Dolce Petunia series

I am growing these[from seed] for the first time this year.

I should have known better than to trust the catalog pics, but I am not all that impressed with the colors. Mine are kinda washed- out, faded looking. Maybe it's due to our super hot climate. The plants are very green and healthy looking and growing very well. Just not too thrilled with the blooms.

Anyone else growing these and if so, what are your impressions?

Tell me about the Dolce petunias. Are they smaller, larger blooms? What colors etc? So you started from seed, what is it pelleted seed? I have never tried petunias from seed. I hear the seed is very tiny?

Lenjo,
You can see pics of them at the Parks seed website and also here at DG in the Plantfiles. Don't have a digicam- sorry!
The blooms are about 3 inches wide. It's not that I don't like them, it's just that IMO they are not what they are hyped up to be.

The were regular- not pelleted- seed and yes they are very tiny!

I would be more than happy to share some seeds of petunias with you. Don't know abou the Dolce as I don't have a lot of plants and I don't know how prolific they set seed. But I can share seeds of my other pets with you, though. Pets are very easy to grow from seed- I usually fall sow mine in pots and leave them out all winter for nature to do it's thing. LMK and I'll harvest some seed for you this fall.



This message was edited Jul 7, 2005 12:54 AM

Hi berrygirl,
I bought all three colors of the dolce petunia seed (from Park's seed).......and I have to agree with you "they are not what they are hyped up to be." I mean they are "okay" but I wouldn't grow them again. They just don't make much of an impact do they?

Berrygirl,
Would it be possible for me to leave them outside like you do? This is my first year growing ANYthing, let alone from seed and I would love to plant petunia, as mine this year are still TINY!!!!

I'm in zone 6a, not sure if it would be too cold here

Thanks
Janis

Wendy,
No they don't make much of an impact. I might try collecting the seeds from these just to see what they'll do next year- or to trade them.

Woofens,
I don't think your zone is too cold for fall/winter sowing.
This method just simulates what nature does when re-seeders make and drop their seed on the ground. There they wait 'til the warmth of spring wakes them up to sprout. You can direct sow seed in pots or you can scatter on the ground where you want them to grow next year.

You said this is your first year growing plants? Congratulations!! It is very exciting and addicting and can be a bit frustrating as I'm sure you've found out. But don't give up! My advice is to stay glued to DG as much as possible and read all the gardening books you can get your hands on- LOL!

Wow I love mine! I w/s some I got in a trade and will definitely do them again.

luvs,
those look nothing like mine. If they did, I would be one happy camper.

Thanks for the advice Berrygirl...... I just ordered new seeds yesterday to try this fall :)

It has been frustrating, but has also been alot of fun. I treat the silly things like my kids..... I go out first thing everyday to check on them, DH and the kids just don't get it LOL

Janis

Berrygirl I mostly agree with you.They look kind of washed out and don't have the impact I thought They would from the picture.However a few plants are producing flowers that look like luvs and they are great.I wonder why this happened.

I bought Flambe-- I was expecting FLAMBE - I got -- a bic lighter.

LOL! SOB-- I too am really disapointed in them. I might save seed if I think about it- but since a am so disapointed in them- they won't be top on my list.

Heather

I am both glad and sorry to see that others have had the same experiernce as me with the Dolce's. I thought it was just me- that I was expecting way too much from them. Now I see I am not alone. I am sorry for that as you all don't have the pretty flowers you expected.

When are these seed/plant companies going to ever practice truth-in-advertising with their photos? Am I engaging in wishful thinking? Oh that's right, it would affect the bottom line if they did that- the almighty profit!

Berrygirl- I sowed all of mine (got the whole collection) and so far I have a few very slow growing plants that haven't really taken off. I ordered the Black-Eyed Susan vine collection too with the same results. Very puny plants growing. And so far only the "regular" BES vine has put out blooms- 2 sad looking little things. I also got the verbascum from Parks (Caribbean Crush) which actually DID bloom, but it was very washed out and muted.

That said, I emailed Parks and they said the results they had with the verbascum was the same as mine. This was the first year they had grown them at their nursery and they weren't as expected. The picture and description they used were from the grower and that's what they relied on, per the Parks guy. Frankly, I think they should clarify whether they as a nursery have experienced the plant and if the pictures they show are from their own plants or not. The pics in the catalog and online were clearly altered! My petunias haven't bloomed so I can't speak to that... hopefully they will do something soon! Maybe it's just too hot here?

