Hello, human gardener. We are petunias, the vibrant, sun-loving performers you wish to train into magnificent floral waterfalls. To help us achieve our most lush, trailing potential in your hanging baskets, you must understand our needs from our roots to our blooming tips. Here is our guide, from our perspective.
First, do not skimp on our home. A cramped, shallow basket makes our roots feel trapped and stifled. Please choose a large basket, at least 12-14 inches in diameter, with excellent drainage holes. We despise wet feet. The soil is our bed and our kitchen. We crave a lightweight, well-draining potting mix, not heavy garden soil. Enrich it with a slow-release fertilizer at planting; this provides a steady supply of nutrients that our young roots can gently feed on as we establish ourselves, building our strength for the grand performance ahead.
We are solar-powered. To produce the massive amounts of energy required to grow long and flower profusely, we need a minimum of six hours of direct, unfiltered sunlight daily. More is even better. When you water us, be thorough. Water until it flows freely from the drainage holes, then allow the top inch of our soil to dry out before watering again. We seek consistent moisture, not a cycle of drought and flood. Also, please hang our basket in a spot with good air circulation. A stagnant, humid environment is an invitation for fungal diseases that can quickly devastate our foliage.
This is the most misunderstood yet vital step. When we are young, you must not be afraid to pinch us. Using your fingers or clean shears, snip off the top inch or two of our main stems. This might seem counterproductive, but it signals our body to stop growing just one long, leggy stem and to instead branch out from the sides. This one act is the secret to becoming bushy and full, rather than stringy. Furthermore, as we bloom, our spent flowers will begin to form seed pods. This is our natural instinct to reproduce, but it saps a tremendous amount of our energy. You must deadhead us—regularly removing these faded blooms. This tricks us into thinking we need to produce more flowers to achieve our goal, leading to a continuous, breathtaking cascade of color instead of a few seeds.
The initial slow-release fertilizer will not last our entire growing season. We are heavy feeders, especially when working so hard to trail and bloom constantly. After the first month, we require weekly feeding. A liquid fertilizer designed for blooming plants, high in phosphorus (the middle number on the bottle), is like a power drink for us. It provides the direct boost we need to support our spectacular floral show from spring until the first frost.
