On Fri, 16 May 2003 02:30:01 GMT, "Cereoid-UR12" wrote:

Deadheading hasn't been the same since Jerry Garcia died.

That is one gardening task tailor made for people with too much time on
their hands with nothing better to do! Its micromanagement at its obsessive
best!!

The faded flowers of Petunia just fade away without any help. The reason for
deadheading is to remove the developing fruit after the flower fades so that
it doesn't take any energy away from the flowers that follow. What you want
to do is cut the flower stalk just below the ovary not the whole stem. The
terminal stems produce more flowers.

. ..
I am a city dweller with very little room for a garden. I did put
petunia's
in the window boxes. My question is do I just pull out the wilted flower
or
do I pinch the plant below the flower stem?

Most Petunias can stand/benefit from relatively frequent pruning
during the growing season. One reference recommends pruning back by
20% each month to keep the plants both neat and blooming. I agree with
Cereoid that "deadheading" individual blossoms on such a
prolifically-blooming plant is a little obsessive-compulsive, but an
occasional quick haircut with a trimming tool will keep the blooms
coming. Many flowering plants will, if given the chance, expend a
great deal of their energy into producing seeds if blossoms are left
in place. If you remove the blooms, they will make more leaves and
flowers. Vast over-generalization, but removing spent blooms, one way
or another, usually makes a plant do more of what *you* want it to.