Petunias are quintessential warm season annuals.

There are too many varieties of petunia to be familiar with nowadays. The species name is Petunia X hybrida because almost all are hybrids of two primary species, as well as a few others to complicate the situation. The color range of the bloom of these hybrids now lacks only a few colors. (GMO orange petunias are only beginning to become available.) 

Besides an impressively extensive color range, bloom can be spotted, speckled, striped, blotched, haloed or variegated by too many means to list. Flowers can be rather small or as wide as four inches. Some are surprisingly fragrant. Some have frilled double flowers. Stems of cascading types may sprawl wider than three feet while only a few inches high. 

Petunias are warm season annuals that perform from spring until frost. They can survive as perennials for a few years if cut low for winter. Cool season annuals can obscure and shelter them until they resume grown in spring. They prefer rich soil, systematic watering and sunny exposure. Although mostly sterile, some appreciate occasional deadheading. Trimming during summer may promote fluffier growth for lanky stems.

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4 thoughts on “Petunia

  1. I always have a lot of petunias growing in the flowerbeds and yard, all of which come from seed from the previous year. Whitetail deer love them, so our released fawns tend to snack on them a good bit. I love that they are quite prolific. There is plenty of color and nibbling to last all season long!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. To me, they seem like one of those flowers that always looks best in someone else’s garden.
      Compared to other flowers in your garden, I would think that petunias would be rather mundane. I suppose they would be nice color, but in moderation or pots.

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