Do they have any other colors of wave other than the pale lavenders and maybe the pale pink I thought I saw? I like vibrant petunias!

Because of the popularity of the original wave petunias, the breeders have created so many different varieties that you can get them in lots of colors, even bi-colors. Red, hot pink, purple, cherry, red/white, rose/white, silver, white, etc., etc., etc. I'm growing tidal waves this year - silver (really a very, very pale lavender with a purple throat) - and they are great!

PV

Hi, I am not familiar with tidal waves. Are those the double flowering ones? I saw some the other day at Wal-Mart and if the plant wasn't just about dead, I would have bought it.

Oh no PV. Why did you have to go and tell me that???? LOL

sandrajean - No, the tidals aren't the double waves, but I'd sure like to get my hands on some of those, too!

These are the tidal waves - up close:
{{gwi:2888}}

And spreading in a windowbox:
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Here's a link which might be interesting:
Petunias

PV - the big-time petunia lover

PV- what are those purple petunias on the second picture? I have them, and they dont seem to be doing well. But my dream petunias are doing great, and they get only 4 hours of sun.

I purchased a wave petunia. It is white and really perky.

balconygardner - those "purples" are "Celebrity blue". They're purple in the sun, but a real true blue in the shade...weird!

"celebrity blue"
{{gwi:2890}}

PV

This may be a stupid qustion, but if I'll plant 1 petunia seed, will I get a full grown plant or should I plant few seeds together? And how deep do I plant the seeds?

One petunia seed theoretically will give you one plant, but it could just as easily give you nothing, so plant several seeds. Actually, petunia seeds are so tiny, you'd find it hard to sow just one seed! Just sprinkle on top of the soil and press them in with your fingers - they don't need to be deep at all. About six weeks after sowing, you should have a blooming plant.........

PV

PV...your pictures are beautiful!!! also thanks for the link. I got to the wave site and now I am interested in those dragonwing begonias.

Also, I saw the silver tidal wave and read about its mounding rather than trailing habit. The would be very nice in a big tub on each end of my balcony and have the trailing waves in the middle.

sandrajean - what I read about the tidals is that spaced closely together, they form an upright mound or even a low hedge; widely spaced in a bed or border, they creep along as a ground cover, up to 4 feet wide; set against a trellis and given a little help to get started, they will climb; and then there's the "traditional" use as a trailing petunia in containers! Very versatile plant!

And that Simply Beautiful site is dangerous!

PV

BTW sandrajean - I noticed that you are a new face here! Welcome! You must tell us what else is out on your balcony!!! Maybe start a new thread with the specifics (then we can fill it up with more than petunias...hee hee).

Hi Jenny, When I read your post, I went into fits of laughter and then wanted to cry. You wanted to know what else is on my balcony and start a new thread on the specifics!!

Well, my balcony has been trashed!!! My daughter found this stray kitten a few months ago and she has literally trashed the balcony.

She is using the two big tubs I had as litter boxes. She has uprooted just about all the wave petunias that sprouted this spring.

I do have two geraniums on the top rail that she can't get to, one is a Sparkler cherry that I had in the house all winter and the other is what I call the polka dot because it has white petals with a dark pink "dot" at the base of each petal.

I do have two 12 pots of waves sitting on the balcony floor. I put plastic forks, tine up, in the soil all around the perimeter of the pot to keep the cat out and it has worked.

I am very disheartened with this situation because each year I would have many beautiful plants on the balcony and it was a pleasure to look at it. This year it is pitiful looking

Even some of the neighbors have noticed and have asked, "Where are all your flowers this year"?

