Petunia
Petunia: Any color, drought tolerant, Deer resistant. This is a great annual to add to your flower border, with prolific blooming the entire growing season.
| Petunia | Annual |
|---|---|
| Bloom Time | Later Spring to Frost |
| Light | Full Sun - Light Shade |
| Water | Well Drained Soil - Fertile Soil |
| Diseases | Mosaic Virus |
| Pests | Flea Beetles, White Flies |
| Propagation | Seeds, or Take Cuttings |
| Color | Any |
| Zones | 8 - 10 Annual Elsewhere |
Petunia - Easy Wave Blue
Petunias are one of my favorite annuals to use in the flower border. They are pretty much fail proof and very vigorous growers with very prolific blooms during the entire growing season.
Colors are limitless, ranging from basic solids, to beautiful veining and intriguing colors.
Petunias is one of the annuals you will want to locate along your walkways as many varieties are sweetly fragrant and a pleasure to have in the garden.
Wave petunias have made this plant even more popular. Reaching up to 4 feet long, it's great as a groundcover or when cascading from window boxes and pots.
As with most annuals that are prolific blooms, Petunias will greatly benefit (and reward) you by being much more full and bushy from pinching and deadheading.
The Petunias are usually grouped in the following categories:
Grandiflora: Large blooms up to 4 inches across, best grown in containers where rain will not hit them directly.
Multiflora: Smaller but more numerous 2-inch-wide blooms that stand up to weather, making them ideal for a border.
Floribunda: 3 to 4 inch wide blooms on compact plants.
Milliflora: 1 1/2" wide flowers covering 8 inch tall mounds.
The quickest and easiest way to propagate Annual Petunia is by seed in the spring or by taking cuttings.
Select a sunny border are and dig deep, mixing in cow manure to provide rich light soil. I use my Troy Bilt Roto-tiller to fluff-up and aerate the soil, prior to seeding, so the roots will grow quickly and deeply. It is phenomenal what a difference this makes for annual Petunia.
Petunia - Easy Wave Coral Reef
Petunias are perennials, but will not over winter unless you have a warm climate. Best in moderate temperatures (50-85°F) and full sun with protection from the wind. Prone to rain damage, but are tolerant of wet climates for the most part. Works well in a border or bedding.
Blooms saucer or trumpet-shaped, diversely colored flowers from late spring to fall. Hues range from pink, red, yellow, blue to white. Lengthen the flowering period by deadheading on regular basis.
Deadheading is the process of removing the spent flower (seed pod and all) from the plant.
You can do this by simply pinching the stem below the flower or by using some type of pruning tool to remove the spent flower.
Deadheading not only induces new flowers to form, but it can keep the plant from looking too leggy.
There are some cultivated varieties of Petunias that are said to not require deadheading after their blooms fade for the plant to keep flowering; however, it is still recommended to deadhead these Petunias to promote the best floral displays.
Spacing: Space 8" - 18" apart when planting
Fertilizer: For best results, fertilize Petunias biweekly with a high potassium fertilizer during the growing season.
Water Requirements: Weekly during dry spells..
Salvia:
Upright salvias in purple, red, or white create a regal backdrop behind ground-creeping petunias
Heliotrope:
Heliotrope and sprawling petunias combine beautifully in containers, creating a fragrant magnet for butterflies.
Sweet Alyssum:
Tiny, delicate alyssum contrasts well with the much larger blooms of petunias
Smoke Bush:
C. coggygria is native from southern Europe to central China. It bears roundish, 1.5 to 3 inches leaves which are bluish green.
Petunia - Cascadias Sunray
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Cascadias Bicolor Purple petunia (Petunia 'Cascadias Bicolor Purple') is a heavy-blooming variety bearing purple flowers with a white star in the center. It has a trailing habit.
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Cascadias Cherry Spark petunia (Petunia 'Cascadias Cherry Spark') is a floriferous selection with pink flowers veined in dark purple. It has a trailing habit, making it good for hanging baskets.
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Cascadias Sunray petunia (Petunia 'Cascadias Sunray') is a trailing petunia with medium-size soft yellow flowers veined in rich yellow.
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Double Wave Blue Velvet petunia (Wave Double Velvet Petunia) bears double, purple-blue flowers on vigorous plants that reach 6 inches tall and 2 feet
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Dreams Fuchsia petunia (Petunia 'Dreams Fuchsia') is a large-flowering petunia bearing many bold fuchsia-pink flowers all summer. It grows 15 inches tall and 12 inches wide.
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Easy Wave Blue petunia (Easy Wave Blue Petunia) is a spreading petunia bearing tons of dark blue-purple flowers. It grows 12 inches tall and 40 inches wide.
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Easy Wave Coral Reef petunia (Easy Wave Coral Reef Petunia) is a spreading petunia with an abundance of dark coral-pink flowers. It grows 12 inches tall and 40 inches wide
Petunia - Supertunia Pretty Much Picasso
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Easy Wave Mystic Pink petunia (Easy Wave Mystic Pink Petunia) is a spreading selection that bears soft, creamy-pink flowers with a white center. It grows 12 inches tall and 40 inches wide
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Easy Wave Pink petunia (Easy Wave Pink Petunia) is a spreading hybrid with bright pink flowers all summer long. It grows 12 inches tall and 40 inches wide.
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Famous Lilac Picotee petunia (Petunia 'Famous Lilac Picotee') is a vigorous variety with a semi-trailing habit and lilac-purple flowers edged in white. It grows 1 foot tall and 2 feet wide.
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Fantasy Pink Morn petunia (Petunia 'Fantasy Pink Morn') bears soft pink blooms with a white throat on compact plants that grow 1 foot tall and wide.
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Madness Yellow petunia (Petunia 'Madness Yellow') is a floriferous selection with clean yellow blooms, great branching, and season-long performance. It grows 15 inches tall and 18 inches wide
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Merlin Blue Morn petunia (Petunia 'Merlin Blue Morn') offers rich purple flowers that have a glowing white center.
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Merlin Rose petunia (Petunia 'Merlin Rose') produces beautiful pink blooms with a white and yellow throat on plants.
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Opera Supreme Pink Morn petunia (Petunia 'Opera Supreme Pink Morn') bears bright pink flowers with a soft white center. This award-winning variety grows 6 inches tall and 3 feet wide.
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Orchid Daddy petunia (Petunia 'Orchid Daddy') is an award-winning selection with 4-inch-wide lavender-pink blooms that bear darker veins. It grows to 1 foot tall.
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Picnic White petunia (Petunia 'Picnic White') is a mini petunia with an abundance of small white flowers. It grows 1 foot tall and 2 feet wide
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Pirouette Rose double petunia (Petunia 'Pirouette Rose') bears frilly, double, pink-and-white flowers on 1-foot plants. It's not as heat tolerant as many other petunia varieties.
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Storm White petunia (Petunia 'Storm White') bears big pure-white flowers all summer long. It holds up to heat well and grows 14 inches tall and 16 inches wide.
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Sweet Sunshine Compact Lime petunia (Petunia 'Sweet Sunshine Compact Lime') is a delightful double-flowering petunia with chartreuse-yellow flowers all summer long. It grows 14 inches tall and wide.
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Sweet Sunshine Compact Nostalgia petunia (Petunia 'Sweet Sunshine Compact Nostalgia') shows off beautiful, double soft-pink flowers touched with creamy yellow on a 14-inch-mounding plant.
