Expert: C.L. Fornari - 5/15/2006

Question
What type of light do pansies prefer? I was told shade, but I wanted to confirm that before planting. Also, when deadheading regular petunias, do you pinch off the green part behind the dead bloom, or just pull off the bloom?

Answer
Billie,
Pansies like either sun or shade - they just like it cool.  Here on Cape Cod, where I live, they do well in the sun until about the 4th of July when it gets hot - then they stop blooming and die.  If you live in Alaska, plant them in the sun or part sun, and they should be fine for most of the summer.  If you live somewhere hot, plant them in part shade and hope for the best as it gets hot.  

When deadheading petunias pinch the stem below the flower - the point is to get rid of the developing seeds, because once an annual has made a bunch of seeds it figures that its job is done and it can stop blooming.  If you take off the seeds before they develop, the plant will produce more flowers in order to make more seeds.  The "Wave" petunias keep blooming without deadheading  because they are sterile and don't make seeds at all.

I hope this helps!
C.L.