One of the issues with petunias is that by the time they do "trail", they start to look sort of ratty and then they need a haircut which consequently means no trailing.

If you want a "trailing" look, pull them out of the container and plant them at an angle. In other words, put the root ball sort of horizontally on the soil, then be sure to cover it so no roots are exposed. This will give you more of a "trailing" appearance.

Your container also has great spaces to plant some petunias between those wires. Something to think about for next year. You would probably have to buy smaller plants, like in a 6-pack. But that would work well too and give you a really full looking container.

I grew Black Cherry last year and they did ok for me. But this year they are being sort of scrawny in general. I'm not sure if it was the group this year or what.

I also live in Zone 5 in Arvada.

Thank you so much for your response, and for not making me feel so alone! I LOVE this color but want it to look a bit more lush/trailing. Thanks a lot! Newbie gardener over here and 2 of these planters are all I have since we’re mostly focused on growing herbs and veggies. 😀

You're welcome. In general, they look to be healthy and you are caring for them appropriately. Also, it's still early in our season. These very well could explode in the next few weeks!

Thank you! I’m so curious about angling them! I didn’t put a slow release fertilizer in, but I still have space for more topsoil as well, so may try that too!

Well done! They look a lot better now!

Those are really nice. Do you just buy more next season or is there a way to salvage these to use for the next season?

I think most people in climates where they won’t survive winter (like here, in CO) buy more the next season, but I’m going to try and bring some cuttings inside now that I have a grow light!