Anyway, one other thing I thought I'd mention is that the guy at Parks told me to not bother saving seeds from the Dolce collection as they are hybrids and won't come true from seed. Just reporting what I was told!!! :)

Edited to say that while the picture that luvs posted are some gorgeous petunias, I wonder if they were really Dolce... the 3 varieties are supposed to be orange-y/yellow/hot pink/coral in color. How do ya like that description?!

Jamie

This message was edited Jul 12, 2005 5:19 PM

Jamie,
Thanks for the info.
So if the Dolce don't come tru from seed, what exactly ARE the seeds Park sold me as Dolce seed? LOL!!

I am soooo not a hybridizer, but wouldn't it be based on what they had to pollinate with what? We just have the offspring, if you will. Maybe you need the parents to make the same seeds? I'm sure my ignorance is showing here but oh well. LOL! I just know I specifically asked about all the stuff I ordered and he told me the only thing that would come true from seed is the original black-eyed susan vine. None of the hybrid ones and none of those petunias or the verbascum (I'd have to divide that if I wanted to propogate). My bes vines were all from seed too. Hmmm. We need a botany degree I think. Ha!

SOB!!! And I wanted some of your verbascum! I am just not going to order form the McDonald's of the plant nurseries anymore.... The only DOlce I ordered were the Flambe ones and they cartainly we not- very washed out lots of cream and white and pink. NO yellow or orange at all. I don't get the hybrid plants at all-- WHY did they sell us SEED of a plant that won't come true from seed??????????

Heather
(who is thinking of calling parks and gettin her $$ back)

Heather,
the Mcdonalds of plant nurseries- LOL!! That is one I gotta remember.

I always *thought* hybrids could only be sold as a plant and not seeds because the seeds would not come true- that the seeds of the hybrids would grow to be one of the parents used in the cross. IOW, if you have a hybrid plant you have to propagate it by rootings/cuttings, etc... and not seed if you wanted the exact same plant. Oh well, what do I know? I just know these petunias are a big disappointment.

I am totally confused!! Any botanists out there can help us out??!!

Jamie, I bought the Verbascum 'Caribbean Crush' from Parks too and it was a washed out beige color. I was very disappointed. Did they offer you a refund?

I also tried some of the Flambe petunia seeds. Usually I find petunias very easy to grow. Every year, including this year, I always get a lot of volunteer petunia seedlings. I had terrible luck with the Flambe seeds though. Only a few came up and those have not gotten any larger the a couple of inches across. I guess I won't feel so disappointed now that I know they aren't blooming as advertised.

I checked my petunias again last night. They are in a hanging basket, happily grown to their apparent mature size of 2 inches across. And no signs of blooms. Out of THREE seed packets I have about 7 separate little "plants."

I'm ok with my verbascum I guess. They did offer me a refund but I said "no thanks" and just suggested that in the future they not advertise a plant they have not SEEN in person without specifiying that the picture was provided by the grower and they (Parks) have never seen it bloom, much less know if it grows the way the advertising claims! I am keeping mine but it was not the vibrant color I thought it would be. Heather- if you want, I will dig one up and send it to you in the fall. I didn't find them "ugly," just not what I thought it would be and I don't want 3 of them anymore!

Maybe someone else could email/call and see if you get the same answer about them not coming true from seed. Because that WAS one of my questions- I said ok I GOT them as seeds from you so how is it they don't come true from seed? The response was something about F-1 hybrids and still didn't answer my question! But I got the same explanation on those BES vine SEEDS too so it wasn't just the response they gave for the petunias.

Well I got my answer.When the pink stripped petunias started to bloom I said to myself,those aren't the Dolce.I wonder what happened?I too bought the whole collection and had pretty poor gernination.I also bought the black eyed susan vine in the varient colors.I have wonderful foliage growth but only 1 flower so far on all the plants that are growing up teepees and in hanging baskets.That flower was peach colored and beautiful but only one flower doesn't do it for me.I always think that my growing conditions aren't right when something like this happens.

downscale- me too. My black eyed susan vine collection seeds all germinated well and have decent growth, but no blooms. Well, that regular black-eyed susan vine (orange with black eye) DID bloom but it was like 2 flowers only. Oh well. Live and learn! I'm just glad it isn't "just me."

Get this! I called this morning - and they will give me a credit - ugh- and then I ask- "so have you had any other complaints about these seeds?" She tells me NO! Not one-"but I'll make a note of it"

TXGarden I would love to have one of the verbascum - even if they aren't nearly as pretty as the picture- I saw yours and I still like it- just not as vibrant as pictured.

