tall growing petunia - Ask Extension
My son brought home a small petunia from school. We have replanted it, and have been watering it. What can i say it keeps growing. It is probably abou...
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tall growing petunia #263245
Asked July 19, 2015, 10:48 PM EDT
My son brought home a small petunia from school. We have replanted it, and have been watering it. What can i say it keeps growing. It is probably about 2 ft tall now, but I am afraid that it will snap soon. What am I supposed to do. can i cut it and re-pot it?
Kings County New York
Expert Response
It sounds like your petunia is very healthy, which means it can handle being cut back and/or repotted. Often as the season progresses, petunias can get a bit scraggly and it is a good idea to cut them back by 1/3 to 1/2. Give them a bit of general fertilizer (10-10-10 or other balanced formula). Sometimes it's good to keep them out of really bright, hot sun for a day or two after their haircut, but they will quickly rebound and will blossom again, even more fully, in a few weeks. It is not likely necessary to repot it, but if you wish you can do that. You might want to use a slightly (but only slightly... 1" or so...) larger pot. Use a good potting mix (not garden soil) and water/fertilize well once repotted. It's great your son has had such a success with the petunia!
You'll have to excuse me, but I live in Brooklyn NY, so I don't have much experience with plants. I got a bit lost with the lingo. What do you mean by cut back? Am i supposed to cut off some of the height and stick it into the pot, or just cut it and through it out?
Sorry for the ignorance. Gotta start somewhere.
Sorry for the ignorance. Gotta start somewhere.
No problem at all. I would just use a pair of scissors to snip off the longest stems by about 1/3 of their length. That will make your plant shorter so it won't fall over or break off. Petunias are pretty tough and will be fine with cutting it back like that (like giving it a haircut). The stems will soon start to regrow where you snip them off and In a few weeks it will bloom again. Don't worry about repotting it; just leave it in its pot and snip back the stems and keep it well watered... just like you've been doing since it is so healthy: you're taking great care of it. If you happen to have any basic fertilizer to add to the pot, that'll help too, but no matter if you don't. It will be find until the end of the summer. Good luck!