Oh no! Don't I know the feeling:

{{gwi:2891}}

I haven't seen the little one above in a couple weeks - I think her owner is keeping her inside since it has been real hot lately. But when she was wandering around in my jungle, she managed to chew my daylily leaves and my hosta leaves and the new shoots on the umbrella palm in my half-barrel water garden. Had to spray some "Liquid Fence" (a natural commercial product that contains garlic, citronella, and cinnamon) on her favorite dinner plants and it sortof worked... but had to keep spraying and "training" her with a squirt bottle of water, to stay away from those plants. I even grew 2 pots of wheat grass for her but she figured why bother with that when a tasty hosta leaf is right there. LOL

How big is your balcony by the way?

sandrajean and pvick, thanks for the recommendation on petunias! I spend a lot of my energy on trying to get veggies to grow in the back yard, and so I like my flowers in the front balcony to be pretty, inexpensive, and easy care. And, ideally, yellow or purple or white. I planted pansies, marigolds, and alyssum, but in the past few weeks i've been picking up petunias here and there as everything goes on sale. I have bought the last lonely petunia four-pack (usually with only 3 plants left...) from at least three grocery store garden centres in the neighbourhood! ;-)

Next year I'll try them from seed....

Zabby, positive about purple petunias!

I wish I could have petunias, *sniff sniff*.

Maybe I'll put one out front and see what it does.

My one cat is so bad on the balcony, I left him alone and he dug up Hi Ho Silver hosta. Boy, did he get his hide tanned.

I am new to wave petunias, and I'm wondering if the dead blossoms must be pinched off to keep the plants blooming all summer as is necessary with other petunias. I'd love to plant waves as a ground cover, but the thought of dead heading them is daunting. Just caring for my hanging baskets of wave petunias keeps me busy daily.
CatherineA

That's the beauty of waves - they don't need deadheading!

PV

A friend gave me two hanging baskets of Lavender Petunia's,How can i keep them over winter.

I have never tried keeping petunias over the winter. I would suggest you cut them back and put them in the sunniest window you have and hope for the best.

They may not flower but as long as they don't die, you can put them outside again in the spring.

I do believe Jenny overwintered her petunias, and got them to bloom, with lights.

Funny that this post resurfaced now: I gave a "branch" of tidal waves to a coworker, who put it in a vase as a sort of bouquet; when it developed roots, she planted it and put it in our (very) sunny office window. That one twig has branched out tremendously, and is now blooming it's fool head off! Lovely, lush plant. We'll see what happens to it this winter......

So, like sandrajean says, put it in your sunniest window (maybe you have lights?) and hope for the best.

But save some seeds from the plant, too.

PV

Yes, if one has a light set up, they can get them to bloom. I wish I had some gro-lights, I would have tomatoes in the winter!!!

I jokingly told a friend that I have this thought that a few years down the road, the wave petunia may be considered a noxious weed by some because of it's prolific and I do mean prolific habit.

I have them winter over on the balcony and I live 25 miles south of Washington DC. They don't bloom during the winter but there are small green leaves in the boxes and when spring comes, WOW, I have seedlings everywhere.

any easy way to plant those tiny wave petunia seeds?

I have never planted the seeds. I bought the ones I had originally from Home Depot and some from the local garden center.

Just sprinkle the seed on top of moist soil and press them in with your fingertips, or mist lightly to "drive" them into the soil. They're really quite easy from seed....

PV

thanks for the advice i'm going to try again i'll let ya all know how i did. thanks again

I bought wave petunias last summer. In the fall, I dumped the dirt in the trash, opting to keep the pots for other projects this year. However, there was one hanging basket that I didnt have time to dump, and tossed the whole thing in the garage - thought I'd get the pot out in the spring and work with it then. Low and behold, when I went to get it, my wave was still green (a little pale), but green. Had been in a cold, dark garage w/no water all winter. I brought it outside, watered it, and it's kicking butt right now! Looks great. I even stuck a few nasturtium seeds in there with it, and their growing together very nicely. So, I'm sorry I threw the others out now, but I'm sure going to grow and keep them this year.
Also, bought some Wave seeds at Wal-Mart earlier this season, sprinkled them in another old pot with old soil, and they're sprouting - slowly, but lushly. It's the wave of the future...

These wave petunias are practically indestructable. Four years ago I planted them in my balcony boxes and they reseeded themselves and came back each year.

This past winter was exceptionally cold and icy and I don't see any signs of green in the boxes so I guess they finally bit the dust.

