For a novice flower gardener, wave petunias are among the easiest plants to grow. This guide will offer you the information needed for planting and growing these beautiful flowers.
- Habit
The wave petunia habit resembles a lot with the one for original petunia and trailing vine plant. The flowers bloom throughout the growing season and come in a large variety of colors: white, pink, purple, yellow and red. Wave petunias can be trailing, mounding or spreading. Being versatile, they can be planted in containers, hanging baskets or directly in the garden soil.
These flowers prefer a full sun exposure. Even if they can handle partial sun, they will eventually die in the shade. If you water and fertilize them enough, they will not experience heat as a problem. Make sure the soil is permanently moisturized.
- Growing from seeds
By using a seeding tray and soil less mixture you can easily grow wave petunias from seeds. Because they are very small, choose palletized seeds.
- Growing from cutting
Wave petunias have tiny, hair like fibers on their stem that can transform into roots. When planted into potting soil or dirt, these cuttings sprout roots in approximately 7-10 days. The additional conditions are watering and receiving enough heat.
- Fertilizing
Wave petunias need to be frequently fertilized. Follow the manufacturer`s advice and fertilize every 7-10 days. Of course wave petunias grow harmoniously in the warm weather and because of the watering, but they also require plenty of food being fast growing plants. The signs of malnutrition include faded color in the bloomed flowers and yellow leaves and stem.
- Companion plants
Along with a wave petunia you can put almost every other plant in the hanging basket. Just remember wave petunias want all the space for them, so choose a companion plant strong enough to handle them. To mention just a few, you can opt for trailing verbena, ostespermum, spikes, geraniums, Ipomea and million bells.
- Care
So that the plant to become stockier, pinch the branches off as they start to grow longer on the first ser of vines. Weak plants can be identified by their thin little vines that can be easily broken by wind or when you handle them. In opposition, wave petunias that have been pinched are much stronger.
Make sure the pot is big enough to offer plenty of growing space, because wave petunias grow fast and develop spread out roots. If you remove the plant from the pot after it has grown for six weeks, you will discover that the roots filled all the free space and are now wrapped around the bottom of the pot. Don`t worry, just cut the bottom half of the roots off with a knife and provide more growing space. This action will refresh the plant.
Wave petunias need more fertilizer as they mature so that they keep their leaves dark green. Ensure the pot is well drained in order to avoid over-watering.
Wave petunias are very resistant as they grow continuously from mid spring until frost destroys them. They are easy to grow while offering a magical color symphony regardless the place they are found in.
