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How do I stop Tidal Wave petunias from self sowing?

13 years ago

This may not be possible, but how do you stop Tidal Wave petunias from self sowing? Last year when I ripped them out to make space for other plants in August, the seeds they left behind germinated prolifically in an out of control fashion. I ended up weeding out petunias seedlings for months on end.

This year, I'd like to plant some Tidal Wave petunias around some shrubs that are mulched with a 3 inch layer of leaf mold. But I don't want to be introducing tons of petunia seeds around those shrubs. How do I prevent that from happening?

Thanks,

gardenerzone4

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Comments (6)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
13 years ago
are you in z4??

if so.. winter ought to have taken care of that problem ...

in 30 years in z5.. i do not recall any wintered-over volunteers ...

and if that is the case.. i dont know if i would have spent the time removing them last summer ...

caveat ... i havent tried tidal wave.. so i will defer if those are something odd ... but in my world.. a petunia.. should be a petunia.. and i am pretty sure their heritage runs thru the tropics.. and not z4 ... lol ..

correct me if i am wrong

ken

ken
bugbite
13 years ago
Did the Tidal Waves volunteers produce quality plants? What variety (color) did you plant and what colors were the volunteers?
Thanks for the info,
Bob
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jrzygurl Hi "neighbor" ;-) I went to the HD in Woodbridge & they had some in six-paks. So, I bought pink,purple and a rosy-fuchsia color pink. They looked in pretty good condition. The guy in HD said the waves are very popular and go quickly. He also said that they get a new flower shipment everyday, so...if you don't see what you want to came back the next morning. Alisonn, I have relatives in Sussex Cty. However, they are moving to FL soon. I did not think about Walmart. Yes, we have a new Walmart in Hopelawn where the old Bradlees/Foodtown was on Rte 9. Joyful Gardener, I appreciate your info, but Clifton is a good "Hop" from here. Are Tidals new?...I don't know. Go to the website that Loretta posted. Loretta, As I said, I already bought the waves. I did checkout the website you posted and found out some more info. Thanks again everyone, I really did appreciate your posts. Robin
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maryjo, the only way I could ever get verbena b. to germinate was by winter sowing. I never had any luck under lights...if you have success I would love to hear how you did it! The pot with the tomato cage tower is roughly 30 inches in diameter. Thank you so much for the compliment. My neighbors think I'm crazy! mk, I am wondering if maybe you have too many plants in each planter? I know that tidals when planted together will kind of push against each other and grow more upwards. To get the cascading effect I do a lot of side-planting. I cut holes in my coco liners (and even drill holes in my plastic pots). I know someone posted earlier that tidals should be planted in the ground....that may be true but I have had a lot of success in planters. They need a lot of room and a lot of regular fertilizing. They seem to take over but I kind of like that look. Sorry to hear that your hubby neglected your pots! If the flowers are gone and they are looking a little stressed I would for sure prune them way back like rhizo suggested. Maybe after a week of "love" give them some fertilizer at half strength or less. I hope they pop back!
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gardenerzone4
Original Author
13 years ago
Ken, I am indeed in zone 4. I tore out the Tidal Waves in August to make room for other plants, so at that time the seeds that were on the ground already began to sprout. Like you said, those sprouts wouldn't have overwintered, but I weeded them out anyway to keep the area clean. However, if I had torn out the Tidal Waves in October instead, wouldn't the seeds left on the ground have sprouted in the spring? In the past, when I've grown regular grandiflora petunias, that has happened to me. How does one keep that from happening?

Bob, I don't know what the seedlings would have grown up to because I weeded them out, but there were literally hundreds of them.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
13 years ago
seeds are not.. by definition .. winter hardy ... some are some arent.... have you ever seen an impatiens seedling??? but i have a carpet of alysum [sp] seedlings every spring ... the examples are endless ... what do you grow that does and doesnt winter over its seed????

if the generic petunia were winter seed hardy .... then i would have seen seedlings for every year since mom planted the first ones in 1965 ... i think in the ensuing years.. i MIGHT have seen one seedling ... near a chimney, where the soil stayed warmer all winter ....

again .... i dont see why any other type of petunia would be seed hardy .. since .. most likely.. they all came genetically.. from the generic .. subject to any seed scientist correcting me ...

ken
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
13 years ago
I'm not sure what ken means when he says that "seeds are not...by definition...winter hardy..." Anyway, ken might not understand that you are not worried about overwintering seed, just the seeds that fall and germinate prolifically during the growing season.

gardener, the only way you can prevent the self-sowing is to dead head the flowers religiously BEFORE they go to seed. Unless, of course, you make use of a pre-emergent herbicide (such as 'Preen') after you've planted your petunias.
tlan
13 years ago
I can verify that petunia self sowing. I had hundreds of them last year, maybe because we had much milder winter than usual. I transplanted them and hopefully will have them again. I did have a lot of babies petunia this past August too but the cold will take care of that.

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