Wave Petunia Info

Check it out. Awesome site with a ton of info.

http://www.wave-rave.com/default.aspx

Thanks joanna!!

That is an awsome site-very worthy of saving!!

I have a question about the pelleted seeds. Is this a bunch of individual seeds grouped and contained in a single pellet? If so, does that mean that when planting pellets, several plants will germinate & grow from each one?

I have only got one plant per pellet in the past.

hmm, so what's the point of the pellet then? i dont' get it.

Jene,

The point of the pellet is to help keep the cost down on seeds. The seeds that are in pellets are usually like dust, very tiny, hard to handle.

Pelleted seeds are usually hybrid seed that has to be hand pollinated, that is expensive for seed producers.

Another advantage is that when you fill your tray with starter soil, then water the soil before planting, the seed you drop on the surface will be at the perfect planting depth. Just water and wait.

Some companies offer multi-pelleted seeds, like Lobelia seeds (again a dust sized seed) that come in certain color schemes, like shades of blue. You get a more consistent color combo in your starter plants.

Ahhh. Thanks for the great explanation Dale. This makes a lot of sense now. :)

Actually, they make pelleted seed so that they can be used in seeding machines that have metal templates, that have differing amt of holes for plug sheets. These seeds that are pelleted are too small for any template-they would fall thru the holes without the dust added to make them larger. There is a vacumn under the template that pulls one seed over a hole, and while the vacumn is holding the seed in the hole, you can tilt the template to the side, empty the rest of the seeds in a container and then flip it over onto a dirt filled plug sheet and then release the vacumn and the seeds will fall into the individual holes. They only do it with very small seeds, like begonias, petunias etc so they can be used with a seeder for plug sheets. It makes it very easy and fast to use the seed this way. I can do a plug sheet in about 5 seconds with pelleted seed, as opposed to a seed that isn't, that takes about a min or more. I wish they would pellet pansy seeds, because even though they are large enough to fit over the hole, they are ovate and tend to get a few seeds per hole because some of them get the pointy end into the hole, and it takes alot longer.

wow - very interesting...thanks!

Oh my gosh! I love the website for petunias!

Question. My mother said this summer she is not going to plant anymore petunias because she's tired of having to pick off the dead ones (deadhead). There are new self-cleaning varieties, which ones are these? Anyone?

Don't have to deadhead the waves, that's why I like them

Joannabanana, I see where you say no need to deadhead the waves. I agree and have not done so in several years of raising them. But my problem arises at the end of the summer when over the winter there are these piles and mounds of dead stalks drifting over the beds and over the paths. It is such a pain to clip them out by hand - one by one by one. Is there another solution? I assume they have to be removed before new growth in the spring, but it is such a tedious job, I have considered not raising them. I realize it would be difficult to get rid of them as they come back and self seed so well. But I really dislike the clipping job (you can tell I did that job today and my back is hurting which prejudices me against the plant).

Stillwood,

I'm not sure what to advise for that. They should just pull out without too much trouble. Petunias would never overwinter here, so I throw them in the composter in Oct. To keep the flowers going strong throughout the entire season, I use a good slow-release fertilizer and also a little blast ever couple of weeks of Miracle Grow July & August. In August a Bloom booster fertilizer is helpful. Regular Waves are daylight sensitive and will stop flowering when the days become less than 13 hours. Easy Waves are not daylight sensitive, so they will keep going until a hard frost.

After reading your above message, I realize that we are in such different climates. The petunias usually overwinter fairly well - I have not actually planted any in 2 or 3 years. This winter has been so cold that they may not do as well. But when I was clipping yesterday, I saw new growth. So I suppose if I just pulled them up (obviously the easiest and fastest way), there would be a severe reduction in return plants. Of course, seeds are not expensive and I could plant new ones as needed. It might be worth if for a year or so to do just that and see what happens. I might still get some return from self-seeding and need to plant only a few new ones. Next winter I think I will try that.

I become obsessed with deadheading petunias. The regular waves look ratty, I think, with dead blossoms. I can't wait for them to drop, I have to pull those sticky messes off. Smaller blossoms seem to disappear much faster, or at least aren't noticeable. That's why I like calibrachoa I guess. I grew the Laura Bush petunias last year (wintersowed) and liked those a lot. They have small blossoms, but lots of them. I just gave them a haircut about once/month and was happy with them.

I'm going to try some Shock Waves this year. They're not supposed to be daylight sensitive either. Anyone have any experience with them yet?

Karen

I grew Easy Wave, Shock Wave & Tidal Wave last year and loved all of them. Here's a pic of Shock Wave. A sweet little bloom... http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/214412/

I grew from seed EasyWave, ShockWave, Tidal Wave and Wave as well. I like them all and this year I have a whole bunch of seeds on order. In addition to the waves, I'm also seeding Lilac Ice Opera Supreme, Pink Morn Opera Supreme, Grape Avalanche and a mix of the Ramblin' group.

edit to add: ShockWave on the fence. White petunias are Ramblin' White. Pic from Aug 08

This message was edited Feb 6, 2009 10:03 AM

Wow JB- that is gorgeous!

