If you had your drathers, which Petunia would you purchase? or Sell? for a 10" hanging basket.
There are 3 pictures.
The first one is: Petunia Dolce.....3 inch flowers....compact....8" - 10" high and wide.
Petunia 2 u 2
Picture 2
Petunia Avalanche
2" - 2 1/2 " Blossoms
6" - 8" high
3' - 5' wide
And finally, Picture 3
Petunia Tidal Wave
2 1/2" - 4" Blossoms
10" - 22" long
my vote is for the first just because of color but I know that the public most often chooses the waves because of their much faster growth habit and the fact they don't have to be deadheaded.
Having worked in a nursery, I'd say most general gardeners would go for the Tidal Wave...its hard to beat the display, although the magenta-purple colour is way too common thus I prefer the colour of Number 1
My preference is Tidal Wave. I have them every year. Have spoiled me for any other. The greenhouse I work for brought in Red ones this year. I want to get one of those to try. Love the colour of the first one though, Darrell.
I really like the first one. I wish it was a Wave.
I have seeds for the red Wave, but I'm not particularly fond of red. lol
I would be growing them and putting them in a 10" pot for sales. So, I guess my oppinion of Red is more or less immaterial.
Here is another nice one that I thought I might use in 10" pots and sell them. There are 3 pictures.
Picture 1 Petunia Dolce - Flambe
Picture 2
Petunia Dolce - Limoncello
Picture 3
Petunia Tidal Wave - Silver Hybrid
Ohhh, those are all sooo pretty, Darrell. You wouldn't have any trouble moving them. Got to look for that third one for myself. Thanks for sharing.
I agree with Donna.....the last three are really nice.
me 2
I like the first one and the last three too. They're beautiful Petunia's. If I weren't going to sell them, I'd buy them. ;)
I'm only doing the the last Wave, "Silver" and all three of the "Dolce", the first one is, Petunia Dolce Fragolino. I think when people get a load of these beauty's, they'll sell.
You bet they will. The Best of luck with them.. wanted to thank you for the link. Those little babies are ordered and on their way! Woo Hoo!
My choice would be this one because I have not had it before.
Picture 1 Petunia Dolce - Flambe
They're all lovely, but what's your market? Baskets with apricot or yellow petunias are less common and so might not have to compete with all the mauves, magentas, pinks.
My Market is "Good Quality Merchandise"
and
I'm going by what I would want if I were going to buy something.
I'm not doing all those purples and shades of purples. I'm sick of seeing them everywhere, year after year.
I am doing only one Wave and that's the "Silver" because I've never seen it before, I feel it's uncommon right now, it's pleasing to my eye, the name "Wave" sells, and I think it's a good bet.
The other 3, the "Dolce", are beautiful shades and I've never seen them before.
I might be wrong in this, but if I recall correctly, the "Dolce" collection is from Italy or at least created by an Italian who is responsible for one of the top "Pansies" in the world.
Also, this Dolce collection is winning awards left and right. "Flambe", for example, has already won the 2005 Fleuroselect Quality Mark -- Europe's top honor.
As for compitition...........I quite honestly don't care if I'm in or out of compitition with other people or not. If we all grew something different and worried about who is selling what, we wouldn't have people designing wonderful new flowers like we see here with the "Dolce" collection.
If there is something to be said for compitition, then let them find out what I'm selling and sell something different. (no skin off my nose) I don't bow out and give the "edge" or "advantage" to someone else very easily. Let my compitition, "bow out", if it's of great concern. :)
I wouldn't know how to avoid compitition, quite honestly. Today I started my seeds. I have all the 10" hanging baskets set up.
Next, the day arrives and I'm putting everything out for sale. Low and behold, everyone else has the same idea and has the exact same thing I do. What do you do? Throw them away to avoid compitition? You can. I won't.
I don't have a crystal ball that tells me what other people are growing and what their plans are. So, it's impossible for me to avoid compitition. (if I wanted to avoid it in the first place)
I feel that it's escential to know what you're selling and be comfortable discussing what you're selling to a customer. That is probably one of the keys to successful marketing. If you don't know your product inside and out, you won't do as well as someone who can. Speaking feely, sends a message to the person making the purchase that, "this person really knows their business." and with that said, your customer won't go to your compitition.
Ask a child what he learned today. If he can rattle off what he learned, you smile. You're pleased.
Ask a child what he learned today and he him's and haws, you immediately think, "nothing." The same applies to good habits when selling. Know your product, feel comfortable with your knowledge, and rattle off. Your compitition will be someplace behind you in the dust.
Bravo! Sounds to me that you have what it takes to be very successful, Darrell. Good Luck!
Yes, Darrell, sounds like you have all the right attitudes!
Have you grown petunias from seed before? I started mine 8 and 6 weeks ago and only a few types are large enough to transplant (Yellow Celebrity and Double Burgundy Cascade). I was wondering if I'm doing something wrong--it always seems to be very slow for me. My Explorer Coral (spreading type) started on January 20 are still minute!
It takes a good 12 weeks to produce a nice petunia. Sometimes a little less, sometimes a little more.
