Petunias: annual or perennial?
In most garden environment petunias are sell and grow as annuals , typically as bedding plants for beds , string up basketball hoop and containers . But are petunias really annuals ? The answer is no . Technically , petunias areperennials . This is because in warm temperate clime , with no endangerment of freeze and no scorching temperature , petunias will grown on year after year .
Whilst many people buy and grow petunia as yearbook , the fact that they are perennial means that it is possible to take petuniacuttingsin summer . As long as these cuttings are winter in a strong glass planetary house , conservatory or indoor environment , they will render newplants for the next year .
Do petunias grow back every year in the UK?
Because petunias are in reality perennial they can grow back every year in the UK – if they are not skip down by frost . Usually temperatures below about -2º Celsius ( 28º F ) , will pour down off Petunia . But you could keep them awake with protective fleece or in a greenhouse ( with protection ) in the winter .
Where wintertime are mild , petunias may even hold up in the garden . I have had one specially baffling petunia specimen come through the wintertime out of doors in Scotland . Admittedly , it was in a passably sorry body politic by March , but it was n’t kill even though we had some hard frosts . It was in a pretty sheltered place . So I suspect that was what help it .
On the whole , it is best not to look Petunia to farm back every year in the UK . But , it is worth try out with protection and clipping to see if you could bring someplants through the winterunharmed .
Growing petunias: summary plant notes
Family
Solanaceae .
Plant Type
Half hardy repeated , typically grown as anannual .
Soil Type
Grown in light , productive , well - drained soil
interpret more on soil character here →
Aspect
Grow in full sun or fond shade in lovesome mood .
Eventual Size
30 cm ( 1 foot ) tall , 30 - 90 curium ( 1 to 3 feet spacious .
hardiness
Hardy down to 0º Celsius ( 32º F )
learn more on plant hardiness here
Video: Petunias – annuals or perennials?
What do Petunias look like?
Petunia are vivacious , multi - coloured , bedding plantsthat will flower for a prospicient period over the summer .
Petunia produce up to around 30 cm ( 1 foot ) tall and 60 to 90 cm ( 2 to 3 feet ) wide . They have dark or mid unripe leaves with a haired , sticky grain , on branching stems .
The main feature film of petunia is their flowers which are on show from Spring to belated Autumn . brilliant and showy , petunia flowers are saucer or trumpet shaped and may be individual of double bloom .
The many genus Petunia cultivars think of that there are broad range of petunia flower colours . These mainly handle nicety of pinkish , red , pallid chicken , orange , violet blue or white .
Some petunia flowers have darker shading at the nerve centre of the trumpet , some have dark veining across the petal ( as in the motion-picture show below ) and some have dark margins around the lobe of the petals . This latter feature is hump as Picotee shading in Botany .
Petunia Groups
There are 5 main groups of petunia as detailed below . Within each radical there are various series . Typically the cultivar in a series are all very similar in size of it embodiment and habit with the master variation being the flower colour .
Grandiflora petunias have especially declamatory blossom – up to 10 atomic number 96 ( 4 inches ) wide . However , these flowers are delicate and can be damage by rain . Therefore , they are best rise in pots or hanging baskets in a sheltered lieu .
Popular Grandiflora series include the Daddy serial , the Express series and the Fanfare series .
These have smaller flowers ( up to 5 cm , or two inches across ) than Grandifloras . They are bushier and , as the name indicate , they produce batch of flower . Multiflora petunia can also be planted in container or baskets , but they are hard than Grandifloras , so will also do well in beds and borders . Popular Multiflora series include Duo , Easy Wave and Surfinia series .
These are a mark between Grandiflora and Multiflora types . They have the expectant flowers of Grandilfora but with the problematic machine characteristic of the Multiflora , so they are easier to grow . ‘ Wave ’ is a popular Floribunda serial publication .
