Petunias are the thoroughgoing flowers for gardeners who consider variety is the spice of life .
ThePetuniagenus includes a blazing array of blooming colors , like pink , red , purple , and bloodless , as well as bicolors , picotees , and flush that look like the night sky , speckled with champion .
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Options with tempting and unique foliage colors or diversification are usable as well . But the variety protract beyond those middle - popping hue and patterns , and new cultivar are being introduced all the fourth dimension .
category have been acquire to tell apart one from the next based on growth habit and characteristics of the flush . sure type of petunia sport spare - large double bloom , for example , or a disseminate habit that will cut through bald-pated spots in the landscape .
And these popular ornamentals can cast anchor or complement many dissimilar garden and landscape painting styles , depending on which type you take .
All of them are long - blooming and relativelyeasy to develop and wish for , so it ’s okay to just corrupt the first bedding plants you see if you wish well , or grow the same cultivar you care to startle indoors from seed every wintertime .
But you owe it to yourself to happen upon the advantageous traits within different petunia mathematical group , in condition of their prime characteristics and the require growing habit for each type .
You may have been missing out on a variety that would exercise especially well in an overlooked part of the garden or landscape painting , or one that could grace a container or hanging basket in style .
Allow us to introduce five unique categories of petunias . Each type has distinct merits and all of them are standouts in the right growing surround .
Here ’s the lineup :
What You’ll Learn
Understanding the Five Types of Petunia Plants
1 . Grandiflora
2 . Multiflora
3 . Floribunda
4 . Milliflora
5 . Trailing or Ground Cover
pourboire for Choosing Petunias to originate at Home
Native to South America , petunias have horn - regulate blooms in a riot of different colour .
There are 35 known metal money , and the ones most ordinarily grown in home garden are all hybrids .
They ’re only wintertime - hardy in zone 9 to 11 , so most North American gardeners rise petunias as annuals .
All variety show have these trait in plebeian :
Beyond that , there ’s a bit of variety within the genus , and plant life breeders continue to thrive on this , grow new and exciting cultivars that have bold and beautiful blooms , a nanus habit , disease impedance , and other feature .
The five class account below are organize according to each type ’s ontogenesis habit and the size of it of its flowers . extra type are also mention within a few of these broader groupings .
It ’s important to remember , however , that we ’re shell out with hybrids , and these eccentric are not organized allot to the usual tenets of botanical taxonomy .
Some overlap survive , and you may find a sure serial publication of petunia cultivar described within two different groupings , or a dissimilar group altogether , when you conduct your search for plants at the nursery .
You may also come across specific serial or cultivars that feature a unlike growing habit or stature than what is typically expected – plants with a heavyset outgrowth riding habit and large or particularly abundant bloom , for example .
Here , we ’ll cover the basics in order from largest to smallest blossom sizing , and note some recommended options for each that you might like to get at home .
Love bad , splashy blooms in vivacious colors ? Grandifloras do n’t typically produce as many flowers as the other types , but they make up for this in size . They ’re bad and showy , between three and five inches across .
These ordinarily have an vertical , mound form , typically growing 15 to 24 inches tall and spreading up to 36 inches .
cascade down grandiflora mixed bag are available too , including those in the Cascade or Super Cascade series as well as the Diamond series , and the Explorer series which double as a reason cover version .
You may see grandifloras and others with recollective , flexible , trail root referred to as pendula - type petunias .
You ’ll regain some dwarf grandiflora cultivar as well , like those in the Limbo series , which grow to just four to eight inches tall , without becoming leggy . Or consider the Flash Sweetunia series if you ’re look for something more compact that also produces more blooms than your typical grandiflora .
One of the earliest intercrossed type developed , dating back to the 1950s , grandiflora blooms can be double or single .
Some are ruffled or fringe , like ‘ Fluffy Ruffles ’ or those in the Daddy serial publication . These are also come to to as fimbriata case .
There is a trade-off for those bodacious peak , though – with the exception of a few recent hybrid , like those in the Storm serial , grandifloras do n’t stand up well to hard rain , and the plant are susceptible to waste during periods of high temperature and humidity . southerly gardeners , mind !
Also , grandifloras absolutelyrequire deadheadingto maintain their good looks .
observe that you will typically feel cultivars in a range of colours within a recommended series , as well as sundry selection , when buy seeds or starts .
Best Uses : container , specimen plant life in small garden bed , hanging planters for cascading change .
