The flowers you planted a few weeks ago look like they're doing great.
They've taken to the soil and a nice colorful bloom as sprouted up out of the ground, adding a touch of color to your garden.
If left on its own that flower will continue to grow long, lanky and not living up to its full potential, to really get that garden full of color all it takes is a few snips.
A simple pruning back of the flowers can inspire new growth and allow the plant to spend its energy on its roots and new blooms, allowing you to skip the man made fertilizers.
This also has the added benefit of creating a more drought tolerate plant, better root structures and more leaves means the plant will be able to hold more water when it rains and save it for a dry day.
Thinning out your plants also means more ventilation, which can be key in this hot, humid climate to prevent mold or fungus from killing off your plants.
As with anything there are exceptions, single bloom flowers such as a sunflower shouldn't be pruned, but there are clues to look for to see if the plant can take a pruning.
Look for new shoots popping up in between two different stems, this means that the plant is hoping to produce another stem to grow a flower on and means that the flower can be cut back.
Pruning can be done any time of day but with most gardening activities it is best done in the morning when it's still relatively cool.
