Pentunia

A member of the Solanaceae family is grown as an annual and can become leggy and some say should be pinched to make them compact.   But sometime they can get away from a gardener and
really start to look bad.   Did you know you can cut them back and they will regrow?  Yep, I have been doing this for years but let me warn you, they can fry and die if not done right.  Here is one thatI cut back a little over a week ago.  I did two at that time and this one was closer to the huge planter which gave it some shade.  The other got full sun and fried with our 90+ temps this past month.

So if you do cut back do not put them in direct sunshine if your temps are over 80!  I know petunias are to be grown in full sun but believe me, once you cut them back they can die.   Some folks will say these are cheap so why not just replace, if you have a beautiful one and you would like to regrow it, why not give it a try?   When cutting back go to the bottom of the plant and go up two leafs and make a cut.   I would wait a week before fertilizing the plant.   Most books will tell you to fertlize once a month but I do ours weekly.   If you don't want to cut them back and find seeds why not just plant some seeds you have found on the plant?   

If the bees do their job right, the seeds will be green in color until they pop open and turn brown.  When they grown and open, it's time to harvest them and save them for next year.  We here grow a few varieties but try to keep them a distance from the other Solanaceaes that we grow.   Some folks have moved to the Calibrachoa, 'million bells' that appear to look like petunias.   Either can be fun to grow and take about the same care.    With that stated the main goal here is the care and understanding the plant you have selected.    

Time to start Gardening 101?