5. Choose a Variety That Suits Your Garden Space

Some petunias are great for planting in containers while others do better planted in a garden where they can spread. Grandiflora petunias are excellent for containers, while groundcover petunias only grow to be around 6 inches in height and spread over a huge area in a short amount of time.

4. Soil Must Be Well-draining

You don’t have to have extremely rich soil, but it does need to be well-draining. Add in some peat moss or rotted leaves to help make poor soil drain a bit better. When watering, the well-draining soil will allow your petunias to absorb the water they need without sitting in stagnant water. Petunias in containers need less water than ones grown directly in the ground.

3. Petunias do Better in Shaded Locations if You Want a Lot of Blooms

Though most gardeners plant petunias in a sunny location, since they tend to do much better in this type of space, more shade will entice more blooms. If you like the pastel colors of petunias, but desire a shade plant, then why not grow some impatiens in the shady location and plant the petunias in full sun.

2. Use Liquid Fertilizer Later in the Growing Season

It’s best to add a granular fertilizer in the soil before planting petunias and then switch to a liquid formula that can be used every three weeks. Two pounds of granular fertilizer should be worked into every hundred square feet of soil. Choose an even ratio fertilizer, such as 8-8-8, 10-10-10, or 12-12-12.

1. Petunias do Better when Started Indoors

Most gardeners either start petunia seeds indoors and transplant seedlings outside after all chances of frost disappear or they purchase small plants directly from a nursery. If you live in an area where the summers are long, then you can get away with sowing seeds directly into the soil and still have plenty of time to enjoy the blooms.

I hope you find these tips to be helpful in not only choosing the right variety for your garden, but also in helping you to keep them looking beautiful all summer long. What type of petunia plants do you think will work best for you?

Top Photo Credit: v.plessky