Awesome instructions, Joanne. I can only aspire to have such beautiful, lush petunias as you grow.

Allison, I also love both colors....variety is the spice of life, right?

you got it!!!

Dolce Firenze

Double Cascade Orchid Mist

Debonair Dusty Rose

I have to correct my posts (and PF)... OOPS.. this one is Dolce Siena and NOT Flambe Salmon... DOUBLE OOPS

this one is Flambe Salmon

Great info!

I'm so excited--I grew my first petunias from seed (Limoncello and Sunshine). I put a few in a pot with some lemon herbs, and put the others in a tiered basket.

I'm also excited that I found some "Pretty Much Picasso" plants at one of our local garden centers. (yeah, I know--not from seed but had been loving this plant from afar)

A couple of tidal waves in my front bed.

Karen

good job Linda.. can't wait to see photos...

plants look nice and healthy Karen!!

There are some really neat petunias. I seeded the Salmon flambe and it has buds now. I bought a few plugs of the Pretty Much Picasso and they are the hardest one to plant companion plants with. I ended up doing the lime potato vine. I will take a picture later this week when the weather improves.

I also tried a new trial petunia (not from seed). Black Velvet. OH MY!!!! Gorgeous. It really looks black

nice Joanne... can't wait to see your photos!!

I think this is... Ramblin' Shades of Pink.. late getting started.. but loving the color

>> I know you start your petunias in the cells.
>> Do you transplant them into 4" pots to grow bigger prior to doing your baskets in May?

>> Yes, usually cells to 2" in 3 weeks & the 4" in 3 weeks. Tidals are in 6" by the end of April

Do you mean that you pot up each plant 2-3 times? Or is it that you pot most up into 2" or 3" pots, depending on how long theyt stayed in a cell?

I've had good luck germinating petunias in fine, soggy peat mixes with no bottom heat. then, this year, i "improved the drainage" and tried to start them in a pine bark fines-based mix I made myself. And gave them a heat pad oart of the time. Almost zero germination for 128 cells and 14 varieties.

Do 'tunies hate pine bark? Or love soggy peat?

Corey

I have been using coir for everything.. and love it

RickCorey said:I've had good luck germinating petunias in fine, soggy peat mixes with no bottom heat. then, this year, i "improved the drainage" and tried to start them in a pine bark fines-based mix I made myself. And gave them a heat pad oart of the time. Almost zero germination for 128 cells and 14 varieties.

Do 'tunies hate pine bark? Or love soggy peat?

Corey

oh dear, now the plot thickens -- we've been discussing planting mixes on Garden Newbies; I've always had good success with starting my petunias and pretty much everything else in just Miracle Grow potting soil in 6-packs, this year I had very poor germination with the petunias. I really think, especially after seeing this from Corey, that it was the seed, not me -- wonder if there was some problem with the seed producers last year or something ?

ok well at least I am not alone.. I had a whole flat of petunias that didn't germinate.. and always do them the same way.. use a spray bottle to make sure they are tamped down.. but thank goodness I had a bunch self sow in last years containers .. I plucked them out when the time was right.. and repotted em

Hunnh! I read of someone else on another website who never had trouble starting petunies ... until this year,

In my case they were almost all seeds from trades plus some F3 saved seeds.
Last year was F2 saved seeds.
The year before, a scattering of whatever cheap caught my eye in a rack.

The trade seeds this year were from many different kind people, many in the Hog Wild Piggy Swap (three great big oinks and a SOOOOIIEE for the HWPS!) I blame my soil mix, or something I did differently, not theier seeds.

Oh, I hope Star and tcs run it again this year, in cubits or here!

It's strange, because in the past I grew them too wet and too cold and around 150% of them germinated.
So this year i used better-draining mix and kepot their toes a little warmer - - - killing them.
Maybe the mix was just too coarse.

I even tried starting some "wild petunias" Ruellia nudiflora
- - - "Wild Petunia" (violet)
- - - Wild Petunia vars nudiflora, glabrata,hispidula (syn R. tuberose, Dipteracanthus nudiflorus) from LazLow

Corey

I always winter sow them. That is to say, outside, in milk jugs, same as wintersowing, but I usually wait until around March. Sometimes I do them in winter though.

These are my Tidal waves this year. Scroll down. ( I can't post pics from this iPad)
The thread "New garden pictures" in Seeds forum

Karen