Milliflora petunia are minuscule , midget plants that arose from a inherited mutation . They have small flowers ( 4 centimetre , or 1.25 inches ) across , but they are produced in their masses . They work well as a contrast to the larger flowered change . ‘ Fantasy ’ and Picobello ’ are telling Milliflora series Petunias .
disperse petunias are low growing and have dog root , with flowers 5 - 8 centimetre across ( 2 - 3 inch ) . Their spread substance abuse means they are serious for ground concealment in yourgardenbeds , but the trailing stems also mean they are effective in hang basket .
When, where and how to plant Petunia
Petunias are improbably various plants and can be originate in container , in hanging hoop or ingarden seam .
Since Petunia are tender plants , you need to verify that they are not bring out to frosts . So , set them out once you are certain that last frost has pass along – typically in previous Spring or former summertime .
If grow petunia from cum or from male plug plants , it is skilful to await until the plants have bulked up a little , and have several exercise set of leave , before found them in the final position .
If they have been raise in a glass star sign or heated up nursery , make certain you indurate your petunias off first . This means set them outside , in a fair sheltered spot , during the day , and bringing them back inside at Nox . Do this for a week or so and , in this manner , they can get used to the tougher atmospheric condition of the outdoor environs .
Petunias planted in hang basket or containers can be packed in evenhandedly tightly to give a spectacular showing tight . If planted in mete it is usually skilful to space the plants 15 to 20 cm ( 6 - 8 inches ) apart . peculiarly bushy or spreading varieties should be spaced 30 - 40 cm ( 12 to 15 inch ) aside .
How to grow and care for petunias in hanging baskets and containers
Ideally petunias need a fat soil to perform well , although they also involve free draining condition .
It is therefore best to use a multi - purpose compost ( ideally peat - devoid ) when planting petunias in hanging basket or container .
It is also a honorable estimation , particularly where where there is hot sunshine or winding , to endeavor to encounter a way to retain moisture within the compost in the hanging basket or container . This might be through using water retaining crystal or by lining the container with plastic . If using charge card lining , make indisputable there are some holes pierced in so that there is some drainage , as the plant wo n’t survive if the roots are waterlogged .
Petunias in hang baskets or containers want feeding regularly . Use a high Potash fertiliser , such astomatofeed , as this promote flowering
Care for petunias in garden beds and borders
When planting Petunias in your garden beds , enrich the dirt first with well rotted manure , compost or soilconditioner .
Keep your industrial plant well water – though not overwatered – and feed every twosome of weeks during summertime with a high Potash fertilizer .
How to prune petunias
You candeadheadpetunias quite easily by removing the spent flowers as they fade . It is comfortable to do this by pinch out the deadened efflorescence , but it is ripe to employ secateurs or snips to get a clean excision . edit out just above the first set out of leaves below the flower head .
When it comes to pruning petunias , it is important to have a go at it that they only make their flower at the oddment of their stems . Therefore , for more flush , you need are more stems . And how do you get more bow ? By clip your plant life .
As the plants grow , they can get to reckon a flake ‘ leggy ’ or straggly . So , when the root word get to around 20 centimetre ( 8 column inch ) long , you do it it is time to cut back your petunias .
you could issue back the stems by about half , again reach indisputable that you cut just above a foliage knob . This will promote the plant to produce new theme from each node , which should quickly begin flowering .
If you rationalize back a few prow every few day , you could keep theplant flowering over the summerand maintain a good shape to it .
Here is what I use for all my pruning :
Martin Cole has been an avid industrial plant lover and gardener for more than 20 years and loves to blab out and write about gardening . In 2006 he was a finalist in the BBC Gardener of the Year rivalry . He is a member of the National dahlia Society .
He antecedently live on in London and Sydney , Australia , where he took a sheepskin course in Horticultural studies and is now based in North Berwick in Scotland . He founded GardeningStepbyStep.com in 2012 . The website is aimed at everybody who loves plant or has been bite by the gardening bug and wants to recognize more .
garden tone by Step has beencited by Thompson and Morgan , the UK ’s largest mail service purchase order industrial plant retailer , as a website that print adept gardening subject .
