Flowers

Are you thinking of adding petunia to your garden this time of year ? Blooming in many different color , these beautiful flowers are a summertime staple in the peak garden all over the earth . In this clause , gardening expert Paige Foley takes you through every facet of mature petuinas and their care .

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grow petunias

A classical garden favour , petunias are trusted to paint your garden innumerous color with prospicient lasting blooms . With hundreds of variety available to plant , there are endless alternative to fit any garden space . Petunias can bloom inbright White , dazzle pinko , vibrant yellows , vivid purples and even a potpourri thatblooms dramatically black . And , there are several varieties that have bi - coloring bloom .

They have a wide variety of peak sizes and can have double or single bloom patterns . They are alow - maintenance ship’s boat perennialin gamey hardiness zones . In cooler regions , they arecolorful yearly flowersthat expire once the first frost hits .

No matter if you ’re growing as a recurrent or yearly , this article is give out to insure everything you need to knowabout petunias and their care . Let ’s dig into the item of how to care for these very popular garden darling .

Petunia Plant Overview

Petunia Plant Overview

About Petunias

Petunias are a very popular tender perennial . They make out in a change of colors , sizes and shapes . With a wide reach of hardiness zone , they can be grown just about anywhere .

Petunias aresensitive to cooler temperaturesand in most climate are treated as annual . But in strong hardiness zones , petunias can bloom year - round . They are short - survive perennial and will finish bloom after a few geezerhood .

Luckily , they ego - seed quickly . This means they will replace erstwhile , dying petunias with new 1 and keep fulfil in blank place . ego - seeding can result in different colored flower from your original variety show . They tend to retrovert to yellowish , white , purple or pink .

Close-up of many blooming purple and red petunias in a sunny garden. The flowers are large, solitary, funnel-shaped, the corolla is formed by five smooth petals fused together with wavy edges. The petals have well-drawn veins of dark purple and pink. The leaves are small, oval in shape with smooth edges, bright green.

Types of Petunias

With so many varieties to take from , where do you even start ? Before you startle growing petunias , it ’s important to understand the case of genus Petunia uncommitted . They are divided into 5 different category and each category has unique characteristics found on flower and plant sizing .

Grandiflora areknown for their big , vibrant blooms . They do n’t produce as many efflorescence as the other types but they make up for it in sizing . Their big and flashy flowers are 3 to 5 inch across . They shape a knoll and grow up to 24 inches tall and 36 in wide .

Multiflorahave legion flowersthat be given to be minor about 2 in spacious . They only get to about 12 inches tall and 15 inches blanket . They are a great option if you are looking for a compendious option .

Beautiful black hanging basket with blooming purple petunias in the summer garden, hanging against the purple wall of the house. Stems creeping with green leaves arranged in regular order, oval. The flowers are solitary, funnel-shaped, with a bell expanding towards the top with wavy edges. The throat of the flower has a dark purple color from which dark purple streaks emanate. There is a large green tree in the background.

Millifloraare the smallest of all , in flower and plant size . With a single bloom they only get to about an inch and half in diameter . Milliflora will make up for sizing in prime production all time of year long .

Floribunda is a loan-blend of grandiflora and multiflora . They produce heavy blooms like the grandiflora but have the superlative and width of the Rosa multiflora . They turn to anywhere between 8 to 15 inch magniloquent and 10 to 12 inches wide .

And last but not least are distribute ortrailing varieties . These are pretty ego explanatory . These cultivars have vigorous increment and spread easily . With the power to get across up to 10 square fundament from one exclusive flora , they will fill any space with beautiful blooms .

Close-up of hands in gardening white and blue gloves planting a bright crimson petunia in the ground in a spring garden against a blurred green background. The seedling blooms with two bright, funnel-shaped flowers with a dark throat and wavy edges. Petunia creeping stems have small, oval, light green leaves arranged oppositely. The soil is loose, dark brown.

empathize the types of petunia there are will help peg down your search for the correct petunia for your space . Once you have decided what type of petunia you require to grow , you just have to choose a color or variety within that group .

