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Petunia

Petunias are one of the most popular annuals for mass planing in garden beds. Petunias are always grown as annuals. Petunials are used for bedding plants, hanging baskets, window boxes, and containers. They are fairly fast growing and the like a well-drained, fertile soil. Petunias should be grown in a sunny spot. They do best in areas where the summers are hot.

Petunias leaves are dark green, and the flowers are trumpet shaped and range in colors of purple, red, blue, pink or mixed hues. You can expect blooms throughout the summer and into autumn if faded flowers are removed regularly. Plants quickly grow to a height of 10-16 inches.

If plants become leggy or stop flowering, prune the shoots back to about half their length. You can cut back to within a few inches of the base if needed, but do not remove all their leaves. Fertilize with a liquid fertilizer. Large-flowered and double petunias will need to be deadheaded - removal of old and dying flowers - to improve appearance and bloom production. Many of the smaller-flowered cultivars are self-cleaning.

Grandiflora petunias are the most popular type. They produce large flowers that are three to four inches wide. These Petunias come in singles or ruffly doubles. Some are cascading and are great for hanging baskets, containers, and window boxes while the upright plants are more suitable for planting in the ground in masses.

Spreading Petunias, such as the Wave variety, are low-growing but spread as much as 3 to 4 feet. They form a beautiful, colorful groundcover because the flowers form along the entire length of each stem. They can be used in containers, window boxes or hanging baskets as well. Purple Wave’ produces large blooms of deep rose-purple. It is tolerant of summer heat, drought and rain damage. ‘Purple Wave’ remains under 4 inches tall. The Wave series petunias are available in several new colors in addition to the original purple. While the pink, rose and white Waves are not quite as ground-hugging as the purple, they are weather-tolerant and heavy-blooming.