Petunia × hybrida
Petunia
Common names: Garden petunia, Hanging petunia
At a glance
- Light
- Full sun
- Pot size
- from 5 l
- Lifespan
- Annual
- Hardiness
- Cold damage below 2 °C
- Water need
- High
Photo: Jerzy Opioła · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source
This description was machine-translated.
Description
The petunia is the undisputed queen of balcony boxes and trellises: from May until the first frost it showers itself with funnel‑shaped flowers in almost every color, from pure white through pink and red to deep violet. Hanging and compact varieties grow in dense cascades of blooms that continue to flower all summer without pause, provided they receive plenty of water and nutrients.
Care instructions
Plant after the last frost in mid‑May in nutrient‑rich soil at a warm, sunny spot, petunias are frost sensitive. Water daily, especially on hot days in the morning and evening, and fertilize weekly, as petunias are heavy feeders and otherwise bloom sparsely. Remove faded and sticky flowers regularly, especially after rain. A light pruning in midsummer stimulates tangled plants to produce fresh, dense new growth.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
SowingFeb–Mar
Germination
- Soil temperature
- from 18 °C, ideally 24 °C
- Days to sprout
- 7 to 14 days
- Light
- Needs light to sprout
- Sowing depth
- Press in, don't cover
- How to start
- Start indoors, then plant out
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
humus-rich, well-drained, nutrient-rich
Petunias need humus-rich, nutrient-rich and free-draining soil without waterlogging. They answer wet feet with root rot, so good drainage is a must, especially in pots and window boxes. Keep the soil slightly acidic and do not add lime: if the pH is too high, the petunia can hardly absorb any iron and develops yellow leaves with green veins (chlorosis); in areas with hard, chalky water, it is better to water with rainwater.
Feeding
Heavy feeder
Months
May–Oct
When planting out in mid-May, work mature compost and a little horn shavings shallowly into the soil. This supplies the plant for its start. Because petunias are heavy feeders, keep feeding them regularly through the growing and flowering season from May to October: every few weeks a thin layer of mature compost around the plant, or diluted nettle feed added to the water. Do not feed any more from late autumn.
Overwintering
Petunias are not hardy in the lowlands of Germany, Austria and Switzerland and die even in light frost. The usual practice is to grow them as annuals: compost them after the first frosty night and replant or resow in spring. If you want to keep a special variety, bring the potted plant indoors before the first frost, cut the shoots back to about 15 cm, put it in a bright, cool place at 5–10 °C and water only sparingly; from mid-May, after the Ice Saints, it can go back outside.
Propagation
Methods
- From seed
- Cuttings
Petunias can be propagated in two ways: sowing and cuttings.
Sowing (February to March): Mix the dust-fine seeds with dry sand so that you can scatter them evenly over pre-moistened, low-nutrient seed compost. Do not cover them; petunias are light germinators. Place the tray in a bright spot at about 20 °C (not in full sun), keep the compost lightly moist with a mister and ventilate briefly every day to avoid mould. The seeds germinate after about two to three weeks; prick out the seedlings when they are 3 to 5 cm tall. Only after the Ice Saints (mid-May · week 20) do they go outside. Note: seeds from F1 hybrid varieties do not come true to type, and many modern varieties also produce hardly any viable seed.
Cuttings (late summer to autumn, August to October): Cut 10 to 15 cm long shoot tips, preferably without flowers, just below a leaf node. Remove all leaves except the top pair, as well as all flowers and buds; this encourages rooting and prevents rot. Insert the cutting into moist seed compost or stand it in a glass of soft water low in lime, so that only the lower part is submerged; change the water every few days. Roots form after about two to three weeks. This method keeps the variety true to type, even with F1 hybrids, and gives you earlier-flowering young plants in spring. Overwinter the mother plant or rooted cuttings in a bright, cool place at about 5 to 10 °C and keep the compost only lightly moist (no waterlogging).
Companion planting
Good neighbors
mint family (Lamiaceae)
particularly well establishedYou will find that basil next to tomato and pepper improves taste and keeps whiteflies and aphids away.
For example LavenderThymeBasilRosemarySageHyssop and 43 more species in the catalogue
Source: classic companion planting (DACH-Gartenpraxis)
borage family (Boraginaceae)
Borage attracts pollinators and is supposed to keep tomato pests away from the nightshade family.
For example BorageCommon comfreyLacy phaceliaForget-me-notLungwortSiberian bugloss and 2 more species in the catalogue
Source: organic greenhouse companion planting practice
Rather not
gourd family (Cucurbitaceae)
You should avoid planting potato and cucumber together because they share disease pathogens such as leaf and brown rot and stand in each other's way as strong feeders.
For example CucumberPumpkinCourgettePickling cucumberButternutHokkaido and 15 more species in the catalogue
Source: basic crop-rotation rule
Companion planting is partly traditional gardening lore. Where the reason is known, it is given.
Some of these explanations were machine-translated.
For signed-in gardeners
Sign in to see symptoms, severity, season and prevention for every one of your plants.
Free account, set up in 30 seconds.
For your garden
Grow Petunia yourself
Gartenkern tells you when frost is coming, when to sow and when to harvest, for your location.
Free, no time limit
Notes from real gardens
What other gardeners have written down about this variety, anonymous and voluntary.
No notes shared yet. Will you be the first to write one down?