Looks pretty healthy to me. The brown leaves could be a sign of some developing nutrient deficiency, or of drying out to the point of moderately severe wilt (could even have been a one-time event). I don't think I would trim this plant at this time, I would just make sure I fertilized regularly and possibly apply a bit of trace element supplement just in case its a deficiency -- certainly, if anything is going to suffer from a nutritional deficiency, it is a plant in a small container that needs to be watered very frequently.

denninmi -- Thank you very much for the response.

I am a relatively new gardener and I am having some success (so far) while learning as much as I can. All of my waves are doing great and they are watered routinely -- I'm guessing it might be nutrient deficiency as I haven't "added" anything to my container arrangements.

What would you suggest (if inclined) just a general fertilizer monthly? Thanks.

I would suggest two different things, because they work in tandem. 1) Buy a small bottle of Osmocote time released fertilizer all purpose formula and put roughly a tablespoon in the pot (follow the directions on the label, amount is based on the size of the pot) and 2) Get some Miracle Gro or similar dry powdered fertilizer (the kind you mix in water), and use that about every 10-14 days at the rate suggested on the label.

Oh, one other thing above petunias in general, as they grow, they DO get bare at the base, long, and stringy. You can deal with this in two ways. The first, kind of dramatic, is to cut the whole thing back to about 4 inches and let it start again -- that is OK if you don't mind having it naked and small for a while. The other way is to cut it back selectively branch by branch on a staggered basis, one or two long branches at a time, so that over a period of a couple of months you have rejuvenated the whole thing without sacrificing the entire plant at once. This is a better approach -- cut back two of the long branches, then about 10 days later, cut back two more, etc.

When I was a student at Michigan State back in the 1980s, they would actually use a push lawnmower set on its highest setting to rejuvenate the campus plantings of petunias and the petunia trial beds in mid-August, so that they would look nice again for the start of the academic year in Sept. It works.

the first, kind of dramatic, is to cut the whole thing back to about 4 inches and let it start again -- that is OK if you don't mind having it naked and small for a while.

==>> what i would do.. is go in there. and count the main stems ... lets say there are 10 ... i would cut 2 or three.. now.. and then more in 2 weeks .. until you have rejuvenated the whole ... this way it is not bare neked for a few weeks ...

if you trace a large stem back.. at each leaf node.. where teh leaf attaches to the stem .... you will see a tiny bud.. clip just outside one.. and that bud will trigger.. and start growing to replace what you cut off ...

ken

denninmi & Ken:

Thanks for the information and help. OUCHHH! That was painful trimming it back but I did so (see photo). I tried to follow Ken's directions about where to nip but I noticed (while untangling the stems) that some were super-thick at the overhang but very thin where the connected at the base near the dirt. So, I nipped the heavier ones right at their original sprout. Hope that is okay. I'd say I took off about 1/3 and now the center is empty. Did I screw up or should I nip more of the hanging items?

We had a very heavy all-day rain here yesterday so I'm going to fertilize per denninmi instructions starting tomorrow. I hope I didn't murder this -- I have a white one too. Oh well -- I have pictures as proof of what I grew BEFORE I tried to make it even better.

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