Want Your Petunias To Flower Prolifically? Cut Back Faded Flowers Beneath The Bud
Elizabeth is a Permaculture Garden Designer, Sustainability Consultant and Professional Writer, working as an advocate for positive change. She graduated from the University of St. Andrews with an MA in English and Philosophy and obtained a Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design from the Permaculture Association.
Reviewed By COLIN SKELLY
Colin is a Horticulturist and Horticultural Consultant with experience in a range of practical and managerial roles across heritage, commercial and public horticulture. He holds the Royal Horticultural Society’s Master of Horticulture award and has a particular interest in horticultural ecology and naturalistic planting for habitat and climate resilience.
IN THIS GUIDE
Widely regarded as an excellent plant for novice gardeners, petunias are beautiful to look at and easy to grow.
All they require to keep them looking at their best is plenty of sunshine, adequate watering with sufficient drainage and, of course, regular deadheading.
Fortunately, deadheading is an extremely simple task to tackle, even if it can be slightly labour-intensive.
Simply follow these instructions below and your petunias will be flowering prolifically all summer long:
- Identify your petunia cultivar to determine your regimen.
- Find the faded blooms on your petunia plant, which should start just a few days after the first flowers begin to emerge.
- Cut back faded flowers beneath the bud.
- Compost any debris.
- Repeat this process as required throughout the summer – this will help to maximise flowering.
| Difficulty | Easy |
| Equipment Required | Secateurs and gardening gloves |
| When To Deadhead | Every 5-7 days during the flowering season |
1) Check Your Cultivar
Generally speaking, all petunias will benefit from deadheading, so undertaking it on a regular basis is vital to maintaining a pristine and impressive aesthetic in your garden.
“I generally don’t do too much deadheading in the garden, preferring a naturalistic feel, but Petunias are one of the exceptions,” shares Master Horticulturist Colin Skelly.
“Petunia flowers do not die gracefully but detract from the appearance of the fresh blooms. A regular weekly deadheading session will make all the difference as the summer progresses.”
However, there are certain cultivars which have been developed to flourish even without deadheading, such as Wave, Tidal Wave and Supertunia.
While you don’t need to deadhead these plants, it’s still a good idea to tidy up their fallen blooms to keep them looking their best.
2) Identify Faded Blooms
Once the blooming season has begun in earnest, it will only take a few days for the first blooms to begin fading.
At this point, you should begin the deadheading process to encourage fuller, more colourful plants.
Fading blooms will be limp, drooping and crumpled, whilst spent ones may even be dry and crispy to the touch if they have been left there for too long or exposed to strong temperatures.
3) Cut Back Your Petunias
A common misconception is that deadheading simply involves removing the spent bloom, but the seeds are actually stored in the stem just beneath the flower head.
For that reason, you should make the cut just below the sepal (the little ringlet of leaves that encase the bud) to ensure that all the seeds are removed.
You should do this for blooms that have already fallen from the plant as well.
4) Dispose Of Debris
Take care to remove all discarded blooms and stems from the periphery of the plant and dispose of them in your compost heap.
Not only will this improve the overall aesthetic of your petunia display, but you’ll also prevent the proliferation of pests and fungi.
What’s more, you’ll get access to organic mulch for use elsewhere in the garden.
5) Repeat Throughout Summer
To ensure your petunias perform to the best of their ability right through the entire blooming season, it’s advisable to repeat this task on a regular basis.
Indeed, you can look for spent blooms every single day, but such an undertaking can quickly become tiresome.
For that reason, I normally set aside time to deadhead all my plants (not just petunias) once a week, which is usually sufficient for keeping them looking trim and tidy.