When To Plant

Once the risk of hoar has passed in thespring , you are safe to initiate planting outdoors . Keep an center on the forecast and make indisputable to apply protection if a recent frost comes through your orbit . While theycan be grown from seed , they are commonly available at local garden center as transplanting .

You ’ll need to look for myopic and summary Petunia . Leggy plants with numerous blooms are further along in their growth and will have a harder time set after being transplanted . If the selection at your nursery is only long-shanked industrial plant , you’re able to cut back them once you establish them . They may be a minute delayed but will recover promptly .

If you opt to produce genus Petunia from seed , you will have to plant in the lead . Petunias involve to be started indoors 6 to 8 weeks before the last Robert Lee Frost . Once yourseedlings have 3 to 4 leave , you could transplant them outdoors .

Close-up of three seedlings with earthy roots lying in a dug hole in the garden, ready for planting. Each seedling has erect green stems with oval, simple, slightly tapering leaves with smooth edges.

How to Grow

When it comes to develop petunias , there are many important aspects to their care . You need to check that they are spaced decently , have adequate visible radiation , urine , and are planted in the correct type of soil . Let ’s take a look at the most crucial aspect of their growth , and what you should contrive for when add petunias to your flowerbed this season .

Plant Spacing and Depth

Spacing and profundity is going to depend on the variety you choose to engraft . Some petunias stay compendious and others have a tendency to spread . When plant your petunia , ensure you leave enough space depending on the smorgasbord you take to plant .

Most petunia varieties get to about12 to 24 inches broad . But there are exceptions . Some are little and some are braggart . chase or diffuse petunias tend to be the heavy of all petunia and can get upwards of 5 feet all-embracing . Of naturally , this is all dependant on variety and surround .

Milliflora varietiesare the small in flowers and plant sizing . They only get to about 8 column inch wide . If you are unsure how wide your petunia will get , the nursery shred should have that information or enquire a worker .

Close-up of gorgeous blooming white and hot pink petunias against blurred green foliage. The flowers are large, solitary, consist of five fused petals with wavy edges and a dark pink throat. The leaves are small and simple. oval, smooth, slightly pubescent.

Planting depth is simple . If you grow from cum , works about an inch into the soil . If you choose to establish potted Petunia , labour a hole that ’s the same size of it as the weed itself . This will control you get the works deep enough into the ground to cover the roots .

Light

For the good solvent with many efflorescence , flora in full Dominicus . They can tolerate some tone but should haveat least 6 hours of sunlightper day . If you live in warmer region , petunias can handle fond sun . judge to have partial shade in the good afternoon when the temperatures are at their peak .

Afternoon sunlight can be too intense for most plants and petunias are no exception . It ’s to see lower bloom production once the temperatures in mid - summer become too warm . They will still continue to flower , just slightly less than previously .

Soil

No motivation to expend extensive time on dirt preparation for petunias . Petunias are n’t especially picky when it add up to soil types . As long as your grease are well - drain , petunias get a line to adapt . Neutral to slightly acidic soilsare preferable .

If your soils have a tendency to be poor draining , regard integrate constituent matter to improve overall wellness . impart constitutional matter to soils that are with child in clay or sandy is also good .

Water

Like many annuals , petunias need frequent wateringsto see to it long-lived and uninterrupted blooms all time of year . They do not tolerate teetotal dirt for long periods of prison term . This can be difficult in the oestrus of summertime and might necessitate you to water them every daylight .

Monitor your soils for moisture every day to insure your petunia do n’t become too juiceless or too wet . ward off soggy soil as these tendy to result to leggy plants .

If your region is know red-hot and dry conditions for prospicient periods of time , be sure to irrigate oft . Morning and eventide H2O is bestbecause temperatures are cooler and the flora has time to absorb the piddle . The good afternoon heat can dry out soils chop-chop , even if you just watered .