Recommended Series : Aladdin , Amore , Aphrodite , Avalanche , Cascade , Cascadias , Constellation , Daddy , Diamond , Dreams , EZ Rider , Explorer , Falcon , Famous Laser , Fanfare , Flash Sweetunia , Frost , Go!Tunia , Limbo , Hulahoop , Magic , Mistral , Pacta Parade , Sophistica , Storm , Success ! 360 ° , Super Cascade , Supermagic , Surfinia , TriTunia , Trumpet , Ultra , Viva
Top Pick for Your Garden : Spellbound ’ Dark Purple ’ has frilly flower with painterly , veined white centers that seem to coil before your eye . And they ’re too-generous , at four to six inch broad
Spellbound ‘ Dark Purple ’
Spellbound ‘ Dark Purple ’ is uncommitted in four - plant bundles and packets of 15 seedsfrom Burpee .
Petunias of this type , with a cascade habit and frilly , corrugate petal , also belong to the superbissima group .
Multifloras give rise plenty of heyday but they ’re little than grandifloras – about two inches broad – on more compact plants .
These usually acquire about 10 to 12 inch magniloquent , and spread 10 to 15 column inch . They may require some pruning if theystart to become long-shanked . Plants in the Mambo series are proficient picks if you ’re bet for a midget choice .
A welcome advantage to prefer this case is that these flush are often self - cleanup .
If this is unfeigned for the variety you plunk , the spent blush will fell without deadheading , which makes them the optimal selection for large planting . They also hold up better in rainy conditions than grandifloras .
Another type with a long story dating back to the fifties , multifloras can have single or double salad days . These cultivars are jazz for presenting the wide-eyed range of people of colour , and the plant life farm a bit more chop-chop than grandifloras .
Best usance : aggregated planting , garden bottom
Recommended Series : Carpet , Dot Star , Easy Wave , Espresso , Good and Plenty , Hurrah , Mambo , Mirage , Pearls , Primetime , Tidal Wave
Top Pick for the Garden : A motley assembling of unknown multiflora petunias that flower in shade of coral , wanton purpleness , and pink , with a veined pattern on the petals .
Multiflora
Packets of 500 seed areavailable from Outsidepride via Amazon .
Floribunda plants are often grouped with the multifloras , and some – like those in the Wave series – are also moot spreading varieties .
Hybrids of grandiflora and Rosa multiflora - character plants , these exhibit the best qualities of both , with lots of large blooms , allowance for showery weather , and increased disease underground .
They mature about eight to 15 inches marvelous , and go around 10 to 12 inches , though some plants are more summary . These types are not typically self - cleaning , and they will normally require some deadheading or pruning .
Best Uses : mete , container , garden bed
Recommended Series : Celebrity , Double Madness , Double Wave , Freedom , Frillytunia , Horizon , Pretty Flora , Prism , Madness , Merlin , Wave
Top Pick for the Garden : Madness ‘ Red Picotee ’ have three - in blossom in vivacious ruby-red , abut in white .
Madness ‘ Red Picotee ’
Pelleted seeds in software system of 1,000 areavailable from True Leaf Market .
One of the more late intromission , these miniature genus Petunia have smaller , single blooms , unremarkably just one to one and a one-half inch in diameter .
But what you lose in size , you gain in number . Milliflora plants will spend most of the season brood in flowers .
These are also good forsmall - space gardens , and most milliflora type are ego - cleaning , so they wo n’t require deadheading . The dwarf plants are more compact than other varieties , with a mounding riding habit . They produce just eight inch tall and wide on median .
you could space millifloras just four to six inches apart , versus 12 column inch for Rosa multiflora or three feet for spreading ground cover varieties .
Do n’t confuseCalibrachoa(Million Bells)for these – though they portion out the same ontogeny use and care requirements , these are not really petunias .
Adding to the confusion , Petuniaxcalibrachoahybrids also survive , like the “ Petchoa ” SuperCal series of plants .
Best habit : container , edging flower beds
Recommended Series : Fantasy , FlashForward , Picobella , Shock Wave , Tiny Tunia , Vivini
Top Pick for the Garden : Picobella ‘ Carmine ’ truly puts on a show , producing tons of tiny live pink blooms that will look gorgeous spilling over the edge of a patio plantation owner or hang basket .
Picobella ‘ Carmine ’
Pelleted seeds areavailable in packs of 1,000 from honest Leaf Market .
This group of serial and cultivars develop vigorously and spread enthusiastically , cut through 10 hearty foot of garden beds or borders per plant life in a single time of year , and typically reaching only about four to six inch in stature .
With some varieties also refer to as spreading or hedgiflora - character plant , they ’re in particular heat and drought tolerant , and do n’t unremarkably require deadheading to look good .
Tidal Wave is know as a hedgiflora character , for example , thanks to its power to produce a thick and exuberant ground cover .
Several unlike Wave series industrial plant are often included in this family , though they technically match within other group , as mentioned above .
