Growing Petunia - Petunias

Growing Petunia
PJ Nursery

Saturday, July 12, 2008

The colorful, trumpet-shaped blooms of Petunias are a common sight in gardens all around the world. The common garden Petunia is the result of extensive breeding and hybridization, but the primary species from which it was developed are native to Argentina.

Petunias come in a wide variety of solid colors, as well as with blooms marked with blotches or stripes of contrasting colors. Gardeners can also choose from cultivars with single or double blooms and those with smooth, ruffled, or fringed petals. There are three basic classes of plants: Grandiflora, Multiflora, and Floribunda

Grandiflora petunias bear single or double flowers up to 5 inches in diameter; Multiflora petunias bear smaller, 2- to -3 inch single or double blooms and are more disease resistant than Grandifloras. Floribunda, petunias combine the size of Grandiflora blooms with the diseases resistance and weather tolerance of Multifloras. They bear single blooms. Petunias, extremely adaptable annuals, are versatile, colorful, and easy to grow. They can be used as bedding plants, along beds or borders, or in containers and hanging basket.

Petunias bear showy, trumpet-shaped blooms with a single petals that flairs into a flat, five-lobed face. There are also doubled-flowered petunias with blossoms quite like Carnations or Camellies. Flowers may be ruffled, fringed, or frilled edges. Petunias come in solid or a variety of bicolor combinations, including flowers with contrasting veins, stripes, or centers. Blooms may be deep purple, lilac, pink, salmond, red, yellow, and white. Some cultivars have blossoms with sweet fragrance, which is often most evident after dark. Petunias bloom from early summer through to the first fall frost. Flowers are borne at the tips of the stems, which means that pinching increases flower production by encouraging branching.

Sow seed indoor 10 to 12 weeks before the last frost date.The seeds are dustlike, so handle them with care. They require light to germinate, so do not cover them with soil. Press the seeds into the soil, and water flats from below. Cover the seed flat with glass or plastic to maintain high humidity. Germination takes about ten days, and soil temperatures between 70 degrees F and 75 degrees F are ideal. Petunia are best grown in containers in the Tropics with some kind of covering from harsh weather.When selecting seedlings for transplanting, don't necessarily reject the smaller ones, for they are likely to produce double flowers or have the most vivid flowers.

When purchasing Petunia plants from a nursery or a garden center, look for young compact plants that have good foliage color but few flowers. Plants in full bloom are often root bound and will take longer to recover from transplant shock when set out in the garden.

Pinch out the growing tips when the plants are about 6 inches tall to encourage branching and bushy growth. Pinch again after the first flush of bloom to encourage branching and more abundant flowering. If plants becomes leggy and stop blooming during the hottest part of summer, shear them back, feed them, and keep them watered to promote the development of new flowers.

Feeding

A single application of compost or a slow- acting general-purpose fertilizer worked into the soil before planting will serve the basic needs of these annuals all season. However, feed plants after each pinching, and exceptional performance, give your plants supplemental, light feedings(side dressings or foliar sprays) monthly throughout the growing season.

Watering

Make sure the plants get about 1 inch of water every week from rain or by watering , but avoid overwatering, for petunias do not like soggy soil. Use a soaker hose or watering wand to apply water at ground level without wetting the flowers.

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