Petunia

Petunia selections

Petunias are fail-proof favorites for gardeners everywhere. They are vigorous growers and prolific bloomers from mid-spring through late fall. Color choices are nearly limitless, with some sporting beautiful veining and intriguing colors. Many varieties are sweetly fragrant (sniff blooms in the garden center to be sure.) Some also tout themselves as "weatherproof," which means that the flowers don't close up when water is splashed on them.

'Wave' petunias have made this plant even more popular. Reaching up to 4 feet long, it's great as a groundcover or when cascading from window boxes and pots. All petunias do best and grow more bushy and full if you pinch or cut them back by about one- to two-thirds in midsummer.

Shown above: Merlin Blue Morn petunia

Light:: Sun, Part Sun
Plant Type:: Annual
Plant Height:: 6 inches -4 feet tall, depending on type
Plant Width:: 1-4 feet wide, depending on type
Landscape Uses:: Containers, Beds & Borders, Groundcover
Special Features:: Flowers, Fragrant, Attracts Hummingbirds, Attracts Butterflies, Tolerates Wet Soil, Deer Resistant, Easy to Grow

Top Varieties

Blue Wave petunia

(Petunia 'Wave Blue') liberally splashes bright purple-blue color through the garden, growing rapidly to 4 feet and blooming profusely all season.
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Double Wave Blue Velvet petunia

(Petunia 'Wave Double Velvet') bears double, purple-blue flowers on vigorous plants that reach 6 inches tall and 2 feet wide.
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Famous Lilac Picotee petunia

(Petunia 'Famous Lilac Picotee') is a vigorous variety with a semi-trailing habit and lilac-purple flowers edged in white. It grows 1 foot tall and 2 feet wide.
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Fantasy Pink Morn petunia

(Petunia 'Fantasy Pink Morn') bears soft pink blooms with a white throat on compact plants that grow 1 foot tall and wide.
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Madness Yellow petunia

(Petunia 'Madness Yellow') is a floriferous selection with clean yellow blooms, great branching, and season-long performance. It grows 15 inches tall and 18 inches wide.
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Merlin Blue Morn petunia

(Petunia 'Merlin Blue Morn') offers rich purple flowers that have a glowing white center. This award-winning variety grows 18 inches tall and wide.
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Merlin Rose petunia

(Petunia 'Merlin Rose') produces beautiful pink blooms with a white and yellow throat on plants that grow 1 foot tall and wide.
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Opera Supreme Pink Morn petunia

(Petunia 'Opera Supreme Pink Morn') bears bright pink flowers with a soft white center. This award-winning variety grows 6 inches tall and 3 feet wide.
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Orchid Daddy petunia

(Petunia 'Orchid Daddy') is an award-winning selection with 4-inch-wide lavender-pink blooms that bear darker veins. It grows to 1 foot tall and wide.
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Pirouette Rose double petunia

(Petunia 'Pirouette Rose') bears frilly, double, pink-and-white flowers on 1-foot plants. It's not as heat tolerant as many other petunia varieties.
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Purple Wave petunia

(Petunia 'Wave Purple') is an award-winning selection with magenta flowers on 4-inch-tall plants that can spread 4 feet wide.
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Storm White petunia

(Petunia 'Storm White') bears big pure-white flowers all summer long. It holds up to heat well and grows 14 inches tall and 16 inches wide.
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Vista Silverberry petunia

(Petunia 'Vista Silverberry') offers silvery pink flowers on vigorous, long-blooming plants that grow 2 feet tall and wide.
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Wild petunia

(Petunia integrifolia) is native to areas of Mexico and bears magenta flowers all summer long. It scrambles to 2 feet and often self seeds.
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Garden Plans

Pocket Garden Plan
Formal Knot-Garden Plan
Shared Garden
Easy-Care Mixed Fall Garden Plan
Garden Plan for Partial Shade
Annual Garden for Full Sun
Dramatic Entrance Garden Plan
Summer Rock Garden
Easy Slope Garden Plan
Fragrant Garden
Soft Elegance Container Garden
Easy Sidewalk Garden Plan
Flowery Deck Garden Plan
Raised Beds Garden Plan
Tiny Corner Garden Plan
Colorful Mailbox Garden Plan

Plant It With

Sweet alyssum

Tiny, delicate alyssum contrasts well with the much larger blooms of petunia.

Heliotrope

Heliotrope and sprawling petunias combine beautifully in containers, creating a fragrant magnet for butterflies.

Salvia

Upright salvias in purple, red, or white create a regal backdrop behind ground-creeping petunias.

Propagation

Seed

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