The flowers fade quite quickly, so it is important to encourage more buds to form. To do this it is really worthwhile to dead head the old flowers. This can be quite tricky as the buds and the immature seed heads look pretty much the same! The easiest way not to pull off the buds by mistake is to remember that the plant flowers advance down the stem. So a bud will be ahead (nearest the growing tip) of the open flowers and the developing seed heads will be behind (nearer the plant). Nip the developing seed heads off with your finger and thumb and this will make the plant make more buds and flowers.
Petunia seed needs light to germinate, so don’t cover the seed.
They germinate quickly, and should be potted up individually as soon as they are large enough to handle
By our calculations*, you should look at sowing Trailing petunia about 77 days before your last frost date .
Grow the seedlings on under cover, potting up as needed and keep under cover until all danger of frost has past. Expose the young plants slowly to garden conditions and plant out.
Petunia are traditionally used as summer bedding and can be used at the front of the border but are more often used in pots baskets and containers.
Petunia flowers are best enjoyed on the plant,
Many petunia are hybrids, so will not come true to seed. If you have a favourite that you cannot do without next year, it is possible to over winter under protection, and take stem cuttings in the summer
These estimates for how long Trailing petunia takes to sprout, grow and harvest are from real observations from real gardeners, right around the world.
Average 22 days | Min 1 days | Max 68 days (39)
Average 81 days | Min 65 days | Max 85 days (8)
Average 40 days | Min 10 days | Max 182 days (11)
Our when to plant Trailing petunia estimates are relative to your last frost date.
Petunia
Petunia x hybrida, Petunia x, Petunia hybrida