I am REALLY not ordering from Parks again any time soon!

mystic-

Just so I clarify- I have NOT complained to Parks about my petunias OR my black eyed susan vines. I JUST complained about the verbascum so far. At that time, I was still giving my seedlings a chance! BUT, at that time I DID ask about saving seeds from all 3 types of plants I ordered and that was when i was told that other than the original bes vine, NONE of that stuff would come true from seed.

That said, I will be complaining to them about both seeds I got. And also, I have normally had good luck with anything potted that I get from Parks. This verbascum just wasn't as pictured. But you are more than welcome to one of them! Please email me a reminder in the fall and I will dig one up for ya. :)

I usually have good luck with Park seeds and plants. Anytime I have had a problem with an item arriving in bad shape, not surviving, not being the right plant, etc. they have replaced or refunded the item with no problem. I usually buy plants from them only when they are on sale; I have gotten some wonderful deals this way.

I have one picture of the Flambe posted in the PF. Now, from what I see, the color is most intense on its first day, they it fades REALLY fast. I won't be growing them next year either. Maybe though, it is just the heat. I guess we can all wait and see what they look like once it cools down a bit? I also have the Blushing Susies Black Eyed Vines, they are really growing. About 2' tall. The Salmon shades are the first to bloom, orange is next. But, there have only been a handful of blooms. Maybe two at a time.

J

Edited for my stupid spelling.....

This message was edited Aug 9, 2005 11:45 PM

Boy, am I glad I read this post! I liked the Dolce Flambe pics so much I decided to redo the whole color scheme in the garden next year to match! Well, I already started buying plants (roses, daylilies, etc) so I will stick with my plan, but I will not be purchasing the petunias. It's okay...I have my eye on 'Peach Flambe' heuchera too. I'll use that in place of the petunias. Tamara

Well my lame petunias put out these two blooms last week. Now I have 2 more that look just like this. They are pretty and all, but they look NOTHING like any of the 3 petunias in that Dolce series are supposed to look. I'm not even sure which one(s) are blooming b/c I just dumped all 3 seed packs into this container. Off all those seeds, what you are seeing is grand total the seedlings that came up. That was in early April and these are my first blooms... in July.

yup-- those are the dolce series

I am enjoying my Dolce's
The colors for me are quite unusual

I grow all my petunias from seed, and many colors and varieties. The seeds are small, so I mix the seed with sand to get an even distribution. I have had trouble getting pelletized seed to germinate in a timely manner. I sow my seeds indoors in early spring.

As to collecting seeds from hybrids, they will probably not be the same as the original plant for more than one reason. First of all, they will cross pollinate with other petunias in proximity, and second of all, they may revert back to one of the petunias used to cross into a hybrid.

Most hybrids are registered before being distributed to such places as Parks. I doubt that they grow much of their own seeds, if any. Since producing valid hybrid plants requires such strict isolation and pollination control, it would be impossilbe for one seed company to do this.

Some seed companies will tell you where their seeds come from. I believe Thompson & Morgan sends out a list. Sometimes the seeds purchased are not up to standard for some reason, and I would imagine they will purchase this Dolce seed from another company next year, or discontinue offering it all together if it doesn't prove itself to be acceptable. I assume they must grow test batches themselves... if not, they ought to.

I collect seeds from many of my hybrid plants, many of which are F1 hybrids. I try to keep them separated from other varieties when I do this. For instance, I supply the City of Seward with their downtown baskets. One year, I used Celebrity Blue Petunias in them. In the fall, I retreived the baskets and collected lots of seed. I was fairly comfortable in saying the petunias were going to be blue... and in my experience, the petunias from those seed have been. Had I mixed in white petunias, I wouldn't have been so sure.

As for coming their hybrid status, they could be considered F2 at the very best, and an unknown variety at the worst. Sometimes you'll find an F2 version of one of those expensive varieties, and for the most part, they are much the same, but they may have smaller flowers, less vivid colors, or they are less compact in habit, etc. That is what I find with my own collected seed.

I purchased Frillytunia seed this year from Stokes Seed. I've always had good luck with them. Last year they only offered Frillytunia Rose, and I really liked the look. This season there was White and there was Burgundy, as well. I purchased seed for all three. The rose & burgundy came out as expected, but the first blooms of the white were streaked with pink... lovely, but not what was expected. For my purposes, it didn't matter. If I were using them in a formal garden pattern as a landscaper, it probably would have. I should still let them know.

If you look at the PF options for entering plants, one of the options under seed collecting says that seed collecting is not recommended for this plant because it may not come back true. When I'm filling in the seed collecting options for hybrids, I check that one off, as well as the ways to collect the seed. Sometimes, the joy and economy of collecting seed outweighs the dis-similarities, and in some cases the resulting plants have advantages of their own. My second generation blue petunias have the wonderful scent of old time petunias and the lovely color of the original blue ones.

