Yes, pinching them/cutting them back will encourage bushier growth. Just be cognizant of the fact it will delay the flowering - but on the other hand the blooms will be more abundant on bushier plants, so worth the wait :0)

Hi Karen,

Do you rememeber what kind of petunias you bought?

Some do not spread, some get huge!

Advice for Tidal Wave or other sprawling petunias: Fertilize once a week with a good overall mix such as MG, cut back when 6" long/tall to 3" and then again at 9" tall cut back to 6". (you will get blooms within 4-5 days again after you sheer them back). Let the top 1/3 or root system dry out before watering again (for me this is usually the top 2") and shade them from hot mid-day sun.

I will say... if you have problems every year, there may be a bigger problem lurking. Adding compost was a great step, maybe thats all it needed.

How much sun does it it?

Keriann~

when you bought them..

were they relatively young plants .. at the first flower stage???

or where they already huge plants ??? lots of flowers.. lots of seed pods????

could it be an issue of buying past their prime plants.. and then not heading them back .. ???

ken

I agree with Keiranne and I too would like to know how much sun they get and how often you water. I cut back all my petunias, no matter what variety.

I prefer the grandiflora and dwarf multiflora petunias over the waves or trailing petunias in beds and the trailing ones in baskets. I like to mix them with other annuals in the beds. This way you are not depending on one type of flower to give you the bang for your buck.

Petunias go great with Nicotiana, Snapdragons, Annual Phlox and Zonal Geraniums.

The petunias are in a bed that doesn't get full sun, so I know they won't perform the best they could. Maybe a few hours full sun, the rest bright, dappled shade. We've been getting plenty of rain, so I haven't had to water only but a couple times. I've tried impatiens there too, but they failed to grow well. Snapdragons seemed to like it there, but they didn't flower a whole lot, due to not enough sun. These aren't the wave or other trailing petunias, just standard ones. Some have the larger flowers, some smaller. I did trim back the more gangly ones and left some others, and planted extras to fill in the gaps after the daffodil leaves finally withered. I bought them when they were fairly small, just getting their first flowers, but due to cold, wet weather in May, it took me a while to plant them, the last week in May. So, they spent more time in the flats than I wanted them to, getting too big, so that could be another issue. I gave them a dose of MG today, half strength, and will once a week to see if it'll help. If they don't do good this year, I guess I'll have to keep trying different plants to see what will. Oh, and there are marigolds I started from seed growing in the center. If they do well, maybe next year it'll be marigolds. Whew! I think that answered all the questions!

Karen

Ohhh....

I would plant New Guinea impatiens! They would love it there and bloom like crazy for you! I would pop some in with the petunias in case the stay sad.

Keriann~

I have one New Guinea impatien in a six inch pot and it's not doing much for me either. I just moved it to more sun, so maybe it'll start doing something. They are something to consider, though. The impatiens in the bed going along the front of the house seem to be doing good, yay!

Karen

If Nothing seems to grow there Neither shade or sun loving plants I'd have to think there is something wrong with the soil. Maybe it is too acidic and needs agricultural lime or maybe it is lacking something. Have you thought of having the soil tested

I haven't, but maybe I should. It gets rather dry in that bed, so I thought adding compost will help. Doesn't help, either, that there's a big silver maple 15-20 ft away. It's limbed up, so light reaches the ground, but I bet those roots also are what's hindering me.

Karen

Yep Karen, you fit the nail on the head.

Maple roots are hard to battle with because they grow s shallow.

Have you thought about doing a raised bed around the post? That would really help.

Bummer, I had your same frustration on a bed a couple years ago. I gave up and put in a raised bed in, I used river rock and only built it up about 8". Boy did it do wonders for me. I added new potting soil and compost and the bed looks beautiful! It was so worth the extra time and $ to get the bed ready.

Good Luck!
Keriann~

I would, and it would look nicer, but I have a bunch of daffodils in there I would have to dig up and replant if I add another eight inches on top of them. I don't think they'll like being buried any deeper. And, I think the maple roots would still fill up the bed, unless I put some sort of root blocking cloth first, then add the soil, but then the daffodils. I like them there, they look so nice in the spring. Oy! Silver maples are the weeds of the tree kingdom. Except for the Empress tree. lol! And cutting them down isn't an option, my significant other likes the trees. Thanks for everyone's advice!

Karen