Hanging Basket Petunias

Hello - I am very pleased with the way these petunias have developed over the summer to the point where you no longer see the container. Rather, it's a lovely sphere of pink blooms that greet the eye. But a closer inspection reveals that many of the blooms have died. So the question is - is it imperative that these dead blooms be deadheaded in order to keep fresh blooms coming? I ask because deadheading is a daunting task in that many of the dead flowers are within the sphere and not on the surface. Even the ones on the surface would require a lot of time to remove. Multiply this by four (I have 4 identical hanging baskets) and the task quickly becomes almost overwhelming. So is it downhill from here without intervention on my part?

 

I used to always deadhead my petunias @John Stern but an experienced petunia grower on this forum said he never bothered and they still flowered away. As you say it is a time consuming job which I used to hate and they’re quite sticky as well. So for the last couple of years I’ve taken his advice and they look as good as they ever did!

 

I never bother deadheading petunias, although these days I mostly have the Tidal Wave Red Velour ones because they overwinter when left outside and grow quickly from cuttings taken from the new growth in spring. I sometimes have the small-flowered "million bells"/calibrachoa types as well, but not this year (I didn't see any in the shops at the right sort of time at a price I was prepared to pay when I had free red velour cuttings at home).

 

Thanks so much for your responses. I'm gratified to know that I won't have to go through the deadheading process to maintain the beauty of my hanging baskets. CatDouch - your photo is a testimonial to that. I see now, looking at your addresses, that this is a UK forum. From a geography standpoint I shouldn't even be here as I live in the Yukon Territory / Canada - just under the Arctic Circle. Nevertheless, a petunia is a petunia no matter where it finds itself and the advice holds true everywhere.

 

All gardeners are welcome here!

I guess you have a shorter growing season than we do, and much colder winters so my red velour petunias that will overwinter outside here might not do the same for you.

 

@John Stern well I for one love to see the difference in conditions for gardeners in other parts of the world. We have other locations here @CanadianLori , @redstar and @PzaMayor3 spring to mind!

 

Nothing but very hardy perennials would survive a Yukon winter because they are zone 0 or maybe zone 1 at best. Even down here in Ontario (zones 5 down to 0) lots of UK perrenials are annuals here and wouldn't last 1 winter hour outside.

 

Wow @CanadianLori ! I guess you and @redstar have it easy by comparison to @John Stern ! Even @hydrogardener probably has worse winters than us.
But then @PzaMayor3 has the opposite problem...
Our weather is so variable. Last year my black petunia survived the winter outside, and grew enormously in a cold greenhouse.

 

Yukon, gardening sounds difficult, but the thought of digging up the odd gold nugget in your back garden does sound interesting.
Or maybe I've seen too many old movies.

 

It is a pretty wide range between us here in north America. My zone is quoted from the government site as is @John Stern 's.

@hydrogardener and I have the same zone rating according to the US map.

The US zone map also lists Brunswick, Pennsylvania - as a 7A - quite a difference between 1 and 7!

https://www.plantmaps.com/list-of-hardiness-zones-for-pennsylvania-cities.php#google_vignette

 

I am in Brunswick, NY, zone 5.

 

Yes, the 7 was Pennsylvania zone not New York and I'm in zone 5

 

was wondering what your comment was referring to, then I saw the title of this thread, Anyway, Petunias here are considered annuals. I go to a local nursery for a bundle for pots. After the first frost they die, and that is it. I am zone 6 here.

 

Yes, it's fun to see what others plant in different parts of the world. Traveling in the USA I get to see what works in Southern States, Northern States, West coast and East Coast. Is not just the climate, but the type of soil they have. I was surprised that Washington State could grow zone 8, where in my area they would die, I plant zone 4 to 6 zone Hydrangeas. And the simple Callicarpa, up north in my garden, there is a different species of it for southern states and that one would die up north. And forget Daffodils, southern states can't grow them, does not get cold enough for them, I am talking Florida. Come to think of it, I don't see Hosta's in Florida, have to look if there again. One year when I traveled to California, was so expecting a lush color of flowers everywhere, got so disappointed. There were places that had inpatients planted in their beds, SMH. I was expecting bird of paradise etc.

 

The strange thing is most of the UK fits into about 3, at the most of your zones.
Which is why it doesn't work over here.