They always seem to grow slow when you want them "Right now"! LOL
Hang in there, it sounds like your plants are right on schedule and it sounds like your "Green Thumb" is working too. :)
8 wks and 6 wks means you started them in week 5 and 7. that is about 2 weeks after the GH started seeding petunias. the non waves are just now being transplanted into hanging baskets. the waves are faster and were transplanted a couple of weeks ago. we have actually been taking cuttings from the earliest seed waves already to start the week 13 crop. sounds like yours are not too far behind and you probably don't have as ideal conditions as a commercial house.
Lynn, does your greenhouse use fertilizer for the petunias, and if so, do you know what? I have to start petunias for hanging baskets in late January, if the baskets are to be ready by mid May. In my experience, the Waves grew MORE slowly than the regulars.
Also, would love to know how you handle the cuttings. I've never been successful at getting them rooted, although I'm usually trying in the fall.
If it feels like I'm picking your brain, it's because I am!
cuttings of petunias were planted in soiless mix in 105 cell containers, one per cell
the trays have been soaked fairly well first
i'm told they do not fertilize until after transplant
cuttings are placed in the warmest greenhouse - propagation GH - there is bottom heat in the form of hot water pipes about 3 in below the benches
cuttings are misted every hour or two thruout the day
the brug cuttings i took last week have already started to pop roots - they are in oasis wedgies and were from wood rather than leaf nodes
other cuttings can take a couple of weeks
they take longer at the end of january and early feb than they do now just because of the daylight hours
it was explained to me that until there are significant roots the only way the leaves can get water is from the misting very difficult to bring it up thru the stem
the cuttings are quite small - waves, as long as there were four leaves or so, the cutting was ok
the ones that are shipped in are no longer than 2 inches and many are smaller
they are shipped with cold packs and in sealed bags sometimes with moistened paper towel to keep them hydrated
you will have to send me your list for our cutting shipping experiment in june
i will try to send rooted cuttings so that you can just pop them into 4'' pots or baskets right away
That would be TERRIFIC! Many thanks.
I know I am showing my ignorance, but I have started seedlings of spreading petunias and don't know how many plants to put in a 10" hanging basket. Help please? If it matters which kind, some of them are the original pink Wave.
NisiNJ
I started a number of petunias from seed last year. I prefer the Waves, since they don't need to be deadheaded & also they are not as affected by the number of daylight hours. Most petunias will not bloom with less than 12 or 13 hours of daylight.
The 10" basket would hold 1 Tital Wave, 2 Waves or 3 of the smaller flower ShockWave. Be sure to add slow release fertilizer
This weekend, I just seeded the following petunias (20 seeds each):
Shockwave Electric Mix
Babyduck Yellow
EasyWave Blue & Formula Mix
Ramblin" Red, White & Razzleberry Mix
Avalanche Grape
Tidal Wave Cherry
Fantasy Mix
Here's a picture from last year of one that I started from seed
Another of Tidal Wave Purple looks fushia
My most favorite, bought as a hanging basket with 3 plants in a 12" hanging basket. Supertunia Vista Bubblegum. Went strong into October, with light frosts.
I tried the Fantasy Mix for the first time last year and was extreamly pleased with the results! The plants were perfect for window boxes and flowered in just a couple months from sowing!
Steven
I really like the Tidal Wave Silver. The only petunias I grow are it and the Blue Wave ones. I grow the Blue Wave because they have wonderful spicy scent in morning and evening. Have you noticed that? The Siver is definitely wonderfully vigorous but not scented - so I add a couple of Blue Waves to the pots. I have two pots each summer, one on either side of the front steps. It's a great combination, especially if you have guests in the evening. They always ask where the wonderful scent is coming from! Adding some scent to the hanging baskets might be an interesting selling feature that would differentiate yours from the usual combinations.
Does anyone know of a source for the Superbissima
or Giants of California type of petunia?
I would like to get seeds for a strain that has yellow in it?
T and M sells the pink to rose shades.
Thanks
Caroline
Caroline
I would ask Joannabanana as she is a wealth of knowledge on the Petuna's and places to get them.
Alberta Ann
Yes, I have my question on all the gardening forums.
Joanne tends to grow the newer varieties, and I tend towards these older ones.
I grew Superbissima a few years ago, but don't remember where I got the seeds. May have been T&M
Here's 2 places that specialize in older varieties
http://www.heritageharvestseed.com/
http://www.anniesannuals.com
So far I have T and M for the pink ones,
Seedman in Missouri, Cressman's Seeds in US.
And Joanne gave me an idea:---- the F2 mix from Stokes may contain older genes.
I shall try it-------my baskets next season will be a jumble of different petunias.
Has everyone started petunias for 2013?
I have many different seeds,but won't be able to start until end of March this year.
Caroline
Caroline
Hi not started my seeds at all yet. You will still have 8 weeks of grow time before you put them out.
Ann
Yes, I think that is enough time---under lights in the basement.
Is anyone trying the petunia seeds in the fuseables from pan am? I thought I would try some of those this year. I grew Avalanche last year for the first time. Although I treated the seeds and seedlings all the same, only one was super vigourous. It grew like crazy. The rest never caught up? The one vigourous one filled an entire washtub. It was really impressive. The others I put in a bare spot in the garden as ground cover. They lasted well but as I said never did reach the dimensions of the one vigourous plant.