LATIN NAME: Petunia sp.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Well-grown petunias provide color from early summer to frost. The fragrant, funnel-form flowers bloom in white and shades of salmon, pink, red, magenta, lavender, purple and, rarely, yellow. Flowers may be picoteed, striped, or dark-veined. Doubles that resemble carnations are best for containers.
Multiflora types are vigorous with numerous 2-inch, smooth-edged blossoms that recover well from rain and withstand heat. Grandiflora types have fewer, but larger, ruffled or fringed blossoms, to 4 to 5 inches across, and are not weather-resistant. Floribunda types are a cross between the two, with profuse 3-inch blossoms and good rain recovery. Milliflora, Surfina, and Supertunia types have numerous small flowers and do not need pruning. Petunia integrifolia spreads rapidly and blooms nonstop without deadheading; best sheared once or twice a growing season.
Petunias reach 8 to 18 inches in height and as wide or wider. Use grand floras in containers and hanging baskets or to cascade over walls; use other types in beds and borders.
GERM. DATE: n/a
GERM. TIME:
TRANSPLANT DATE: early June, June 28 (2009)
TYPE OF PLANT: Annual
BLOOM CYCLE: early Summer to frost
pH LEVEL: Tolerates alkalinity
SEED DEPTH:
HEIGHT OF PLANT: 10-15 inches
WIDTH OF PLANT: 10-12 inches
PLANT SPACING: 8-10 inches
ROW SPACING: 8-10 inches
DAYS TO HARVEST:
ZONE REQUIREMENTS: Tender perennial grown as summer annual in zones 2 to 8; winter annual in deserts of zones 9 to 11. Performs poorly above 90°F.
FERTILIZER REQUIREMENTS:
LIGHT REQUIREMENTS: Full sun; morning sun in extreme heat climates
WATER REQUIREMENTS: Semi-moist
SOIL REQUIREMENTS: Fertile to poor, well-drained soil
DISEASE PROBLEMS: Botrytis, pythium, aster yellows virus, ozone damage
PEST/INSECT PROBLEMS: Whiteflies
SOLUTIONS:
HOW TO GROW: Set out nursery plants when warm or sow uncovered indoors at 70° to 80°F, 10 to 12 weeks earlier. In zones 10 and 11, plant in fall. Space 6 to 12 inches apart. Avoid in-bloom nursery starts. Pinch when 6 inches tall, remove spent flowers, and sheer flush after first bloom to encourage fullness.
HARVEST NOTES:
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