Count Your Blessings!

With love and passion, everyone can have a nice garden...Elaine Yim

Count Your Blessings!
Count The Garden By The Flowers, Never By The Leaves That Fall.
Count Your Life With Smiles And Not The Tears That Roll.
..... Author unknown.

Knowing me, Knowing you..... Aha.....!

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Malaysian Flora USDA Zone 11
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Thursday, August 9, 2012

Garden Petunias - A Colourful Parade

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I adore petunias for their lovely, lovely flowers. I have grown them and loved them a lot. Now I without their sweet presence because I have no more place to hang them! but, but, but ...

...  I still buy them whether intentionally or on impulse, especially during festive seasons to give an instant flash of colour to my front garden. I certainly will not hesitate to recommend them for my friends and readers who are busy decorating for Hari Raya Aidil Fitri (Eid ul-Fitr) this month.

The photos here are all taken at Floria 2011.



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 Scientific name: Petunia x hybrida
Synonym: Petunia violaceae var. hybrida
Common name: Petunia
Family: Solanaceae
Origin: South America
Category: Annuals

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The name Petunia is derived from the South American aboriginal word "petun" meaning tobacco. 
I recall that Harry Porter also has an aunt named Petunia.

"Garden Petunias - A Colourful Parade", a copyrighted post, was written for My Nice Garden blog by Autumn Belle @ http://www.mynicegarden.com/ on August 9th, 2012.

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Most of the petunias we grow are hybrids.
 Blooming petunias are sold in hanging baskets here and it doesn't cost much.

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Petunias are annual plants that can be propagated from seeds. Seed packets can be purchased locally. We can experiment with imported ones too.  Petunia seeds are very small. Careful handling is needed. It is recommended to mix with some sand to distribute the seeds evenly during sowing. It takes about 3 weeks for the seeds to germinate. Transplant after 5 weeks. Blooming starts in another 8-15 weeks time.

Bloom period is about 3 months.

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Grow under the full sun. The medium should be moist but well-drained. Water regularly but do not overwater. Use equal parts of burnt soil, sand and black soil. Apply a liquid fertilizer every fortnight. Pinch off spent flowers regularly to encourage blooming.

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 Petunias can be grown in pots, hanging baskets and fanciful planter boxes. You can placed on the patio table. I think they are perfect for Malaysian gardeners who like English or European styled gardens.

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Petunias may be susceptible to slime disease caused by bacterial that live in the soil. The bacteria attack the roots, eventually suffocating the plant as the leaves hang down and the plant wilts. In a 1-2 days, the plant will be dead.

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"A thing of beauty is a joy forever: 
its loveliness increases; 
it will never pass into nothingness".
John Keats

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I would like to dedicate this post to 2 lovely bloggers who have given me an award. 

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To Lynn of Lynns Garden, thank you very much for giving me the "One Lovely Blog" award for garden blogs. I am very honored!



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To Malar of My Little Garden, thank you very much for the Versatile Blogger Award. I am very honoured indeed!



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When I first started experimenting with growing petunias, it was indeed an attention grabber. 
there were well-meaning friends and neighbours giving advice about the 'difficulties' and predicting their early demise, but I think it was effort and money well spent because the flowers that bloom will brighten up my garden and my life. I have enjoyed the moments when it lasted.

Now you know that petunias are annual plants that do not last long,
will you still grow it?


Updated on 10 Aug 2012: Below is my You-Tube video of Petunias flowers in landscaping:

39 comments:

  1. Ms Belle,
    If I recall correctly you have a beautiful home. How about hanging the petunia basket outside your window? Just get some hanging rod or hook from Ikea, presto! You have your petunia hanging gracefully in no time! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ash, thank you very much for remembering my 'beautiful home'. But my garden is very amateurish, in fact maybe untidy because I grow so many types of plants there ^-^

      I do buy petunias to decorate my garden, especially during festive seasons - the instant treatment, haha.

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    2. Ms Belle, now that you mentioned it, I might do the same for raya..haha!

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  2. I am falling in love with many beautiful and lovely flowers.

    Am I?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rainfield, soon you'll see more flowers sprouting along your pathway when you go hiking in Cerok Tekun. Now, I'm sure you'll now more about the names of these beauties that you are falling in love with!

