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Gardening

Wave petunias

(8 Posts)
ExDancer Sat 26-Jul-25 17:39:20

Thank you Shysal you are right, its the tidal waves I need. I'll take a closer look at the Parker's catalogue when it arrives next Spring.

Sarnia Thu 24-Jul-25 15:09:52

I gave up on wave petunias after 2 summers. I have much more luck with geraniums. My local Waitrose had some beautiful ones at the start of the summer and even with the heat they have grown in size and are always in flower. Another plus is that slugs don't appear to like the taste of them. Win Win.

shysal Thu 24-Jul-25 15:06:00

There are several types of Wave Petunias I think, including Cool Wave. I have planted Tidal Wave in pots for a few years and love them. They definitely do not need dead heading or trimming, as they are meant to climb and trail, and recover well from rain. I order the garden ready plants from J Parker well ahead of time to be sure they have stock, in fact I pre-order on New Year's Day and they arrive in late June. I have never seen them in a local garden centre. This year's were a bit disappointing as there was a high proportion of pale coloured ones, whereas I prefer the reds and pinks. These photos do not do them justice, but the first group has only one pot with 5 plants, standing with Buzy Lizzies, Osteospermums and Fuschias.

Georgesgran Thu 24-Jul-25 13:26:22

I’ve done away with hanging baskets now Ex-dancer, but have had those metal trough things fixed below the 3 windows to the front of my house. I’ve got ordinary petunias this time, which have done well this year and I deadhead them morning and night.

ExDancer Thu 24-Jul-25 12:25:13

I don't seem able to copy the link for the page, but I can copy bits ..... here's an excerpt, it sounds as though all that tedious snipping is a thing of the past
A huge benefit of Wave petunias is that they don’t need to be deadheaded. However, we find that cutting back Wave petunias will promote growth and encourage future blooms.
Cutting back sounds as though they're saying trim them like a hedge.
Bit misleading to my mind!/

ExDancer Thu 24-Jul-25 12:11:54

Mmmm thats why I'd gone off them, so the wave ones seemed such a good idea. I'll try to find the article ......

Cressy Wed 23-Jul-25 12:56:23

Perhaps it means that they will continue to produce fresh flowers without having to actually deadhead the old ones? Normal petunias will fade away if you don’t deadhead. 🤞 I’m no petunia experts though as I avoid them like the plague due to the need to deadhead ….

ExDancer Wed 23-Jul-25 11:53:11

I love petunias, and having read about Petunia Waves last year I invested in enough to fill my pots and baskets for this summer. I've been very disappointed.
This is the statement that convinced me they would be a good idea for an arthritic lady (me) in her 80s with brittle bones (I don't climb on ladders to water them.)

waves never need deadheading. They will continue to grow and bloom without your having to snip one bloom

Either I ordered the wrong variety or was sent the wrong variety - or Gardner's World was spouting lies, but they've been just as much in need of deadheading as 'normal' ones.
Anyone any comments or hints please?