I live in the Texas panhandle. Last year, I had 2 half-whiskey barrels full of white, red and white striped, lavender, dark purple, dark purple and white striped, light pink, dark pink and red Petunias which grew like crazy in the barrels. By late September, they were looking pretty leggy, dried up and sad. I pulled all of the dead plants up by mid-October. In April this year, I planted all my other big planters with beautiful uniquely shaped and striped Petunias from Sutherlands...not the same ones you get at Home Depot or Lowes. Well, the Sutherland Petunias grew like crazy and multiplied over and over. I still wasn't sure what to do with the whiskey barrels that I had those old previous year Petunias growing in so I just left them empty. In late May or early June, I start seeing little plant leaves popping up out of the bare potting soil. I thought...hmmm....could be weeds, but maybe not, I will just let them grow and see. SO glad I did. Both barrels begin to totally fill up with flowers from last year's Petunia seeds. What made it nice was the fact that I had brand NEW Petunias which were just getting started and spreading like wildfire in the barrels, while the Petunias I had planted 2 months before in other planters were getting leggy, but still filling and running over my huge containers with flowers. Thus, while the other (the ones I planted in April this year) ones were getting tired, I had new ones full of new flowers from last year's Petunia seeds in my barrels. Sooo, the point is, which has been my own personal experience, yes, even if you pull the OLD Petunia plants out, there should be new ones sprrouting in their place...but just in early summer, not early spring. Maybe it's the climate here in the panhandle (freezes and snows here in winter..gets in the single digits here sometimes). I had lived on the Gulf Coast previously, and I always pulled the old Petunias up in late fall, and I always thought those little sprouts coming back in early summer were weeds. They were new Petunia sproutlings all along. So patience...give the so-called weed time to grow for awhile.

Ha ha ha ha!!! My empress trees are growing like crazy now! I cut nicks off the top of the still bald catalpas and it's green under there so who knows...I hear they don't come back until May. Here's the funny: I was telling my Mom today that my plan is to have these container trees then put vines and stuff in them; well she just sees these cut back stalks (and doesn't know what we all know know about this) so she didn't think I was going to have trees in my containers, then she didn't think the empress trees would grow here. HA! From the time I showed them to her to the time we got back from dinner they had grown. She then remarked that I could probably sit right there and watch them grow. Probably. You know what though, out of 200+ seeds, only 7 came up. Luckily. I also planted some okra seeds in there and they sprouted in 24 hours. The containers are full of that $2 a bag cow manure they sell at walmart. Maybe it's even $1 a bag, whatever. I anticipate wild growth this year! And with the empress trees in a pot I can cut them back ea year right? We are having a good spring here in FL so far.

I've searched high and low, and I'll be jiggered if I can find an answer. I'm going to guess your plants have it too good, and would benefit from some stress to make them feel threatened enough to flower out of self-preservation. Uniola paniculata lives and thrives in some seriously adverse conditions, and seems to flower just fine. Perhaps the garden setting is just too easy for it. Don't feed them at all. Cut back on watering them. If you can work some sand into their soil without damaging the root systems, try that.

