When dead heading petunias, do you just take the dead flower

[a kennedy]

part or both the little holder part of the flower and the flower together??? I've been dead heading just the flower. :shrug:

[Inchworm]

1. Good question

I am in the same dillema, but I've been pinching off the holder too.

:shrug:

[a kennedy]

2. Thanks, and I think I'm going to have to start cutting some of the

"vine" things.....so many holders left, that the plant only has flowers on the ends of the vines. Know what I mean?? May-be I'll just start taking the holder part too.

[Sentath]

3. What is your goal?

If its just aesthetic, to remove withered petals, you're doing fine. If you are working to force the plant to keep blooming then you have to remove the ovary.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flower#Morphology

[Dogtown]

4. Also

by pinching off the bulbous base, which is the seed-pod, you prevent the plant form "going to seed". We hear that phrase, and "seedy", w/o realizing that it's derived; when plants form seeds, they lose 'maintenance" nutrition to the seeds, thus becoming spindly, stemmy, and with unhealthy looking foliage.

If you want your plants to continue looking good, you can't let them form seeds.