Red Wave Petunia

Annuals give gardens a welcome splash of color

There's no denying annuals' important role in the garden.

They're easy to grow, come into bloom quickly, flower a long time and are inexpensive to replace every year. They're among the most forgiving and adaptable of plants, needing just good light, ample water and some reasonably fertile soil.

True annuals complete their life cycle — growing from seed, flowering, setting seed and dying — in a single year. But many plants sold as annuals are really tender perennials that won't make it through the winter in colder areas. The plants I'm highlighting here come from both categories, but we'll think of them as annuals for the sake of convenience.

• Marigold (Tagetes spp.). Full sun; drought-tolerant, but prefers moist soil; 6 inches to 3 feet tall and wide, single and double flowers 1 to 3 inches across; nonstop color in reds, oranges, yellows. Try "Inca Yellow Hybrid" and "French Vanilla." If drought-stressed, may develop spider mites. Just hose them off and keep well watered. They're a favorite companion plant of mine in the vegetable garden.

• Snapdragon (Antirrhinum hybrid). Full sun to part shade; 6 to 36 inches tall, 8 to 12 inches wide; red, yellow, peach, pink, orange, burgundy, white, bicolor; single and double flowers. Shorter varieties like "Chimes Yellow"stand up without staking, taller varieties make great cut flowers. Rust may be a problem in hot weather.

• Lantana (Lantana camara). Thrives in the heat and full sun; 1 to 6 feet tall, 2 to 8 feet wide; white, yellow, pink, orange, red; many have multiple colors, with younger and more mature flowers in the same cluster. A tender perennial, it can overwinter in a container; where hardy, it's a woody shrub; grown as an annual in a cooler area, it won't get as large. "Sonshine" features solid yellow flowers; "Miss Huff" is bright red; "Tropical Fruit" is pastel pink and yellow. These are real butterfly magnets, and no serious pests or diseases.

• Impatiens (Impatiens walleriana). Part shade; moist soil; 6 to 8 inches tall and wide. Possibly the most popular annual in the world; plant among hostas for summer color or grow in containers. Doubles, like the Fiesta series, look like miniature roses; Dazzler Rose Swirl features light-pink flowers with a dark pink edge. Slow to start in cool spring, plant a little later than other annuals; protect from late frosts. May be prone to slugs. Impatiens are one of the best choices for adding color to a shade garden.

Growing Wave Petunias Guide | News BlogrollCenter

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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