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  3. Petunie są ślicznym i delikatnymi kwiatami. Ich płatki potrafi silny deszcz uszkodzić, dlatego mam je w miejscu niedostępnym dla niego. Twoje zdjęcia są świetne. Pozdrawiam.
    Petunias are lovely and delicate flowers. Their petals can damage the heavy rain, so I have them out of reach for him. Your pictures are great. Yours.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Giga, you are so right! Thanks for reminding me about the delicate flowers. We so have lots of rain in Malaysia.

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  4. you have had a huge collection of petunias! I love them in my planter on my front porch, but this year the begonias were calling me. I think the petunias always attract attention from passersby.

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    Replies
    1. Wendy, the petunias are from Floria 2011. I'd love to have all of them ... I am growing rose begonias too.

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  5. Congratulations on your awards! Well-deserved!

    I too am a lover of Petunias. I just have to have some every year. I always have a couple of pots of them sitting out in my courtyard garden. They're always such a cheery sight.

    You've shown some beautiful Petunias today. I particularly love the white and the striped Petunias.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bernie, Yes, I still remember them in your lovely garden.

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  6. A colourful parade indeed Autumn Belle, all lovely!

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    Replies
    1. Mark and Gaz, they are in almost every colour of the rainbow.

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  7. You hava wonderful array of petunias. They are showy and will always add bright splashes of colours to any garden. I have them around from time to time. I can never keep them for long as they are very prone to mealy bugs infestation.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Same goes for me. They are annuals anyway, so we enjoy the beauty while they last.

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  8. I can smell those sweet petunias from here... beautiful photos!

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    Replies
    1. Carolyn, yeah, so good to have flowers that look as well as smell good.

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  9. That's an impressive collection of Petunias! So many beautiful colors! When I was a child, my parents encourage my sister and me to each pick a type of flower for the garden. I picked Petunias! I haven't grown them for a while, but you've convinced me I need to revisit an old favorite. Congratulations on your well-deserved awards, Autumn Belle!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. PlantPostings, go for it! Sweet petunias to revive sweet memories...

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  10. Have you ever grown Million Bells (Calibrachoa) which is related to the petunia? They have smaller 1 inch size flower in a myriad of colors. I have stop growing flowers ... not entirely but I am concentrating on edibles, plants that require less water and succulent. It seems the right thing to do in California where adequate water is an issue.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mom on Blog, I don't think I have seen Calibrachoa in local nurseries. This genus is also not listed in the local publications that I have. I'd be on the lookout though, so thanks for the valuable info!

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  11. Aaron, haha. Things of beauty do not last forever. Trust me, their blooms will brighten you up, any day!

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  12. I had tried few times having petunias but never seemed successful - at least in keeping them propagated after purchasing them.
    Do you have any luck in keeping them for few generations?
    cuttings or seeds?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. James, petunia hybrids are mostly annual plants that will soon die off after their life cycle is over. With petunias, I like to take the short-cut, i.e. buy the whole ready to bloom/blooming plant from nurseries for decorating my garden. I find that it is cheaper and less time consuming to buy the whole plant than starting from seeds. Besides, the quality of the seeds will depend on the parental genes.

      Recently, I have come across some nurseries selling petunias that can are longer lasting and can be propagated from cuttings.

      Delete
  13. Beautiful collection of petunias. I do find them labor intensive to maintain, deadheading regularly becomes a chore.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Norma, I will be dreaming about the next beautiful bud and bloom when I am doing the deadheading, hence this is something I look forward to :)

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  14. You have beautiful collection of petunia! I have bought 3 pots of petunia....and all end up dying on the following weeks....sigh....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Malar, these are from Floria 2011. I hope you had enjoyed the lovely petunias while they were still alive. Petunias will last longer if you can select those which are just starting to bloom, i.e. with few flowers and many unopened buds.

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  15. Please help,
    where can I buy petunia potted plants online in Malaysia?

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    Replies
    1. I'm not aware of any online sellers for potted petunias in Malaysia, but you can easily buy them from any local nursery.

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  17. water regularly mean daily? it is ok to do it every day before go to work? tq

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    Replies
    1. Bapa Selfie Nusantara, yes you need to water it everyday. Watering before going to work is certainly a good idea if you have the time.

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  18. I have trying to germinate petunia seeds with little success. Do you have any advice

    ReplyDelete

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