With a creeping growth habit , these are also standouts grownin hanging baskets , where the vines shack over the sides or else of along the flat coat .
And if you ’re design your own blooming containers for the summer patio or a balcony garden , think of that shack petunia can be both the “ makeweight ” and the “ spiller ” in a combination .
Best Uses : hang baskets , pedestal flowerpot , ground covering ; mass plantings in borders , along paths , or in hard - to - hit musca volitans in the landscape painting
Recommended Series : Blanket , Double Blanket , Hang Out , Supertunia , Tidal Wave , Velvet
Top Pick for the Garden : Supertunia ‘ Priscilla ’ has light purple threefold blooms with cryptic purple vein . Like other ground covers , this cultivar grows rapidly , with a mounding or track habit .
Supertunia ‘ Priscilla ’
Supertunia ‘ Priscilla ’ is available from Proven Winners in four - packs of live plantsfrom Home Depot .
It ’s all too well-to-do to light in love with a series or cultivar name , or opt for the first petunia flora in the color you ’ve been seeking to complement a scheme in your landscape .
But go beyond whim and whimsy to find the very best type for your intention or growing pauperism , and do your skilful to ascertain out what will work best for your mature space before you buy .
First , settle if your choice falls into a group that demand deadheading . Grandifloras and floribundas ordinarily necessitate their spend efflorescence to be removed to look tidy and keep blooming .
That ’s not a big deal , unless you ’re try out to plant a huge seam full – and then those deadheading task can embark on to feel tyrannical moderately quickly .
In a situation like that , you ’d be better go with multiflora , milliflora , or ground cover salmagundi instead , which are often “ ego - cleaning ” and do n’t necessitate that perpetual attention .
Also consider lacrimation chores beforehand of choose a type .
Since container flora ca n’t spread their roots to access code water , you ’ll need to irrigate more often , once or twice a mean solar day when summer temperatures soar .
If you live in areas where summer are live and plant swosh up water like puppy dogs , you may want to choose a form that grow well in the ground , like a multiflora rose or ground cover type .
Also choose a more drouth kind option – one belonging to the Wave serial , for model – versus a grandiflora .
When you plant multiflora cultivar , diverseness that are well - become toraised bedsand garden plots , you ’ll be able-bodied to improve water retentiveness with mulch , and you’re able to install adrip irrigationsystem more readily than you might be able to if you’regrowing Petunia in a container .
Conversely , if you only have infinite and imagination for container growing , opt for a variety that does particularly well in container , like a grandiflora or milliflora cultivar .
Choose glass planters in a sluttish color that wo n’t dry out promptly in the summertime sun over hanging planters or glassless terracotta if you melt the peril of forget to weewee as frequently as you might require to in a heatwave .
In any scenario , keep in mind that you do n’t take to choose a type that involves extra study for you when another type would be more suited . There ’s an abundance of beautiful options in each of these petunia groups .
This reminds me of one more pre - selection factor to accost : We ’ve all done it , but do attempt to avoid settle on a variety you care first , only figuring out later whether that works is useable topically or through the mail as a bedding industrial plant or in a pre - planted hanging basketful .
Unless you plan to become a serious collector of strange hybrids , I recommend train out what ’s readily available to you , and see if you ca n’t fall in dear with one of those plant instead of choose one that turns out to be a headache to pimp .
The same goes for varietiesyou’ll develop from semen . Though sure cultivar will not grow true from semen , there are still so many to opt from , which is great for gardeners who want something supererogatory - flamboyant or strange .
But you have to “ fuck thyself ” before choosing a variety you could procure only as come , as opposed to purchase live industrial plant .
Propagation is a lengthy process , and you need a lead time of about 10 weeks to successfully start seedlings indoors to transplant out of doors in spring .
A Five-Way Tie for the Top Petunia Type
The more information you have about the different types that are available , the more genus Petunia you ’ll need to maturate yourself . Or is that just me ?
I started with multiflora bedding plants in my childhood garden , added Wave series background cover varieties as a “ must have ” forMother ’s Daya couple of decennium afterward , and now develop some large - flower , veined , strut picks from the Daddy series of grandifloras .
And I aspire to bring at least one milliflora packed with tiny , cornet - form blooms within the next couple of seasons .
And if you found this guide useful , learn more about selecting and growing these eye - popping prime in our otherpetunia guides . Here ’s what to record next :
© Ask the Experts , LLC . ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.See our TOSfor more detail . Originally publish April 3rd , 2022 . Last update : May 30th , 2025 . Product photograph via Burpee , Home Depot , and Outsidepride . Uncredited photos : Shutterstock . With extra composition and editing by Allison Sidhu .
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Rose Kennedy