Close-up of a gardener’s hands in white floral print gloves loosening black soil with a garden rake next to a freshly planted seedling. The petunia fathom has one strong green stem with many rounded leaves with smooth edges, pubescent with glandular and simple hairs. In the blurred background, there is a black, iron, and figured fence.

Climate and Temperature

Petunias can grow in a wide chain of mountains of mood and will conduct differently in colder climates than warmer climates . Inhardiness 10 to 11 , genus Petunia are tender perennials and will bloom all year long for many years . Lucky you !

Now dusty regions , we are n’t so lucky . Petunias are considered an annual in these region and will perish once the first frost hits . They will flower beautifully during the summertime but unfortunately peter out out once temperature become too low .

The idealistic temperature for petunias is60 to 75 ° F during the day and no lower than 55 ° F during the night . They can tolerate temperature a little higher and a little low than stated but not for prospicient periods of time .

Close-up of watering purple petia with a red plastic watering can in a summer garden. They have beautiful purple, funnel-shaped, flaring trumpets, covered in the axils of the leaves of the plants. The background of a sunlit garden is blurred.

In northern realm , frost can set in pretty early but daytime temperatures are still warm enough for petunias . If you want to protect your petunias from frost , place a sheet over them or bring the pots orhanging basketsindoors . This can extend their life a few more weeks .

Fertilizer

feast at the fourth dimension of imbed with an equally balanced fertiliser of your selection . I in person use aslow loss fertilizer . you could fertilize as need if your plants or blooms are beginning to slacken .

Be sure to do some enquiry on the varieties you are imbed because some petunias demand more or less fertilizer than others . If you ’re await for an alternate fertilizer , you could incorporate compost into the filth .

Pruning

Once mid - summer smash , petunias start to become stringy , leave will yellowish , and few flower remain . When they are n’t looking like they once did , it ’s time to prune . Pruning will make a noticeable dispute and keep them blossom all summer long .

you may start out snip once you establish them in your yard . Every week , trot a few longer stems in half . This may entail you need to trim some stems that have gorgeous flowers on them . But I predict , it ’s deserving it !   As your works grows , continue to trim longer stems to avoid leggy Petunia .

If you get a variety that is n’t ego - cleaning , you will have to deadhead weekly . Simply , remove the shriveled and wilting flowers from the root word and throwing away . This will allow your petunias to produce more blooms and forbid them from ego - seeding .

Close-up of rich purple petunias blooming in full sun against a backdrop of blooming orange marigolds. The flowers are large, fully opened, consist of five fused petals with slightly wavy edges and a tubular center from which the stamens protrude. The stems are long, creeping covered with small bright green oblong leaves.

Propagating

Propagating petunias is pretty simple and done by stem clipping . Typically , gardeners distribute petunias because they want to salve a finical salmagundi . The sort may be intemperate to retrieve at nurseries and they want to continue growing it year after year .

Prior to any hoar in the fall , take about 6 inches ofyoung healthy stem for propagation . murder the bottom half of the leaves and dip the end in root internal secretion . Root hormones are n’t necessary but can make it easier for the plant to establish roots .

Plant each stalk in a container with loose pot soil and place in collateral sunlight . Keep the root moist and they should emerge within a few weeks . Store them indoors all winteruntil fountain when the risk of hoar has passed .

A close-up of a gardener’s soiled hand placing a cube of yellow granular fertilizer into the soil of a blooming purple petunia. Creeping stems with many oval, smooth green leaves cover the entire soil. One slightly closed, funnel-shaped flower with fused petals and smooth edges blooms on a green stem.

By propagating in the fall , petunias will be bound and bounds ahead of others that you purchase from a nursery . bloom will place quicker and you will have a bigger , healthier plant to channelize outdoors . Not to name it ’s much quicker than growing from seeded player !

If you are looking for a challenge or just do it watching all your hard work fall to live , you’re able to plant petunias by seed . It ’s definitely less rough-cut and more time have than buy pot petunias from a glasshouse .

