Not a fan of petunias? Some new varieties might win you over

May 11, 2018

How do you feel about petunias?

My guess is that you feel very strongly about them; you probably either love them or hate them.

I had no idea a flower could elicit such strong feeling in such vastly different directions, but I’ve recently become away that petunias are controversial. If you love them you see a plant that provides loads of color all summer long and comes in just about every color under the sun. If you loath them, they are floppy, sticky, messy, unimaginative plants. And apparently petunias have a scent, that some loathers love and some lovers hate, but I never even noticed it.

For better or worse, I fall in the lover category. For my money few plants can provide the color punch of a petunia, particularly a vigorous variety that fills a container and spills over the edges.

And I’m not alone by a long shot. I don’t know what the most commonly sold annual in the United States is, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was petunias. There’s a reason why plant breeders continue to work to make them better—hence the self-shedding varieties that don’t require deadheading—and more colorful than ever. New varieties are being bred to not flop when it rains, hold their color longer, have more flowers and do the dishes. (The last one may be a ways off.)

I saw 5 million petunias during California Spring Trials, where plant breeders show off their latest introductions in hopes that growers, brokers and retailers will want to carry them. Most won’t make the cut, but some will. Petunias now have stripes, spots, hearts and more. Here are just a few, but keep in mind that many of these varieties won’t be available in garden centers until 2019 and some might never make it there.

Can you see the hearts? This is Surfina Heartbeat from Suntory.

Potunia Cappucino — Some petunias are a more sophisticated palette, including this Potunia Cappuncino from Dummen Orange. This would be wonderful paired with purple foliage.

Evening Scentsation is an All-American Selections winner from Takii Seeds with a light, pleasant scent. I just love the flower color.

Yellow petunia from Dummen Orange — Dummen Orange shows this clear, clean yellow petunia in a combination basket.

Selecta One Headliner Rose Star — On the opposite end of this spectrum is a more moody but very interesting color combination on Selecta One‘s Headline Rose Star.

Dark petunia — I believe this striking petunia is Sweetunia Johnny Flame from Dummen Orange.

Dark purple blue petunia — The color of this blue-purple petunia from Dummen Orange was outstanding.

Syngenta Dekko Coral Star — Star patterns were popular including this Dekko Coral Star from Syngenta, which packed a huge color punch.

Hemgenics low petunia — These are Disneyworld colors. This low-growing mounding petunia from Hemgenics is designed for mass bedding displays. In the background you can see Hemgenics’ Picotee line of petunias in bright colors with white edges, which are huge sellers at Wal-Mart.

Selecta One Headliner Starry Sky Burgundy — Dotted petunias hit the market last year and were very popular. Breeders are working on make them more stable and offering them in different colors, including this Headline Starry Sky Burgundy from Selecta One.

Westoff showed this Constellation Gemini petunia.

PW truffula pink gomphrena supertunia honey superbells pink — If you love candy colors, this combination from Proven Winners might be up your alley. This is Supertunia Honey (a favorite of mine), Superbells Pink and a new gomphrena called Truffula Pink.

Proven Winners Blue Skies petunia — Proven Winners also showed this interesting petunia called Supertunia Blue Skies.

Proven Winners Supertunia vista bubble gum, silverberry, fuschia — None of these Supertunias from Proven Winners are new, and neither is this combination, but it’s a good one: Supertunia Vistas Bubblegum, Silverberry and Fuschia. The Vista line is vigorous, so if you’re looking for a petunia that will get big, this is a good one.

Petunia wall — Kudos to Proven Winners on a fabulous display that featured this petunia wall made from wood crates.

Sakata Supercal new premium petunias — Sakata’s new additions to their SuperCal line (which are a combination of a petunia and a calibrachoa) were outstanding and a nice addition to the color range for petunias. From right to left they are Cinnamon, Caramel Yellow, French Vanilla, Bordeaux and Sunray.

Sakata Sunray — Sunray is fabulous with its detailed center. This is one to plant close where you can appreciate it.

I saw so many petunias, but I think this may have been my favorite. This is Westoff’s Crazytunia Limy. It’s hard to show in a photo, but it is a true chartreuse, a color I can’t get enough of in the garden and plays so well with almost every other color.

Crazytunia — I don’t generally love star petunias, but this one was a great partner to Limy.

Climbing petunia — Want something different? How about a climbing petunia? You read that right. These tall petunias, which require support, can reach nearly 6 feet in a season! These, including ‘Purple Tower’, are from Thompson & Morgan.

Benary petunia container. — And let’s not forget that even if you like the more typical colors, petunias are almost no-brainers in containers, like in this one from Benary.

So, what do you think? Did any of these new varieties change your mind? Any you’d love to try?

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