Dolce Petunia series

I just finished writing to Farmen of Napoli Italy. We'll see where this takes me. Hopefully someone there can speak English, my Italian is VERY rusty. Who knows, maybe I can get some seed from the source!?!?

James

This is some very interesting investigation you are conducting, James. Keep up the good work. Trial beds in the parking lot... LOL! Ah, well. At least they are guileless enough to tell you that!

HI everyone!
I too planted the whole collection of Dolce petunias from Parks' Seed- all three seed colors germinated in the greenhouse but were very slow to grow at first. Anyway, I got a lot more fragalino's than anything else and a few were really pretty but the vast majority had ty washed out color (kind of like stone washed jeans! LOL), think I'll stick with single vibrant colors from now on .

I think it would be great if everyone who received these seeds from Parks took the time to write a letter to Parks and ask for an explanation, a REAL explanation, as to what happened. And, to see if they maybe offered again next season. It doesn't sound like they are taking this to seriously, and I know they're just seeds, but they had the potential for being great seeds and I hope they don't offer the same quality again! Because these have got to be the worst representation in a catalog I have ever seen! I am still waiting on a response from Farmen of Italy, appearantly, my ISP installed a new spam filter that they must now go through to see if it was blocked. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr Maybe I'll try and get a hold of Karen Park?

James

Here is the page from Fleuroselect on the Flambe Petunia. The color seems almost as washed out as mine do. Did Parks enhance their photo? Is was just awarded, but not a Gold Award winner.

James
http://www.fleuroselect.com/awardedvarietiesitem.php?id=127

Well,
Karen of Park Seeds, the president!, called me back today, but I missed her call, so I must try her out again. In the meantime however, Farmen of Italy did write back! They had forwarded my email onto an American rep. I am still in touch with him as he has not yet answered all of my questions, but, has been a very friendly person to talk to. This has been quite an interesting investigation. Here are his responses to some of my questions...........
PS - I was at work when I wrote my letter to him, I mispelled some of the names of the flowers, which he points out LOL! I'm an idiot!


FIRST RESPONSE:
"Dear James,
Farmen forwarded me your e-mail regarding Farmen’s Petunia Dolcissima series (formerly known as Dolce™). I handle marketing and distribution of Farmen products in North America, so please feel free to send me an e-mail regarding your questions. Please also let me know if you are a grower or a retail consumer.
Best regards"

SECOND RESPONSE:
"Hello James,
Park Seed used the original name: DOLCE (not Dolci). Dolce means sweet and dessert in Italian.

The Dolce™ name is a Proven Winners trademark and so we change the name to DOLCISSIMA (means very sweet in Italian). Our customers can still use the Dolce™ name until end of the year.

Thank you for you observations regarding Farmen’s Dolcissima series. These Petunias are absolute novelties. The colors are not pure solid colors, but different shades of pastel colors depending on the climate. Yes, the flower colors can seem somewhat washed-out during the summer, especially during periods of high light combined with hot nights. We have noticed that in areas of cooler nights, the Dolcissima’s will flower with more intense colors.

Yes, Dolcissima’s are great in rain and heat. Once night temperatures start coming down again, your Dolcissima’s should show more intense colors. (Best color can be seen early and late in the season.) If you like Grandiflora Petunias, please try Farmen’s Donna series. The colors are not as spectacular as the Dolcissima’s, but they will hold up to the intense Colorado summer heat. Thank you again for you comments and observations.
Best regards
PS: The other Dolcissima (Dolce) you mentioned is Fragolino (not
Frangelico). Fragolino is an Italian alcoholic beverage made of wild
strawberries (Fragaria => strawberry).I look forward to hearing form you.
Best regards"


So, that is where I am at. I'll write more as it comes along.......
James

Very interesting, James. If these petunias are more intense in milder weather, they probably look spectacular here! LOL! I'll have to give them a try next year. Your research is giving us quite an education. Thanks!

Ya, this is kinda fun actually. I'm learning alot. If it is true, then yes, they would look GREAT up there! It still puzzles me though, how can one plant out of ten, in one area of my garden have spectacular color, and the rest be washed out? We'll see what he says. BTW, do you know what an "absolute novelty" means? I'd like to get a crack at who the parents are too, long stretch huh LOL!

James

Save seed, James. propagate those next year and see what the plants look like. It will give you a pretty good idea what petunias were used to create this series. As for 'absolute novelties', I can only guess that this is a way of telling you that they are not intended as a mainstream, long-term plant, but rather a 'grabber' for those who buy seeds in catalogs... just a guess.

Of course, I guess we all know that weather conditions, and soil conditions, as well, can affect the way a plant looks. I have been told that many of our flowers are more vivid in color here, so perhaps what he says is true. However, when it comes to leaf color, bright sun makes coleus more colorful, doesn't it? I know there is a world of difference between coleus I grow in the house and those I grow in the greenhouse.

I grow lots of different colors of petunias, but didn't buy seeds for this series. It is probably a money issue for me. I grow them to sell, so high priced seeds are prohibitive. I'd be tempted to buy a packet of these to see how they do up this way... just as an experiment.

Hey Weez I did that last year with Dolce Lemon. Saved the seeds and planted them again and guess what I got. Take a look. I dont get it. I thought they were a hybrid but almost all mine turned out yellow. I did get one that came out with pinkish veining instead but for the most part all yellow.

You know-- some of my dolce's are turing up the color now! Still - not what I paid for, but they are darkening up. But only in one place, all the other places I planted them are still lack-luster.

Well two of my other little plants in that basket bloomed and they are yellow! So it looks like 2 of the 3 varieties actually germinated and bloomed for me. And mine are getting a bit more vibrant with successive flower buds. Like mystic, it isn't what I paid for but it's better than it was!!!

Westocast, I've had really good luck with collected petunia seeds coming back fairly true to the original. I was very pleased with Purple Wave, but Pink Wave was a bit less impressive the second time around. I have grown Sunshine Prism yellow petunias, and they were very nice. The last couple years, I've bought seed for Celebrity yellow and it was similar, but cheaper seed.

I fell in love with the Dolce's from the Parks photos and of course had to have them and I'm not even a petunia fan. I never even got to plant them, it was such a wet spring that I just went nursery hopping to fill in the pots and spare bed space.
I did get the Black Eyed Susan Blushing Susie and haven't planted any either.
I have planted the regular BEB in the past and got a full pot with lots of flowers and I collected alot of seed. The seed is about 2 years old but I'll probably try it again.
I put it in a 10 pot with a 2 foot homemade bamboo "teepee" (picture every raft ever made on Gilligan's Island) :) I also planted dwarf nasturtium Cherry Rose in the pot as well.
Maybe the old fashioned/heirloom plants have survived for a reason...
I will try the others next spring and see what happens here in NC.