If any of you are displeased with the results of the seeds you purchased from Parks, you should let them know. If they do not respond or the response is unsatisfactory, report them in the Garden Watchdog. If they receive enough bad press, they will certainly change suppliers for this cultivar or discontinue selling it.

Parks did give me a credit whne I called about the Dolce series. Some are actually finally oranging up just a tiny bit.

Weez-- I would love to get hold of some of your blue petunias!

I will probably (heck I already did)collet seed from the dolce just to see what come out. I collected wave seeds last year and they are very different colors than thier parents- but the same spreading habit. These two flowers are on the same plant...

Yes, you're welcome to seed. Just email me. I've had the same experience with the Waves. I found Purple Wave to be much the same in both color and habit, but Pink Wave to be rather lack-luster in comparison to the original. The Lilac Wave were somewhat better than the Pink second time around.

However, when I collected seeds from the second generation Purple, the resulting petunias were similar in spreading habit, but an entirely different color. They were lavender with a dark center and dark veining.... and the smelled wonderful! I've been told that the closer to species, the more scent your flowers will have, and this may be true of the petunias. When they revert, they smell!

You've hit on something concerning different colors of flowers on the same plant. I'm sure, as was suggested before, it has to do with the age of the bloom. I believe it also has to do with the weather conditions, certainly nutrients and water, and lighting, too. Since the most recent blooms of my White Frillytunias are indeed white, not streaked with pink, perhaps one can expect different coloration from the first blooms of the plants as opposed to later blooms. All very interesting!

Parks is a reputable company, so I assumed they would credit you. Of course, for some folks credit is not a satisfactory resolution. Unexpected results can be a big problem if one has invested time and trouble to get a certain look. One would hope they do not offer it again next year, or they find another supplier. At the very least, they should check out the complaints and do some detective work to determine the cause.

Of course, for those of us who trade collected seeds with others, a mistake or two is expected, not to mention cross-pollination. I like to trade seeds for species, but when growing cultivars to sell, I use purchased seeds or label them as collected seed. From experience, I know that there are often surprises, and all are not good ones, but it is still fun to do.

This is where our Dolci's come from.
http://www.farmen.com/
I wrote Parks this evening. I'll share my response.

James

Keep us posted, James.

From Parks..........

Hi James,

Thanks for your feed back concerning the Dolce Petunias and we have had some other comments from customers concerning the lack of color in this new series. We have these in several areas of our trial garden and we will begin checking these this morning to see what ours look like. I will ask Customer Service to issue you a merchandise credit and please accept our apologies for any inconvenience.

Bob
Park Seed Horticulture Team Member
1 Parkton Ave
Greenwood, South Carolina 29647
Telephone: 800-845-3369
Fax: 800-275-9941
http://www.parkscs.com
email: gardener@parkscs.com






James

Thank you, James. I knew they'd have a patch of their own. It would be interesting to know whether their petunias were more colorful.

I doubt they'll be writting to give me the results, so I'll be writting them on Monday again.

James

I emailed them about the Dolce petunia seeds and the Verbascum Caribbean Crush. I received a computer-generated response saying this is their busiest time of year and a real person would respond to my email within 5 business days. I waited almost two weeks and then emailed again saying I hadn't heard from anyone. I then received an email saying they couldn't find my original email and asking me to re-send it which I did. Then I received an email issuing me a full credit for both the seeds and the plant.

This is not the first time that I have had to follow up with a second email to actually deal with a real person (however in my experience it is the exception, not the norm). Their staff has always been professional, courteous and helpful in resolving any complaints I have had to my satisfaction.

It is always encouraging to get a response, and then a refund, but it still doesn't address the problem of bad seeds... whether they don't germinate or the resulting plants are not as advertised. The real proof of the pudding is when they chech their own test beds and cross ref the complaints. This is a lot of followup for a busy seed company that sells many, many varieties of plants, but it is essential in keeping a reputation for quality seeds.

From Parks.......

"Hi,
Farmen developed the seed but I do not know who all is licensed to sell the plants. We do have a wholesale seed division that might be selling the seed to a local Grower in your area. We have two fairly large beds of Dolce Flambe' and Fragolino at the entrance to the employee parking lot and I checked these yesterday. Sunrise to sunset in SC sun and they exhibited all three colors. Yellow color was fairly noticeable so I don't really have an explaination for the fact that some folks are not getting all the colors. "

So are the trial gardens in the parking lot LOL! Oh well, so much for a decent answer. I just won't try the Dolci's again. To bad too, the color pictures in the catalog are superb!

James