I have been buying pots of petunias to put on my porch for the past 2 years. This year, I watered them like I should, but they all (but one) died! Ugh! They didn't droop, just got brown and died. They sit in the shade for most of the day, but in the afternoon get lots of direct sunlight. I water them thoroughly until the water runs out of the bottom, so I'm wondering if maybe they got too much water! Can this actually occur with these thirsty critters.

You may not belive this, but I gathered seeds from my 2002 wave petunias and planted them spring 2003. Grew beautifully. Didn't gather them in 2003, just left them alone, nasty dead stems and all, in the planter over the winter. I now have dozens of wonderful baby petunia's growing in that container. I'm definatly gathering the seeds again this year! Those are good, hardy, plants to survive zone 5.

Unless you want seeds to plant somewhere else, there is no need to save seeds because they will come back each year all on their own.

This is the 4th year that plants have been sprouting in my balcony boxes all on their own. I did want to plant geraniums this year and I think I may have to dump the soil in the boxes and get fresh in order to get rid of the waves.

These plants are indestructable.

my petunias were looking really healthy, but as soon as the weather started getting hot, they are just shrivelling up left and right. What do I do to get them to look good again?

I just bought 12 wave petunia plugs, and a 14 inch pot of the purple ones already full grown. I transplanted the plugs into a 16 inch pot to finish growing and they seem to be doing well on my deck. Then I transplanted the full size one in a 17 inch pot, the kind that looks like brown moss, and it hangs. It did well and was blooming for a week, then when I got home from work today I see all the flowers are dead! My deck does get sun almost all day. Should they be hanging in a place where they would get more shade? These plants are beautiful and I hate to lose them. Also, am I suppose to feed them once a week or just water them? Thanks!

Petunia flowers don't last forever but once the plants settle in and start growing, there will continually be new growth and new flowers while old flowers shrivel away.

Not sure where you live but all-day sun in some locations can be hard on plants and even in cooler locations, because the plants are potted, checking to water consistently is a must.

Regarding fertilizing - it depends on the product you use and you'll need to read the label directions. Some are every 2 weeks (or more often if diluted) and others are slow-release and may last 3 - 6 months. In any case, watering frequency will depend on your climate and the soil type, etc. You need to check your pots often to see if they need to be watered. Also observing the plant and whether it's about to wilt, can help with when to water.

hi
i have a 10" hanging basket and wanted to grow wave petunia's in them,i just have one plant in 4-6" pot,that i brought from lowes,how many more plants will i have to buy for my 10" basket.And can i plant regular petunia's with wave in that basket.
Any help is greaty appreciated.

Thank you Jenny. I feel much better after reading your post. I guess maybe it's just the flowers that had died, as the plant is doing very well. Our summers here don't get much over the 80's, but of course on the deck it get's much hotter with the sun on it. I'll see how it goes when it starts getting real warm. Thanks again.

novicegardner - for a 10" basket to get it looking full, I would probably put 6 plants (3" pot size) in there.

sheilalk - With the sun on it, some transplant shock, and the moss basket (which tends to dry out faster than regular hanging baskets with solid sides), you're seeing a little of the stress, so they have to adapt to the new environment. However once they do, they should do beautifully!

I have four large raised beds that I want to fill with purple wave petunia plugs that I have already purchased. Each box is about 3ft by 20 feet. How, and how many should I plant in each box so they fill in nicely? I was going to plant 6 per box, just in a row, but i'm not sure if they would fill in. Thanks!

Would petunias do ok in a hanging basket with western exposure? I have a 10" self-watering hanging basket that I'd like to put some draping flowers in and these wave petunias seem like they'd be perfect. Thanks!

calliecalgal - wave petunias will definitely fill in ... each plant can spread as much as four feet. Plant them in a chevron pattern rather than a straight row.

iyengar21 - petunias should do very well in a western exposure; they'll get plenty of afternoon sun, I would think. Just be sure to keep the basket well-watered - petunias like a consistently moist soil.

PV

Our wave petunias do really good for the first part of the summer and then they turn light green and begin to die. What am I doing wrong?