I've not done waves but I have done other petunias which worked great. They germ at a low temp so produce blossoms pretty early compared to some other WSown annuals. I imagine all petunias are pretty much the same.

Karen

I did wave petunias last year and they were slow to start and I thought "I'm not doing those again" but then they took off and were out of control gorgeous. I am trying the shockwaves this year b/c I read that they bloom even earlier.

I have sown all kinds of petunia, including wave. They germinate fine.
Petunia is one of a few types of annuals that I have in my garden every year since I started WSowing. So easy to germinate and much stronger than store-bought packs.

My favorite is Laura Bush, though. So easy going and blooms for a long time. This picture was taken 3 weeks after transplanting puny seedlings. Too bad I didn't take any picture later. They all grew and sprawled to 3+ ft/ wide!

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Oh, I found a picture that was taken about 5 weeks after the Petunias were transplanted. A bit droopy and tattered because of heavy rain:
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I had great success with my waves.

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Petunias are one of the easiest flowers to winter sow. Germination is almost 100%.

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Don (DEMinPA)

when do u sow petunia?

I sow my Petunia in February or March.
Last year, I was running late and didn't sow anything until March. The seedlings were puny in April then all of a sudden they took off...fast.

Sow sparingly. I was too heavy handed because I was afraid the seeds would not germinate. The trays were always too packed and seedlings too small. This year I am going to SOW SPARINGLY!!!!! so that the seedlings will have room to grow robust. :-)

thanks pitimpinai,

i made a note to sow thinly.
ur garden pictures are amazing!

well these pics have inspired me! I love petunias and have received some seeds for the easy wave petunias in a trade. I can't wait to grow them now.
My mother told me that her mother used to have a wooden box planter on the porch and that every year white petunias came up in it, and grew like crazy. She said that they just reseeded themselves, and that her mother didn't plant them every year. Even hearing that, I was still nervous to try them.
how silly! :)
gg

kqcrna - thank you for your info on petunias. I can't wait to ws mine.

sadie2005 - this is good news, tks for responding.

pitimpinai = this is great, your pics are unbelievably beautiful. And i'm so happy because someone sent me Laura bush in a trade.

proudgm - wow, ur pics are beautiful too. I have so many petunias to ws and i'm so happy now.

deminpa - your light pink petunia is beautiful. i hope i have seeds for that color.

pitimpinai - i will definitely sow lightly, tks for info. I would have emptied the whole packet in a container, now i won't.

greyladygardner - this is good news, isn't it.

Ah, petunias! My favorite annual flower! My first year WSing, I went petunia-nuts - they were so easy!

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I've gotten away from them a bit in recent years, but am coming around again. Last year I did shockwaves and Laura Bush - did pretty well. This year I'm planning more ...

PV

It was pitimpinai's pictures of the Laura Bush that inspired me to sow them last year. I wasn't disappointed. The purple color is amazing, almost iridescent in the sun. I'm hoping for some volunteers from them this year.

Karen

I keep hearing such good things about the Laura Bush Petunia. I hope I can find seeds locally, but probably not.

soonergrandmom, email me. I have plenty of seeds. This petunia is fragrant. Smells like vanilla. Lovely. Robust. Mildew resistant. Gorgeous color. :-)

Petunias earned my respect last year. I winter sowed them for the first time, not waves though, and was surprised at their ease and vigor. Like pitimpinai, I didn't expect great germination so I oversowed a little too. I'll be more sparing this year.

And like sadie2005, mine were slow to get going (at least in my mind they were) but once they started, WOW, and they kept on going. The plants were much healthier than anything I've ever purchased before.

I don't think you will be disappointed with petunias. Good luck!
Michelle

I was flipping thru wildseedfarms catalog and they say that Laura Bush Petunia is native to South america! I had no ida, I thought it was a fussy hybrid.

:)

pitimpinai - Thanks. I have sent you an email. Carol

Those interested in the Laura Bush might be interested in the following article.

Here is a link that might be useful: Laura Bush Petunia

Hi everyone,

Is it too late to WS petunias? I am so behind on WSing. I did WS the Laura Bush petunias last year for the first time in February and they did beautifully! They bloomed all the way through the end of October. This year I want to try growing the red trailing petunias. I forget the name. Am I too late?

go ahead and sow them ...

I'm just doing mine now too. I'm notoriously late for lots of things (except work:-)

Soonergrandmom,

I've also looked for the notorious "Laura Bush". Despite all the tales of ws, I can't find them here either.

Ah, now it's a challenge. FWIW I sowed some others already; they've been one of the last to sprout and the sprouts are teeny tiny! What a treat to watch them grow, looking forward to it-

They're here, Wildseed Farms

Karen

Here is a link that might be useful: Laura Bush Petunia

That is so cool. I collected some seed and am starting to see sprouts from my waves. I also traded for someone's purples. Now I am really looking forward to both. Hmm I might have to switch these into a hanging basket when they get bigger.

Glad I saw this thread! I sowed some around February but looks like I really did it heavy. I was afraid that they might not make it when they sprout.

I should ws some again especially the hanging baskets! :)

Thanks folks!

I found my Laura Bush on Ebay from Groco seeds.

Oh, I wondered about sowing petunias also, but thought
it might be too late. I bought a bunch of seeds from
Seedman this year, and I saw the petunia seeds.

Most of the info says
" Grows only 7-8" tall, blooms in 11 weeks from seed."

So I was hesitant to try at this late a date.

I may just order some more seeds.

Mary

Here is a link that might be useful: Seedman

Too late to WS? Here in Colorado, we have the most bizarre weather, and if I had planted in January and February, it's an almost sure bet that everything would have sprouted (we have lots of sun and warm days--even had some warm nights!) before the middle of March, then would have promptly perished in our latest series of storms, with temps down below 20. I didn't even start until the first of our March snowstorms, and I'm certain that everything will sprout just fine. Most seeds don't need to be fully stratified, so a couple weeks of cool nights should be enough to encourage things to grow, and will be just in time to plant out without needing the "frost watch" you would need if they had sprouted earlier.
GO FOR IT, and thanks to soonergrandmama for sending the link: we now know that the Laura Bush seeds will provide true plants. So, save away--I'm sure I'll be putting them on my trade list soon, even though I have two containers of petunias (currently with sun on them, but down to 25 last night...) that I'm looking forward to. Where to plant? Who cares--this is too much fun!!!

Am I correct that it's still fine to wsow them here in zone5a?