Petunias
By Joyofflowers
United States 
My petunias I planted in early May are already leggy. Can I cut them back or will this kill them off? Is there a way to keep them more compact?
26 May, 2008
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I would certainly try cutting back the straggly growths by about half their length. This will help to compact the plants a little. If you grow petunias in the future try nipping the shoots once the stems are about 3" long repeat this again and you should get tight bushy plants which will explode into bloom during the summer. This approach may be a little late this year but you could experiment by initially cutting all growth back by half, then as new shoots reach about 3" reduce one third of them by nipping out the growing tip. Best of luck, Dioon11
27 May, 2008