What is the correct method for pinching back petunias. Is it pruned back to the end of the stem for that flower?
Thanks for contacting Toronto Master Gardeners. To keep your petunias from becoming leggy start pruning them soon after planting them. Clip a few stems weekly even that means cutting off a few stems with healthy flowers on them. Whenever the petunia stems are eight inches long or longer, begin the pruning schedule. If the stems are shorter than eight inches you can wait until they reach that length. Each week, clip three or four stems in half, making the cuts above a node. This will force the petunia to produce two new growing tips below each cut. Then those tips will flower soon. Unless your petunias are wave petunias, you also need to pinch back regularly all of the flowers that have turned brown. The brown flowers of wave petunias will fall off on their own. Pruning petunia plants regularly will keep them thick and healthy.