The Secret to Stunning Petunias

ExDancer

My neighbour always has a stunning display of hanging baskets filled with petunias. When I asked her to share her secret she said she never deadheads them, just gives them a good dose of tomato fertiliser once a week.
Surely she must be pulling my leg?
My husband insists she must go to the garden centre and buy new every couple few weeks!

I suspect she also has a system to drip water them daily. We do.

I worked on the tube ends today, reminded me to this thread.

White petunias in a huge pot are taking over.

Ours are fantastic.

My petunias are great as well …I never dead head them either! Just water once a day when it’s dry….let the old flowersjust drop off.

Thanks for the hints I love petunias
I dead head with scissors
Avoids that sticky feel but I wonder if that’s such a good idea as my display is rarely impressive!

I once had a hanging basket that grew to three feet in diameter! Huge. It was the envy of the neighborhood. I never deadheaded, watered once a day, brought inside in hail storms. Pretty much ignored it. It was hanging on the east side of the house.

Morning sunshine, not hot sun exposure?
USA Gundy

I dead head mine when I get chance, I agree the dead flowers do feel very sticky. I have sone stunning bright pink petunias in a hanging basket this year. I have fed them but not with tomato food, I will try that.

Sounds so cruel to petunias - why would you want to stun them?
Humming "I'm a lonely little petunia in an onion patch....."

Yes, we've always used tomato feed for bedding plants and most container grown plants.

They aren't my favourite flower , but I have grown them .

I used to dead head feed with slow release Vitax Q4 .

Your neighbour might have some new super duper variety .

Once a week is a lot of fertiliser , but regular watering would wash out the nutrients .

Is the real secret to put them in hanging baskets? I have tried petunias in pots over the years, but the slugs devour them before they have a chance to get going 😱

I deadhead them because the shrivelled dead flowers are not nice. I mingle them in a vase with lavender mint and rosemary for the living room. They look lovely and fragrance the room at the same time.

Like some others I don't bother with petunias. I grow fruit and veg mainly. I do have some hanging basket and pots planted with fuschias, geraniums and lots of trailing lobelia. MiL grew lots of flower and had lovely displays every year. She fed with tomato food and deadhead every day.

I grow Tidal Wave Petunias, which are F1 hybrids and don't need deadheading. However, I can't resist taking off the dying blooms. They seem to tolerate rain better than other varieties.

I’m not a fan of petunias , those slimy dead flowers are off putting

All mine get is a plentiful supply of water from my capillary action hanging basket. They have decent compost to start with. I do not feed. Occasionally I dead head. They cause me no problems so I like putting them in my baskets.

Yes, tomorite.

My mother used to swear by tomato food for flowers - it’s designed to make flowers, followed of course by tomatoes. I deadhead my petunias and I read that they should be cut back after the first flowering, to prevent that straggly look. I’m going to do mine soon.

Mine are impressive, I dead head and feed once a week.

Those are the one flower I can't stand to dead-head as I hate the feel of the wilted slimy spent flowers. No petunias for me!

I do admire others though, and they do look fantastic in hanging baskets. Our town hangs baskets of petunias on the light-posts and they always look fantastic. They are not dead-headed!.

It also depends on the variety, some are much more prolific bloomers than others.

Your neighbour is right about tomato fertiliser.m as it contains potash and seaweed extract which promotes strong growth. I feed most flowering plants weekly if I have time.

I would carry on dead heading even though it’s a chore.

Impatiens wide borders are lovely this year as well. Water daily. Never deadhead.

Dead header here too! Works for me.

Like Norah I deadhead petunias and feed fortnightly. I don't like to see wilting flower heads in my baskets!