You will require to initiate seeding indoors 10 to 12 week before your zone expect last Robert Frost . Begin by gathering your supplies like pots , potting filth and seeds . Fill your pots with potting intermixture andspread the lilliputian ejaculate on the open of the soil . urge on the seeded player into the soil but do not cover them .

Close-up of scissors pruning a withered flower on a blooming pink petunia bush surrounded by bright green, oval, hairy, smooth-edged foliage. Flowers are solitary, large, and funnel-shaped with wavy edges.

cover the seeds wo n’t allow any light to hand them and they will fight to shoot . Cover the slew with clear plastic or a plastic bag . You should see seedling emerge within10 to 12 24-hour interval . Once they emerge , off the clear charge card or plastic bag from the pots .

Keep indoors until their unfeigned leaves come forth and the risk of freeze has pass on . you’re able to then transplant them outside to your desired location .

Petunias are one of the easiest plants to grow in a container or hanging basket . They provide continuous color all summer and into the spill . There are a few things to consider when planting in a container of hanging basket .

Close-up of a woman’s hand holding a garden shovel and a small sprout of petunia with an earth ball over corton cups filled with fresh black soil from a black bag nearby on the table. There are also 8 cardboard cups with soil and already planted petunia seedlings on the table. Nearby is a plastic tray filled with soil with several small seedlings. The seedlings are light green in color, small, consist of short stems and a couple of rounded simple leaves. The woman is wearing a blue and white vertical striped shirt.

You must choose the right container for petunias . target for a container that ’s at least12 inch in diameterand hasproper drain holes . If your pot does n’t have proper drain , your plants will be susceptible to root rot .

If you pick out a trailing sort such as a ‘ waving ’ petunia , you will need a tall and panoptic plenty . This change gets very recollective and will cascade down over any pile or hanging basket . They can overpower other works in the container and tend to do easily alone in containers .

Be sure to put your container or hang basket in an area withproper lighting . Petunias develop in pots may need more frequent waterings than those planted in the undercoat . Check daily to set if you involve to urine or not .

Close-up of a tray with 8 square holes filled with moist soil and planted with small yellow petunia seeds. Two cardboard flat seed bags with pictures of red and pink flowers stand next to the tray. Soil is slightly scattered on the white table.

Petunias will also perform well when planted instantly into the soil . Once you identify asunny , well draining field , work the stain well to loosen it . This is a slap-up clock time to append in some constitutive issue to help better the overall health of your soil .

How to Keep Petunias Blooming

The best part of petunia are the beautiful blooms . So how do you keep them blooming all season or year long ?

First , as discussed – check that you provide theproper sunlightandwater requirement . Pruning is going to make a large deviation in the number of blooms your petunias produce . It may be scary to cut back stems or even flowers , but it ’s deserving it when done .

Deadheading spent blossom is going to aid as well . By deadheading , the flora puts less focus in seed production and more into efflorescence yield . Keeping them sportsmanlike is not only going to make them look neater but alsomaximize blooming yield .

A beautiful white hanging pot with luxuriantly blooming hot pink petunias on long stems hanging down against a red slate roof. Petunia flowers are beautiful, intense pink with dark purple veins, funnel-shaped, consisting of five fused petals with wavy edges. The stems are long, covered with medium-sized oval leaves with smooth edges.

Companion Plants

Although petunias are beautiful on their own , they really glow when plant next to otherpetunia - well-disposed associate industrial plant . you could plant them with mostflowering annuals or perennials . This is where you’re able to be originative and create your own placement .

They are a great pick to get next to vegetable . This is a vernacular practice to help draw in pollinator to the vegetables and improve output . Some say petunias keep insects away from their vegetable . But they are at their best when planted in container with other plants . Theideas are sempiternal when grown in containerswith other plants .

While there are plenty of fantastic familiar plant life , I recommend sticking with plants that will get taller than 2 foot . Petunias may cover and overpower brusque industrial plant .

