Petunias are Rewarding Plants

The virtues of petunias are worthy of elaboration, although they're well renowned. If it's brilliant splashes of color you desire, cherry-red, garden pink, and rose petunias will be the answer. Even so they come in shades of blue and purple, as well as stark white, with a few varieties bringing forth individual blooms that are quite a few inches across. The blooming time period is always a long-lasting one, and plants that begin blooming in May will carry on into September and October, and sometimes even into November. In the warmest regions of the nation, they're grown for Wintertime blooming.

Various annuals appear droopy at the close of the season, but not petunias. In the fall, they hold up just as well as chrysanthemums. Even if you don't continue clipping aging blooms and seed pods, a chore very worth doing, plants will persist in their exuberant performance.

Adaptability to all kinds of situations has made the petunia a favorite summertime flower all over. Languishing in total sunshine, it will blossom freely if afforded sunshine during just two or three hours a day and will as well, standup well in partial shade. Not particular about soil, petunias will thrive in inferior soil. It's as well among the few annuals that will bloom satisfactorily in soil overly rich for most other types.

In recent times, breeders have germinated practical types of balcony petunias for window boxes, even forms that are single, frilly, or double. The sweeping color array includes red, rose, pink, salmon, blue, lavender, purple, pale yellow and white.

Types of Petunias

Petunias are separated into various groups, which include singles and doubles and according to maturation habit, type of blossom, and purpose. Prominent for their strength, floriferousness, and uniformity of growth are the multi flora hybrids the red Comanche, rosy-salmon Linda, salmon Silver Medal, white Paleface, and red-and-white-striped Glitters.

Every bit as significant are the grandiflora fringed hybrids such as deep salmon Ballerina, salmon-pink May-time, deep scarlet-salmon Tango, rose-pink-on-white Crusades, and the white but yellow throated La Paloma.

Doubles include such favorites as the rose-with-white Gaiety, scarlet Allegro, rose-pink Caprice, scarlet Mrs. Dwight D. Eisenhower, rosy purple Rhapsody, and white Sonata. In large boxes, where bedding effects are coveted, grow the nana compacta, or dwarf compact petunias. The bright blue Admiral, deep salmon Cheerful, red Fire-chief, pink Rosy Morn and the yellow-throated White Perfection are some in this classification.

For small-scale containers or the bordering of boxes and planters, select the miniatures the rosy Bright Eyes with a white throat, rose-starred white Twinkles, light Silvery Blue, and white Igloo. For hanging baskets, window boxes, shelves, and wall brackets, there's nothing more beautiful than the balcony types with their cascading habit. In this group are the mahogany Black Prince, deep Royal Blue, and clear Royal Rose.

Try petunias, also, in pots and tubs, boxes and portable planters. Window boxes and small-scale planters on driveways, walks, patios and porches provide excellent settings for their summertime cheerfulness. Since they're effortless to grow from seed and affordable to purchase as seedlings, have spare petunias available to substitute for other plants that pass their peak that are in the planters connected to the home. Petunias are perfect for window boxes with accent on a single variety. On its own the frilled rose-pink Prima Donna or the red Comanche will generate a very lovely effect.