Here is an article from the American Horticultural Society journal, The American Gardener, from autumn 2005 on fall cleanup. It includes a sidebar on Debbie Hillman, a professional gardener in the northern suburbs of Chicago. ---------- EVERY FALL, most gardeners engage in the annual ritual of raking, mowing, pruning, and generally hauling off yards of garden trimmings and grass clippingsall in the name of fall cleanup. But this last-ditch effort to tidy up the garden wastes a precious amount of resources in the process. In fact, overzealous cleaning actually can be more damaging to the ecological landscape and less fruitful to the outcome of next yearÂs garden than not doing anything at all. Making a few changes in your autumn routine benefits the soil and, ultimately, the health of your plants. Keeping fallen leaves and trimmings in the garden adds essential organic matter to the soil. This, in turn, provides food for worms and a host of other beneficial soil-dwelling creatures that break down the material, improving soil structure and delivering valuable nutrients to plants. In addition, leaving a few things undoneÂallowing spent flowers to remain or leaving a patch of tall grasses to linger in a corner of your yard, for instance creates a hospitable place for wildlife to spend the winter. In regards to removing garden debris or leaving it be, there are a multitude of reasons why gardeners should forego the traditional course of action in favor of a more relaxed approach. For starters, how about conserving resourcesÂincluding your time, energy, and the fuel it takes to haul leaves, sticks, and other yard trimmings away? Rather than sending valuable organic matter to the local landfill, why not recycle it? The leftover organic matter can be turned into nutrient-rich compost, used for mulch, put in piles to provide winter habitat for wildlife, or left to decompose naturally. LEAVE THEM STANDING Removing spent flowers during the growing season will help keep plants blooming longer. However, once fall has arrived and plants near the end of their flowering cycle, the flowers of many plants can be left to mature so they will produce seeds. The attractive seed heads that remain will not only add a dimension of winter interest in the garden, they also serve as an important food source for seed-eating birds like finches, sparrows, grosbeaks, and siskins. And, letting seedpods form on desired self-sowing annualsÂnasturtiums, poppies, nicotianas, and cosmos, for exampleÂprovides a welcome source for next yearÂs blooms. Just be sure to remove the seedpods of any plants that you donÂt want to reseed. Use a light hand with the pruners and leave at least a few dead stalks of diseasefree perennials and vines in the garden to serve as protection for the plantÂs crown and roots. By leaving some garden trimmings in planting beds, youÂll be creating a natural habitat of protective cover for a host of birds as well as a variety of overwintering wildlife, such as adult ladybeetles, pollinating bees, praying mantids, and other insects. Insects, too, need protection from winter cold, and in warmer climates they also Sunflowers left in the garden provide a nutritious food source for a variety of birds. need protection from winter elements, like moisture, as well as their enemies. At summerÂs end, insects take refuge in garden debris and in dry stems. "Insects, whether they be beneficial or pest, need overwinter protection," says Jack Schultz, a professor of entomology at Penn State University in State College, Pennsylvania. "Without it theyÂre sitting ducks for everything from having their blood freeze to being eaten by their enemies." On the flip side, removing all this garden debris in fall can actually upset the balance of nature. Insects are a necessary component to plant pollination, beneficial insects help keep bad bugs under control, and insects and other invertebrates serve as an essential food source for many birds and other animals. ItÂs a natural synergy that makes for a healthy ecosystem and lively garden. LET IT LAY One of the most labor-saving, cost-effective, and environmentally-friendly things you can doÂor in this case, not doÂis to leave your grass clippings on the lawn. Since grass clippings are mostly water, they decompose rapidly so there is no thatch buildup. Grasscycling also adds organic matter, stimulates the activity of earthworms, which act as natureÂs soil aerators, and returns a natural source of nitrogen back to the soil. This can add up to two pounds of elemental nitrogen per 1,000 square feet each season. If you have a mulching mower and mow your grass frequently, the clippings should be the perfect size to leave on the lawn. A heavy fall of leaves on the lawn should be raked up to avoid smothering the grass or encouraging fungal diseases. But those that fall into garden beds can be left in place. As long as the layer of leaves isnÂt too thick, it will form an insulating mat around trees and shrubs that conserves soil moisture, modulates soil temperatures, reduces erosion, encourages beneficial soil organisms, and naturally breaks down to improve soil structure. Some leaves may need to be removed from perennial beds where winter moisture can promote crown rot. If you canÂt bear to leave your leaves