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Annual Flower · zones 10–11 · 27 varieties

Garden petunia

Petunia × hybrida

Solanaceae — the same plant family as tomato, pepper, potato, eggplant and 3 more here. Relatives share pests and diseases, which is why rotation plans group by family.

Garden petunia (Petunia × hybrida) is an annual flower for USDA zones 10–11. It wants full sun and pH 6–7 soil, with about 1–2 in of water weekly. It matures in about 70–90 days from sowing, or 14–28 days from setting out a transplant. Watch for aphids and root rot. Below: its full sourced profile from 6 extension sources, plus a planting calendar timed to your frost dates.

Zones 10–11 — USDA USDA
Sun Full sun
Water Moderate
Matures 14–28 days — from transplantest from transplant
Mature size 6–18 in
Spacing 12–18 in
Soil pH 6–7
Frost Tender
When to plant garden petuniatypical · zone 6b
Your zone
…or your ZIP, for your real frost dates

Germinating
Seedlings
Growing
Flowering

Typical dates for zone 6b — set your zone or ZIP for yours. This calendar assumes the crop is started indoors. Timing is a guide from the crop's sourced growth stages; confirm with your local frost dates and extension before you sow.

Growing garden petuniaevery fact says where it came from

What we will not put a number on

We do not give a feeding rate for this crop, and that is deliberate rather than a gap. The figures published by extension services are pounds of nitrogen per acre for a production field — they do not convert safely to a raised bed or a pot without knowing your soil test and your fertilizer's analysis, and guessing errs toward burning roots. It is also why every chart you find online disagrees with the next one.

We give watering as a depth per week rather than gallons per plant, because that is how it is actually measured and how the published figures are written. A gallons-per-plant number depends on your spacing, your soil and whether the plant is in a pot — so it would look more precise than it is.

Site & soil

Hardiness zones
10–11
Sun
Full sun
Soil pH
6–7
Soil texture
Loam, Well drained
Frost tolerance
Tender

No published figure for the temperature frost starts to hurt it and the temperature that would kill it. We looked — where a number is missing here it is missing from the research, not skipped. The crop’s frost and heat tolerance above still applies.

The plant

Mature height
6–18 in
Mature spread
1–3 ft
Growth rate
Fastest
Spacing in row
12–18 in
Between rows
12–18 inest
Planting depth
Surface — do not cover
Container size
1–3 gal — low end is the minimum, high end is betterest
Support
Self-supportingest
Grown from
Transplant

There is no line here for which parts are eaten, because we have no figure to put there. We went looking and wrote down what we read — it is missing on purpose, not because nobody checked.

Water & feeding

Water needs
Moderate
Water per week
1–2 in/wk
Critical water
Establishmentest
Feeding
Moderate

Timing & fruiting

Days to maturity
70–90 days from seed · 14–28 days from transplantest

Planted again for autumn

Set plants out by
early Oct typical · zone 6b

14 days to maturity from setting a plant out — that is what our sources measure for this crop, so this is a date for planting out and not a sowing date, counted back from the first frost above. Not published for anywhere in particular: it is your own frost date and this crop's own figure, which is why it works wherever you are. A days-to-maturity figure is a catalog number for a good season rather than a promise, and a cold month moves it.

What tends to go wrongmost-cited first
PestsAphidsFlea beetlesSlugsSnails
DiseasesRoot rotGray moldTobacco mosaic virusLate blightPetal blight

Compiled from the extensions cited below. Which ones actually show up depends on your region — your extension's local list is the last word.

⚠ Reported toxicityverbatim from cited sources

PetsNon toxic to cats, Non toxic to dogs, Non toxic to horses

Recorded exactly as the source states it — not medical or veterinary advice. If a person or animal may have eaten a toxic part, call Poison Control (1-800-222-1222) or your vet / the ASPCA line (888-426-4435).

