Pretty Petchoas

If you've always loved petunias, at least until calibrachoas came along, you can now enjoy a plant that you may well come to like better than its parents. Petchoas are more tolerant of heat than calibrachoas, are more vigorous, have exceptional resistance to powdery mildew, can withstand heavy rains and bounce right back, and can even tolerate frost. Their leaves have none of the stickiness of petunias, whose spent flowers and other debris stick to the leaves, potentially creating a rather messy-looking plant.

Trademarked as SuperCal™, petchoas are semi-trailing and bloom the entire gardening season, providing non-stop color in orange, pink, purple, red, and yellow. They are fabulous in hanging baskets, in containers, or even in garden beds where their spreading habit provides a lovely blanket of color. In large pots they do double duty as both fillers and spillers. As spillers they have a trailing habit of 12-16 inches and as fillers, they grow to a height of 10-14 inches.

Grow petchoas in a sunny spot with at least six to eight hours of direct sun a day. Adding some timed-release fertilizer to the growing medium will assure a spectacular show all season. Petchoas are happiest in moist, well-drained soil. If you plan to grow them in containers, water them regularly, while taking care not to overwater. Constantly soggy soil may eventually cause root rot.

AT A GLANCE

Light requirements: Full sun to part shade
Water preferences: Moist to mesic
Minimum cold hardiness: 25° F
Maximum recommended zone: Zone 11
Plant height: 10-14 inches
Plant spread: 12-16 inches
Flowers: Showy, vibrant colors
Bloom size: 1"-2"
Flower time: Entire season
Wildlife attracted: Bees, butterflies, hummingbirds