Michelle65, sorry, but I have to dispute most of your claims. First of all, Wave petunias are spreading petunias, not the other way around. Spreading (Supertunia series, Surfinia series, etc.) petunias grown from cuttings have been around for decades. The Wave series (introduced in 1995) was the first commercially successful spreading petunia that was propagated from seed. Your statement that "the ones that say spreading petunia is the exact same this without the pink pot" is entirely erroneous, as is your statement "greenhouse have only been able to buy Wave seeds for the past couple of years". You should also know that there are FOUR separate divisions of Wave petunias. Actually 5 if you include the vegetatively propagated DOUBLE Waves. Wave, Easy Wave, Tidal Wave and Shock Wave all have very distinctly different growth habits. Are you paying extra for the pink pot? Absolutely. If it is in the pink pot and says Wave on it, it is required to be a Wave petunia, however that is entirely up to the distributor if they want them in a POP (point of purchase) pot or not. Waves can be planted in any color of pot, and there is no law saying that they have to be identified as a Wave. However, if it is NOT a Wave, and the signage identifies it as a Wave, THAT is illegal. The difference you see in price at retail is a factor of a number of things. If it is a spreading petunia grown from a cutting, it will always be more expensive than one grown from seed. But....if is a seed grown spreading petunia (Wave, Avalanche, Ramblin', Plush, Opera, Explorer, Trilogy) and it has all of the marketing POP items associated with it, it drives the price up. All Kleenex are tissues, but not all tissues are Kleenex. All Waves are spreading petunias, but not all spreading petunias are Waves. And for the record, there are no "generic" spreading petunias. Everything has a specific variety name, you just don't always see it at retail.

hi everyone still looking for some annuals. looking for petunia seeds,tidal wave types,cascading types,old fashion large flowering types. thanks willy

I believe it is a type of mite. See the link for pictures/more info. I had a significant amount of this on a large clump of "Purple Showers" Mexican petunia last year. I did nothing to combat it (i.e. no "treatment"). This year there is only one small area on a single stem. Despite the fact that Maxican petunia is considered common, I also like this plant. As you said, it blooms all the time and both the flowers and the dark green stems are attractive and add a pleasing contrast to the garden. http://dougsbugs-n-shrubs.blogspot.com/2009/10/white-stuff-on-mexican-petunia.html

I agree somewhat with you that many of the "usual suspects" for annual pots are on the boring side. Not through any fault of their own, but more because of overuse - it's always the same old, same old that is available at most garden centers and nurseries. I suppose there is a reason for that (perhaps most average homeowners are not really gardeners and just want some easy color to spruce up entryways and back porches etc.) That being said, I too want somewhat reliable color on my back patio lol. While I have almost an acre, and while there are about 40 trees on my lot (dwindling from about 50 over the years due to loss) my back patio area is drab and rather uninviting, and VERY hot and sunny (i.e uncomfortable) half the day. The patio itself is large, and then it is surrounded by the driveway (to my back in the photo below) and then a huge expanse of asphalt to the right in the photo below - enough space to park and back up and turn 4 cars. While it is in shade a good third of the day, which helps the general mood, it is in desperate need of color and softness, and so that is why I do pots of annuals. (pay no attention to the ratty cellar doors or the broken pavers, lol - they're on the list of repairs!) I too hate the thought of tossing annuals, but luckily for me they're mostly dead by the end of the season haha! No, but seriously, that is one reason why I don't do "seasonal" pots. I am constantly in envy of the houses I drive by who change out their pots and window boxes and mailbox plantings by season, going from pansies in spring, to summer annuals, to gorgeous fall plantings of kale and mums and (more) pansies, etc. They are beautiful and I want them lol. But I can't bring myself to rip out perfectly good annuals to replace them with something more seasonal. I suppose I could just use more pots and change out the pots, but then there is the expense as well. So I leave my pots till almost November when the last poor solitary bloom is gasping for breath, and then I toss them! I figure (and I tell myself this every spring when I'm forking over the increasing amounts of money for those annuals!) I figure if I can get six or more months of enjoyment out of $200 worth of annuals, it's well worth it. Even if it's not the most exciting enjoyment lol! :) Dee P.S. Okay, after exposing myself to judgment over my drab patio, lol, I had to add another picture of the other end, to show that I really AM trying to soften it up a bit and make it more inviting! Here is the end of the patio behind my back in the photo above. Zephrine Drouin with Rooguchi clematis: Although as much as I love my zephies, I will most likely be replacing them with something less prone to blackspot. They look great in spring (above) but the rest of the year are pretty much just sticks!