Thanks for the pictures. Very pretty!

For those who have grown them from seed, were they wintersown or inside under lights? And when do you sow them?

Karen

Since the seeds are quite expensive and it takes a couple of months until blooms, I think starting the waves indoors is a better option than ws. At least in our area that would be the case. I will do my ws in March. Our average last frost is mid-May.

I've wintersown petunias in winter, and they've done well. I was kind of wishing I could start a few early inside for hanging baskets. Might try a few. I haven't started seeds indoors in years, always lost everything to damp off. Pathetic. I guess I'm trying to talk myself into trying a few seeds and hoping for the best.

Karen

Karen,

I have grown Tidal Wave Silver for several years now to put in my hanging pots. After much experimentation with timing I found that the end of February (mind you, I am in a colder zone than you are) allowed me to put them in hanging baskets after our last frost date of May 15. I put them on the surface of seed starting mix under florescent lights in a shop light in my basement.

I've made a discovery about waves that makes me like them even more. As I noted above, I usually start them every year from seed. At the end of last season, in November, I got a brainwave and took the contents of my 4 hanging pots, plus an extra wave I grew as insurance, put them in small terra cotta pots, and put them in my windows. They have been blooming for the last three weeks with very little light. The grow upward against the window until they are more than two feet tall. When they get out of hand I simply cut them to the base, and new stems form. They take up almost no room in the windows. So you don't have to start them from seed every year. As a northerner I keep forgetting that they are perennials.

Donna

Donna, do you have a picture? Blooming petunias in the northern plains - what a pretty sight that must be as we are sitting under many feet of snow!

Here's Grandma & the Kid with Cherry Tidal Waves that I started from seed

2007 I started mostly the Blue Waves, which were really nice

More Petunias

Beautiful photos and flowers. Thanks for the info and pictures.

Karen

Joanna, spectacular tunias! They are all so beautiful. Maybe I missed it, but have you grown the Avalanche before or will this be your first year? I'm curious about it and if it does as well as the Wave series?

This is Tidal Wave purple, you just can't beat it for the wonderful evening scent wafting through the air. I love it.

Here is Tidal Wave Silver.

And I have grown Avalanche White. It's sensational, especially in the ground.

Donna

Donna,

The Silver Tidal Wave is gorgeous. I am trying those this year.

Donna - Is that Lisianthus I see to the right of the Silver Tidal Wave???? My FAVORITE!

Yes, NDFarmgirl. Better yet, I overwintered, in my basement under shoplights, offsets, and they are doing beautifully. I have five little plants. Love those things.

And Joanna, Tidal Wave Silver is really easy to grow, and to overwinter. I put it in hanging baskets and combine it with other plants in pots on the steps of my house. A winner!

Donna

You overwinter the lisianthus? Explain. I have no idea what overwintering means. Only been digging in my big farm yard for about 4 years now. I grow the lisianthus from seed- I know - it's difficult, but I have had success the last 2 years and LOVE them. I have seedlings right now in my basement sprouting - slowly of course!

I'm sorry - let me explain. If you have lisianthus, you'll notice that after they bloom the first time they form little offsets at the base of the main stem. At the end of the season, and before frost, but down the stem, lift the offsets, and put them in small pots. They look like plantlets. Some plants overwinter poorly and deteriorate over the winter (verbena - ARGGGG!) but lisianthus do very well.

Donna

Wow, beautiful petunias! I hope that I have as much success with mine. This will be my first time growing them from seed. Any lessons learned from past petunia growing years?

Joanna, what are the yellow flowers you have with your blue petunias, and can you grow them from seed? And do those pink roses thrive in containers? - what are they - they are beautiful!

I have a stupid question about containers. I always end up feeling like I pack my containers too full of plants, and then they peeter out toward the end of the season from competition. Is there a good rule of thumb for how many plants (petunias) can go into a container?



Thanks!
Pam.

Brinda, missed your post somehow. Yes, I started Grape Avalanche last year. Very different color. The avalanche weren't as big and or as many flowers, but still worth doing again.
pgt, The yellow flowers are calibrachoa (no seed available). I couldn't find that night bright yellow last year, but hopefully will this year. The roses are Chrysler Imperial and Liebeszauber. Both are wintering over in my veggie garden under a foot of peat moss.

Here's a picture of my petunia tower made with ready-rod & old nursery pots

Here's last year with Fantasy Mix & Ramblin' Razzleberry mix

Here's grape avalanche

I use 1/4 strength fish fertilizer for seedlings, Smate-Cote Slow release fertilizer (Hanging Basket 14-14-14) for the containers & a shot of Miracle Grow Ultra Bloom end of July, every 2 weeks until mid Sept. Keeps everything looking great and full of blooms. Tidal wave one plant per 12 inch container. 2 Waves for 12". I pack in the plants since I like the containers to look full. I also put mini bark mulch on top.