How to Trim Petunias

Trim off two or three inches at the tip of each plant, plus any blossoms, when you transplant petunias in the spring. You can snip them with scissors or simply pinch them off with your fingers. Doing so will encourage the plant to produce even more blooms in the future.

Trim off spent blossoms periodically. Modern petunias will continue to bloom even if you don't perform this "dead heading," but removing the spent blossoms makes the plant look neater.

Pinch back petunias again midsummer. Trim back the top few inches. At the same time, cut off any dead or broken stems. Alternatively, you can just remove the growing tips of each branch, to encourage bushier growth.

Feed petunias after you trim them, to encourage rapid new growth. Use a general-purpose fertilizer intended for blooming flowers.