Petunia (Common Garden Petunia)
Petunia X hybrida. SOLANACEAE.
Planting and Growing Petunia
You’ll find everything you need to know to plant and grow petunia in the accompanying table’s tabs:
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- Flowers, foliage, and root structure of petunia
- Plant hardiness and growing conditions for petunia
- Season of bloom and planting time for petunia
- When, how deep, and where to plant petunia
- How to plant petunia
- Watering, fertilizing, care, and pests or diseases of petunia
- Landscape and container uses of petunia
- Comments about petunia and its features
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Growing Petunias
Many hybrid cultigens of bushy, mounding or spreading annual or perennial herbs, to 1 ft. (30 cm) tall. Sticky, deep green, oval, veined leaves, to 2 in. (50 mm) long.
Planting and Care Guide
Blooms
Many blue, pink, purple, red, white, sometimes bicolored or striped, open, flared, trumpetlike, 5-petaled flowers, 1–5 in. (25–125 mm) wide, often with ruffled petals, in late spring–early autumn.
Best Climates
Self-seeding, zones 3–10.
Soil Type and Fertility
Moist to damp, well-drained soil. Fertility: Rich–average. 6.5–7.5 pH.
Where and How to Plant
Spring in full sun to partial shade, 7–10 in. (18–25 cm) apart, after frost hazard has passed. In zones 3–8, start seed indoors 10–12 weeks before final frost for early blooms; transplant when frost hazard has passed.
Proper Care
Easy. Keep moist until established; allow soil surface to dry between waterings. Fertilize quarterly. Protect from rain, wind. Propagate by cuttings, seed.
About This Plant
Good choice for hanging baskets, beds, borders, containers, ground covers in cottage, formal, meadow, shade, gardens. Tobacco budworm and botrytis, smog susceptible.