Create A Barrel Of Petunias – Most petunias are half-hardy perennials but they are best grown as annuals, as the plants tend to become leggy and less floriferous in their second year. In their first year, they flower continuously from early summer until fall, but as with most plants that flower for a very long season, it is important to deadhead spent blooms to keep the display going.
Their leaves and stems are covered with downy hairs and the leaves are also quite sticky, so grow them away from heavy pollution or they will gradually become smothered in black dust.
Petunias have been extensively hybridized and the variety of colors and flower forms now available is enormous. Colors range from deep, velvety purple through violet, red, pink, and yellow, to white.
Some have striped and splashed petals, and others sport a band of contrasting color around the edge of each flower. Some flowers are small, some large, some single, some double, and a few have a rich, sweet scent that is almost as heady as gardenia. The larger-flowered varieties are liable to spot in rain, but the smaller-flowered Resisto hybrids are more weather-resistant.
Secrets of success
– plant in a well-drained potting mixture of low nutritional value;
– place in a warm, sunny site;
– keep well watered but not soggy and feed only occasionally to promote flowers rather than leaves;
– grow 24 petunias in a 90cm (36in) diameter, half, wooden beer barrel.
Petunia ‘Surfinia Green Edge Pink’
