Cutting long stems back to just above a lower leaf will promote new lateral branching behind the pruning cut. Let leaf color be your guide on fertilizing petunias. As long as the leaf coloration shows no sign of yellowing, fertilizer unnecessary. If you do fertilize, a fertilizer with a high first # can be counterproductive to bud #'s as energy will likely go into vegetative gather than reproductive tissue formation. Deadhead whenever you have time. I try to cruise my containers every day, snipping here & there & the rest of the garden when I have the chance. The more frequently you deadhead, the less energy the plant will expend on forming seeds & the more it will have to form new buds. Al

hi a bit smaller pic would help .. can you do it.. yes ... should you do it?? .. IMHO.. no ... those are the first vertical shoots.. more will come this year .. so why cut those down .. but listen.. you have 25 of them.. cut a few.. dont cut others.. and watch what happens.. i learned more through experimenting.. than i ever learning from a book or the web ... now.. if you have 25 of them.. dont you think it might be useful to know what they are??? do they have a label??? if you had the name.. you could then go to google images.. and see how the plant matures.. and how that would guide you on how to prune them ... and. finally.. as a collector.. who lives to own one of everything.. i have no clue why you have 25 of these .. lol ... i hope you start to love gardening.. and start diversifying your garden ... i am guessing someone will come along and name it for you ... i am blanking right now.. looks like a euonomys ... but heck.. i cant even spell that this morning ... just as an aside.. those plant ON THE WALL are planted way to close .... considering how deep your bed is ... ever consider moving those??? and do you know what those are.. and are those flowers i see??? good luck ken Here is a link that might be useful: if that is what they are.. they are not small cute plants ...

In late fall, maybe the end of September here in zone 7, I now go through and trim all my iris flags/leaves back to about 5" while completely cleaning out the beds of all old iris debris and dead leaves. This is one of those essential steps in helping make sure you don't have iris borers the next year, as they lay eggs in late summer on iris debris and leaf tips. If you remove all of those things from your yard entirely, the likelihood of borers is reduced significantly. After having my iris attacked by borers badly a couple years ago, this spring everything is looking great, blooms everywhere, enjoying it immensely, and there has been no impact from cutting back just before winter sets in.

I've been propagating by cuttings for a good thirty years now, but still don't pretend to be an expert. The question of rooting in water or a mix is a good one. Rooting in water develops roots with large cells full of water, so when they are then planted in a potting mix, the roots have to change up rather fast in order to take up nutrients and many times they go into shock and die. I prefer to start everything in a soil-less potting mix. I have also found that for some reason I have a much better success rate by using styrofoam cups as the containers. I simply punch a small draining hole in the bottom, then fill with the mix and really water thoroughly. This means watering them until I am positive that they are damp all the way down. Most of my cutting are around six inches in length and I remove all the lower leaves but leave a few of the upper leaves. This is necessary so the cutting will have the leaves to help produce food and will be able to take up nurishment when the roots begin to develop. I then put the cutting in the center of the mix, take a bendable straw and insert in into the cup at the edge. This will hold up the plastic bag that will be placed down over the cutting, straw, label and cup and fastened on with a rubber band. The plastic bag needs to have a small hole put through both sides at the top so that excess heat can escape if necessary and provides for a bit of circulation. A knife point or icepick will do nicely for making the hole in the bag. I usually use sandwich bags, the foldable kind, not zip. The cuttings are then placed in a bright place, but not in direct sun and if put together properly need not be disturbed for at least a month. Many things this time of year will be rooted in a month, but I suggest checking for roots and perhaps giving them a drink at this time. If not rooted, they will then be alright for a couple more weeks or better, until they do root. There are very few things that you can expect 100% success with, but there are some. I've never lost a forsythia, miniature rose, african violet, spirea, and many houseplant varieties, but most things you will lose some. The most dangerous time for doing cutting is when they are amply rooted and you attempt to uncover them. Take your time doing this. Take the rubber band off and loosen the bag for a day or two, then pull the bag up a bit to expose one side to the air for a day or two. If that all goes well, then take the bag off, but at no time during the procedure allow the potting mix to dry out. Patience is all important in doing cuttings. Once you've been successful,you will be amazed at how much you will learn.