Close-up of a gardener’s hands in black gloves pulling a flowering petunia seedling from a plastic black pot to plant it in the ground in a summer garden. The seedling has perfectly even, one-length stems covered with oval, simple, bright green, slightly pubescent leaves and beautifully blooming bright pink funnel-shaped flowers with wavy edges. There is a blooming garden on a blurred background.

There are endless options of Petunia to choose from . With a broad variety of color , flush and plant life size , there is a variety out there for everyone ! Below are some of the more popular varieties you may grow in your flowerbed , hanging field goal or container .

Common Problems

As with all industrial plant , petunias are n’t immune to a few canonical problems . You may run into leggy plants , or wilted flowers and parting . Many of the issues that plague them have to do with soil timbre , sunlight or watering bad luck , and pests or disease . Let ’s take a deep look .

There could be a number of reasons your petunia flowers are wilting but most likely it ’s because it ’s getting the wrong water requirements . Too much or too little will make the plants to show planetary house ofwilted leaf and flowers .

crack your soils on a regular basis to ensure proper moisture . If they are dry , consider give them some extra body of water and if they are too moist , view backing off on a lachrymation or two .

Multi-colored petunias bloom in a hanging flower pot in a flower nursery. Close-up of two white pots with bright pink and purple-white flowers blooming surrounded by bright green foliage. The pink flowers are funnel-shaped with wavy edges and a white throat. Purple-white flowers have white petals and dark purple stripes supposedly separating the fused petals.

This is a vulgar problem with petunias but luckily one of the gentle to fix . Deadhead the flowersregularly and abstract back the leggy stem . This should allow the plant life to become total . As the plant stay to grow , your plants will become less tall-growing .

Thesetypes of disease developwhen planted in area of poor drain or they are overwatered . The leaves will get down to wilt and continue to wilt even after regular watering . Correcting the misfortunate draining soilsandwatering lessis the only solution to stop the disease progression . Pull works that have progressed too far and are unsavable from the disease .

Frequently Asked Questions

Sadly , no . This can be a true challenge because deer and rabbits love to munch on their delicate blooms . They will nibble on the blooms or rip the flora from the ground completely .

get down by check the environment you are grow them in . Is there enough sunshine ? Are they get enough water ? These are vulgar factors that can regard the product of flush and should be adjusted consequently .

This altogether depends on the form you choose to uprise . young variety incline to be ego - clean where older smorgasbord are not . Do some enquiry before choosing a genus Petunia if you are concerned in varieties that are self - cleansing .

Close-up of blooming bright flowers, pink petunias and small yellow daisies in a basket on the windowsill. Petunias have bright pink funnel-shaped flowers with dark pink veins, and oval, simple, green leaves. Daisies have many small, slightly elongated yellow petals arranged around a yellow-green center.

Final Thoughts

Petunias are a classic horticulture staple thatbloom all time of year long(or all year long)depending on your hardiness geographical zone . With a broad range of colour and sizes , there is a genus Petunia for every type of nurseryman out there . They look great in flower beds , veggie garden , containers and hanging basket . No matter what variety you take , they are sure to make a statement in your garden this time of year !

Close-up of a blooming Petunia ‘Celebrity’ with large soft purple flowers with wavy petals. The flowers are funnel-shaped with a darker purple throat. The stems and leaves of the petunia are bright green in color, pubescent with glandular and simple hairs. Petunia bush lit by full sun.

Close-up of withered purple petunia flowers in the sun in a summer garden due to insufficient watering. The flowers are large, funnel-shaped with fused petals lowered down. Some flowers are dark purple, withered, crunchy. The stems are dense, surrounded by large oval leaves of pale green color, covered with white fine hairs.

Close-up of a small bush of long-legged petunia blooming with pink and white flowers in a sunny garden against a background of a large bush with small red leaves. Tall stems with small thin green leaves and solitary funnel-shaped flowers with a white throat.

Close-up of a purple petunia rotting during a wet summer. The flower is large, deep purple, double, consists of fused petals with wavy edges located in several rows, completely covering the center of the flower. There is green foliage and soil in the blurred background.