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Petunias in Hanging BasketsPetunias, Wave Petunia, Million Bells, & More
 Tips in a nut shell
* Petunias love full sun so they need at least five or six hours of sun per day. The more shade the fewer flowers they'll produce.
* Petunias are thirsty so they need plenty of water and a good fertilizing every other week
* Petunias can get leggy, so pinch them back by 1/2 mid-season
* Petunias make excellent cut flowers - flowers are best cut with short stems
Petunias with their wide trumpet shaped flowers are prolific bloomers that will flower throughout the summer.
Petunias do best in full sun, but can handle partial shade, especially in hotter areas. They are not frost tolerant. Wait until all danger of frost is past before planting your petunias outdoors.
Most petunias are hybrids.
The ‘Wave’, ‘Supertunia’, ‘Cascadia’ and ‘Surfinia’ are some of the most popular petunias because they don’t need deadheading and are great in hanging baskets or hanging planters.
‘Million Bells’ look like tiny petunias, but they are actually an entirely different species. Million Bells are a member of the potato family and have most of the features of a petunia, except everything is shrunk down to about 1/4 of the size of petunias.
Click here for more on Million Bells.
Proven Winner Petunias are specially selected series of Petunias that are marketed under the Proven Winner brand or trademark.
Groundcover or "spreading" petunias grow rapidly, provided they're watered and fertilized frequently. This makes them ideal in hanging baskets and window boxes,
Older varieties of petunias require diligent deadheading or they will stop blooming. This is not always a pleasant task, since the foliage is sticky and blossoms that have been rained on turn to slimy mush
Petunias will benefit from a light pinching back or gentle shearing mid-season. When the branches start to get long and dangly and when you can see where all the previous flowers were along the stem, it’s time to cut them back allowing the plant to refresh and renew itself.
While some people will cut back their hanging basket where it hangs, we suggest taking your hanging basket or planter down, sitting it on top of a bucket, then cut back the stems by about 1/3 to 1/2. This gives you a chance to remove any dead leaves from the top of the basket. Give your plant(s) a good water and feed and then re-hang them.
While Petunias are quite drought-tolerant, growing them in full sun in hanging baskets, hanging planters or window boxes means the soil can dry out quickly. Check the soil daily and water as needed.
Extreme heat can cause petunias to stop setting flowers until the temperature drops
Fertilize the plants with a balanced fertilizer every two to three weeks. Fertilizing will give your petunias the energy they need to stay in bloom all summer long. Be careful not to over water and make sure the soil is well drained. Too much water will cause the plants to become ‘leggy’, with lots of stem and few flowers.
Petunias make excellent cut flowers. Because their stems are somewhat leggy and soft and their leaves are sticky, the flowers are best cut with short stems. Place your flowers in small vases or flower rings, they'll usually will last for four to six days.
Petunias are not edible flowers – in fact the plants are toxic, as many members of the Solanaceae family are.
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