This week's column addresses when to pinch back annual and perennial flowers, characteristics of a good potting mix and caring for indoor azaleas.

Some of my taller flowers last summer grew too tall and flopped over. Can I pinch these back next year to control height without losing flowers? Most types of annual and perennial flowers can be ...

To do this, cut or pinch back plants by half. Sedum, rudbeckia, echinacea, helenium and golden rod will all respond well to this technique. Lightly shearing over aubrieta, lavender and alyssum ...