Petunias have come a long way from boring to soaring for any flowerbed garden....

About Petunias

Petunias, one of the most popular annual bedding plant in the flowerbed garden design. In recent years many gardeners are falling back in love with the Petunia...at least with the new Wave Hybrid...me included.

I admit to leaving behind the Multiflora's and the Grandiflora's of an earlier generation. I just never liked the fact that as the flowers aged, the bloom color would fade.

How To Grow Petunias

In the past I stayed away from this annual simply because well...everyone was growing them and they required far too much attention. The foliage was too sticky. It required far too much deadheading and in most cases, the annual plant became too leggy.

I wanted something different.

Years later we now have the hybrida Wave and the Double Wave. Wonderful new varieties. Magnificent blooms and spreading habits now have gardeners planting them once again in containers, hanging baskets and as groundcovers.

Who can blame them. They grow quickly, not really bothered by pests (unless you include rabbits) and can grow in almost any soil condition. Just give ample water, fertilze and away they grow. These Petunias also make great posies for short vases.

Click on the Ride the Wave link to see additional images and information on all of the Waves.

Here are the ones that I planted in 2008:

Double Wave, spreading: grows 4" to 6" tall, spreads 18" to 24".

Shock Wave, mounds and spreading: grows 7" to 10" tall and spreads 30" to 36" and is great for small space gardens, containers and baskets.

What's so great about the Shock Wave Series? Their ability to bounce back from rain or overhead watering. It also has a strong branching habit, re-blooms quickly and is self-cleaning.

A NEW Petunia variety is the Hybrid Easy Waves. Slightly more compact than the regular Wave. Great for small gardens or smaller containers. Comes in great colors such as: Violet, White, Rosy Dawn, Blue, Red.

How about the Hybrid Tidal Wave. This variety is a great spreader making it great for container planting: Colors are Silver (Lavender), Purple, Cherry.

Great companion plants: If planted in a container, plant with foliage such as Sweet Potato Vine or try planting with the trailing Verbena Aztec Dark Red. Another great companion is the Nemesia or the trailing or upright Lobelia.

Check out my Site Index Page for additional annuals and perennials to plant in your next flowerbed garden design.

Features Of The Petunias:

• prefers at least 5 to 6 hours of sun per day
• likes to be fed once a week especially the spreaders
• I still deadhead once in awhile to tidy up the plant, but they say you really don't need to
• water regularly
• mine have not been bothered by pests so far
• this annual can also be cut back if required
• if you want a flower with a slight fragrance, stick to the purples

Related pages:

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