems from your hanging baskets and planters, every week or so, to keep them fresh and flowering all summer long. Go ahead. Be brave. Pinch your petunias back.