All 27 varietiesthe ones with their own page are linked
Variety TypeHabit DaysColorWhat it is known for
Amore Mix Petunia Mounding 14–28 Bicolor
Black Velvet Petunia Upright 14–28 Purple
Celebrity Mix Petunia Multiflora Mounding 14–28 Bicolor
Daddy Blue Petunia Grandiflora Upright 14–28 Blue Swallowtail Garden Seeds describes this ashappy in a pot
Daddy Mix Petunia Grandiflora Upright 14–28 Bicolor Swallowtail Garden Seeds describes this ashappy in a pot
Daddy Red Petunia Grandiflora Upright 14–28 Red NC State Extension records this asdeer usually leave it alone · gets by on less water · happy in a pot · draws bees and butterflies · smells good
Double Madness Mix Petunia F1 Floribunda Upright 14–28 Bicolor PanAmerican Seed (Ball Horticultural) describes this asextra rows of petals
Dreams Appleblossom Petunia Grandiflora Upright 14–28 Bicolor Park Seed describes this asdraws bees and butterflies · happy in a pot
Easy Wave Burgundy Velour Petunia Spreading Spreading 14–28 Purple PanAmerican Seed (Ball Horticultural) describes this ashappy in a pot
Easy Wave Pink Passion Petunia Spreading Spreading 14–28 Pink Swallowtail Garden Seeds describes this ashappy in a pot
Easy Wave Yellow Petunia Spreading Spreading 14–28 Yellow NC State Extension records this asdeer usually leave it alone · gets by on less water · happy in a pot · draws bees and butterflies · smells good
Fantasy Mix Petunia Milliflora Dwarf 14–28 Bicolor Vite Greenhouses describes this asan All-America Selections winner · happy in a pot
Merlin Blue Morn Petunia F1 Grandiflora 14–28 Bicolor All-America Selections describes this asan All-America Selections winner
Night Sky Petunia Mounding 14–28 Bicolor
Old Fashioned Vining Mix Petunia Heirloom Vining Trailing 14–28 Bicolor Select Seeds describes this asdraws bees and butterflies
Phantom Petunia Upright 14–28 Bicolor Ball Seed / Ball Horticultural describes this ashappy in a pot
Pirouette Red Petunia F1 Grandiflora 14–28 Bicolor Harris Seeds describes this asextra rows of petals · happy in a pot
Prism Sunshine Petunia Grandiflora 14–28 Yellow Swallowtail Garden Seeds describes this asan All-America Selections winner
Shock Wave Deep Purple Petunia Spreading Spreading 14–28 Purple NC State Extension records this asdeer usually leave it alone · gets by on less water · happy in a pot · draws bees and butterflies · smells good
Shock Wave Pink Vein Petunia Spreading Spreading 14–28 Pink NC State Extension records this asdeer usually leave it alone · gets by on less water · happy in a pot · draws bees and butterflies · smells good
Storm Series Petunia Grandiflora Spreading 14–28 Bicolor
Sugar Daddy Petunia Grandiflora Mounding 14–28 Purple NC State Extension records this asdeer usually leave it alone · gets by on less water · happy in a pot · draws bees and butterflies · smells good
Supertunia Vista Bubblegum Petunia Trailing 14–28 Pink Proven Winners describes this astakes the heat · gets by on less water · draws bees and butterflies
Supertunia Vista Silverberry Petunia Mounding 14–28 Bicolor Proven Winners describes this astakes the heat · gets by on less water · draws bees and butterflies
Tidal Wave Red Velour Petunia F1 Spreading Spreading 14–28 Red All-America Selections describes this asan All-America Selections winner
Tidal Wave Silver Petunia F1 Spreading Spreading 14–28 Bicolor All-America Selections describes this asan All-America Selections winner
Wave Purple Petunia Spreading Spreading 14–28 Purple
Sources6 cited · 6 organizations
  • ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center
  • Clemson Cooperative Extension HGIC
  • Missouri Botanical Garden
  • NC State Extension
  • University of Illinois Extension
  • University of Minnesota Extension

We compile bare facts from these university-extension and horticultural sources, never copied prose. 13 of the 19 values on this page carry a citation. The rest are marked est; hover one and it says why — either nobody publishes a figure we could point at, or a person set it and attached no source. Figures vary with climate and seed source; confirm with your local extension before you buy.

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