naturally strewn in beds, then gently rake them out and add them to the compost bin. Consider leaving a few small piles tucked away for hibernating insects as well as lizards, frogs, and toads that seek winter cover. Unless your garden is huge, consider raking your leaves rather than using a blower or vacuum. Raking does not produce the noise or air pollution of machinery, and it is a healthy form of exercise. If you have a leaf shredder, put your leaves through it so they will decompose faster. Those shredded leaves can be added back to beds or put in the compost pile. Even if you donÂt have a shredder, you can chop up leaf piles by running over them several times with a mulching mower. DonÂt know what to do with your branches and other yard trimmings? Use them as a base layer to start a compost pile and cover them with grass clippings or leaves. You can also create loosely stacked brush piles in out-of-the-way spots in your yard. Use a mix of thinner and thicker branches and twigs to create differentsized spaces that will accommodate a variety of backyard creatures from reptiles and amphibians to birds, bees, and other winged wildlife. Top it off with a layer of evergreen branches for added protection in colder climates. Fall cleanup neednÂt be a complicated chore. Just remember that less is more in the grand scheme of thingsÂour environment, our resources, and our day-today lives as well as the ecosystem of our garden. After all, wouldnÂt you rather spend a little less time working in your garden and more time enjoying it? Kris Wetherbee and her husband, Rick, a photographer, are regular contributors to The American Gardener. Their most recent book is Attracting Birds, Butterflies & Other Wonders to Your Backyard (Lark Books, 2005). Sidebars: SIMPLE FALL TASKS Prune out or rake up any diseased plant stems or leaves. Discard these in the trash or burn them if your community allows it. Apply a two- to four-inch-thick layer of organic mulch to tender shrubs and perennials, leaving a mulch-free zone of a foot or so around the base of deciduous trees, and several inches away from hardy shrubs and crowns of herbaceous perennial plants. If you live in a cold winter region, horticulturists advise waiting till the first frost before applying mulch. If you have a chipper, convert your yard trimmings into wood chips that can be used as mulch. Chips made from freshly trimmed branches should be allowed to decompose for a few months before they are spread on planted beds because they would otherwise use up soil nitrogen as they break down. Instead of focusing on clearing things out of the garden, think of early fall as a time to add plants and other elements that support winter wildlife. Consider trees and shrubs that offer winter berries for birds; cover crops that shelter amphibians, nourish soil microorganisms, and reduce erosion; add bird feeders and baths for resident songbirds. Divide and replant mature ornamental grasses and herbaceous perennials that have developed vigorous clumps, show barren and dead centers, or whose flowers have become less abundant. ÂK.W. BREAKING AN UNHEALTHY CYCLE Debbie Hillman, a professional gardener in the northern suburbs of Chicago, says the ritual of fall cleanupÂpart of what she calls an overall "neatness aesthetic" in landscape care has led many American homeowners to unwittingly support "scraped earth" tactics. "Every fall, homeowners rake up every leaf from their yardsÂlawnservice crews cut down every seed stalk and vacuum up every last crumb of loose organic matter, serving more as outdoor cleaning services than as horticultural stewards," she says. "In the name of neatness, we pay to throw this resource away, compounding this folly by the injurious techniques we use," she adds. "By using leafblowers, weÂve given ourselves excruciating noise and air pollution. By having to truck this Âwaste material ever further away, we use up nonrenewable fuels and create more air pollution." Hillman urges homeowners who hire landscape crews to carefully monitor how they do the fall cleanup. "For several years, I tried making suggestions to clients or their lawn crews about how to deal with fallen leaves (leave some in ground cover or rake them from the lawn into the shrub beds), but it didnÂt work," says Hillman. "If I was successful in getting the leaves left in the fall, at the first sign of spring they would be vacuumed up. Now I make it simple for homeowners and landscape crews alike: I tell them to stay out of the beds!" The benefit to retaining organic debris, says Hillman, is both environmental and economic. Those gardens where fallen leaves were allowed to remain, she says, "were the ones that survived the last two dry Chicago winters with little or no plant loss; the yards scraped clean lost mature trees, shrubs, ground covers, etc. on an enormous scale, with equally enormous replacement costs." HillmanÂs strong feelings on this topic led her to write an essay that was originally published in HortIdeas, an informative gardening newsletter published by Greg and Pat Williams of Gravel Switch, Kentucky (for information on HortIdeas, visit www.users.mis.net/~gwill). You can read HillmanÂs full essay by clicking on the special link to this article on the AHS Web site (www.ahs.org). ÂK.W.