Gently dig out a clump with a popsicle stick and pull seedlings from the sides. The little ball of soil will loosen up and you can tease out little groups and poke them in some soil less mix. You may lose a few but you will have enough for everyone you know. I did that too only mine are old fashioned trailing petunias. The seed is so fine that you plant millions thinking they won't all grow. These were separated and they could be separated again. You can transplant them again later because if you put them individually in cells they will take up your whole house. In warmer weather you can start hardening them off and give them to friends or put them outside. I love my little Earl of Edgecombe tomato plants - so stocky and cute.

Betty,

The first year I planted Laura Bush seeds, I had the same thing....gazillions of tiny little plants. I separated them out as Helen describes. I divided them into little "groups" of 5 to 10 seedlings and put each little group in a separate bathroom-sized paper cup with drainage holes poked in the bottom. Once each little seeding in a cup was about the size of a dime (yes, they were very crowded), I took them outside and divided them up as I planted them directly into the ground.

I've never had to start Laura Bush petunias from seeds in the years since then because they reseed in my garden and in the pots they're grown in. The now empty pots that held Laura Bush pink and purple petunias last year now look just like your seedling flats with the soil surface being a solid mass of tiny green plants.

Since Laura Bush petunia reseeds so freely, I pull up the ones that sprout in the veggie beds (I mix flowers in with veggies to attract pollinators and beneficial insects) and toss them on the compost pile. I leave the ones that are sprouting in the pathways. They grow just fine even though I walk on them constantly. Once all the veggie beds are planted, I dig up small Laura Bush plants from the pathways and replant them where I want them. I water them in and mulch the beds and the beds then are "done".

I noticed on Friday that one Laura Bush plant in the pathway is blooming though quite small, so today I'll likely dig up that one and tuck it into a corner of a bed I haven't even planted yet. I'm sure last week's heat pushed it to grow and bloom so early while it is still fairly small.

Laura Bush petunias are the most hardy petunias I've ever grown. They flower all summer long, the foliage doesn't yellow and show heat stress like regular pentunias do, and they are very cold tolerant once established. I have very large Laura Bush petunias in bloom now that overwintered in the garage in pots, and the ones that I had in the ground survived the cold and snow until they finally froze when the overnight low dipped to 3 degrees one night. They're one of my favorite flowers because of their toughness and the way they reseed so vigorously.

I don't know how many seeds are in one packet, but certainly hundreds if not thousands. You have enough seedlings there for your entire city! In a world where it seems like we constantly are paying more and getting less, Laura Bush petunias are the best kind of surprise....you get more than you expected (although, I'll admit, also more than you need) in one seed packet.

Dawn

I definitely gotta get me some Laura Bush petunias. Anyone know why they're named that? Other than the obvious?

Thanks guys! I also am hoping to establish so they reseed. I grew one from Bustani last year and loved how it did in the heat.

They were named when the developer in Texas had planted them all around their town's newly refurbished town square, hadn't named or marketed them yet, and then Texas first lady Mes Bush was coming to dedicate the remodeled town square- so perfect timing. I think that's kind of close to the story anyway.

Nice that there's a story behind the name, and not just a name. Thanks Betty!

I've linked an old magazine article from the early 2000s that goes into great detail about the development of the Laura Bush petunia.

I grew the V.I.P. petunia in Texas in the mid-1990s, and after a couple of years it seemed to disappear from commercial sales. I don't know why. Then, suddenly, we had the Laura Bush petunia, which seemed similar to V.I.P. A couple of years later, Wildseed Farm started offering the seed and I found out that VIP was one of the parents of the Laura Bush petunia.

I used to grow all kinds of petunias, including the old-fashioned vining types, Rainmaster and the newer Wave series, but they all ran out of steam in early summer and needed to be replaced. Laura Bush doesn't run out of steam. However, if you'll cut it back very hard (I usually cut between 1/3 and 1/2) every couple of months, it will regrow very quickly and rebloom and look better than ever. Every time you cut it back, it seems to come back stronger.

I really love this flower and it always has bees and pollinators buzzing all around it.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: Texas Gardener Magazine article on Laura Bush Petunia

It may go without saying here, but if any of you proliferators (not a word, but it works!) have extras...bring them to the Spring Fling. I, for one, would love to have them!

Thanks! (the potential bees and butterflies thank you, too),

Sharon

Sharon,

I always bring some to the Spring Fling and will bring some again this year.

Dawn

I was hoping someone would bring some! Should we get there early so as not to miss out??? :-)

Carol (the other one)

Carol,

I can bring a lot, so I don't think you "have to" arrive early to get one (or 3 or 5 or whatever).

They're still tiny right now, but the seedlings that are popping up in last year's pots are literally as thick as the grass and you cannot even see soil between them. From one of last year's pots, I probably could pot up hundreds of seedlings into little paper cups.

It is funny. I had so much trouble growing them from seed the first year. I sowed them thickly, had to repot and repot and repot to separate all of them, then had too many flats for the lightshelf, so had to shuttle them outside during the day, inside at night, etc. Had I know then what I know now, I wouldn't have bothered starting them indoors under lights. I just would have direct sown them in mid- through late-March and not given them another thought.

I'm happy they reseed so well though because that's one less packet of seed I have to buy and one less batch of seedlings to start inside and fuss over.

Dawn

Dawn - thanks so much for bringing them, and for dealing with all those tiny little seedlings. I love petunias, but have never found one that performs worth a darn in our hot & dry summers. I'm really looking forward to having them!
Carol

Carol, I think you'll be pleased with these. They have performed so much better than I expected. When I first planted them, all the literature mentioned their heat tolerance, which is why I wanted to grow them. Back then, no one mentioned how well they tolerated cold. Mine usually bloom until December or January and routinely withstand cold temps in the teens, but usually freeze if we drop below 10 degrees. Any flower that blooms from mid-Spring through December or January is a winner in my book.

Dawn

Wow, that is an impressive bloom period. Can't wait to try them out in our end of the state!

Carol

Me, too...thanks!

Sharon