Question
what does pinching back leggy petunias mean? where do i pinch them? is this the same as deadheading?

Answer
Patty,
You are not alone in wondering about this....many people write to me about petunias and how to keep them bushy and blooming!

If you look at your petunia plants you will notice that they only form flowers at the END of the stems.  So as the stems grow longer all the flowers are at the edges of the plants, with bare stems leading up to them.  This is the case if you are growing Wave, SuperPetunias or regular ones.

In order to keep the plants full, bushy and not "stemmy" - you need to clip some of the stems each week. Ideally, this will start when you buy the plants and take them home, but unfortunately many people are hesitant to clip stems on a plant that looks good.  Trust me, you should start from week one.

Every week, clip three or four stems in half.  The plant will produce two new growing tips (which will start to flower soon) just below each cut, so if you do this regularly from the start you will keep the flowers over the entire plant.  Be sure to water deeply every four or five days (a deep soaking less often is better than a little every day - don't hand water!  Use a sprinkler or soaker hose)  and fertilize every three weeks or use time-release fertilizer when you plant.

Deadheading only has to be done on regular petunias that form seeds.  Wave and SuperPetunias don't make seeds so you don't have to deadhead.  Deadheading is CLIPPING THE STEM below the spent flower.  I stress the stem because you can't just pick off the wilted flower - you have to remove developing seeds that are BELOW the flower.  If you use sissors to clip the stem below the wilted flower you will be clipping off the seeds, and the plant will flower more in persuit of makeing more seeds.

What should you do now if your plant is stemmy or has stopped flowering?  Clip the stems back by 2/3 and fertilize.  You could clip all at once, or do a third at a time (randomly over the plant - clip a third every week or 10 days) so that the plant isn't cut back all at once.  Either method will mean that the plant will take about three or four weeks to start blooming well again.

You can also root the ends of the stems you clip off - cut them to 8" long and put them in fresh, damp potting soil after coating the stems with rooting hormone. Keep the pots out of direct sun but in a light place, and keep soil moist.  Your cuttings should root in two or three weeks.  After they start to grow, pinch the tip off and fertlize.

I hope this helps!
C.L.