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Petunias for Christmas

© John Bottomley

That was the slogan when the local Chamber of Commerce thought they would brighten Haynes Street, the main shopping street of Kalamunda, Western Australia. Later in the year the slogan became: Petunias for Easter.

A little research into where Petunias came from may not go amiss. The Petunia is a genus of perennial herbs of the nightshade family and is native to South America, in the main Argentina and southern Brazil. It is naturalised in Mexico and Central America and is grown in many countries - and people became fond of the plant because of the showy flowers.

The common petunia is popular and used in window boxes, and horticulturists have developed many strains of the genus over the years. Strains include fringed and also doubled flowers; red, pink, purple, and plants of varicoloured varieties have also been produced. Lately, dwarf varieties, which grow as a low mound and long trailing free-flowering varieties, can be found in many of the gardens around the country.

The common petunia, grown as a bedding plant, is a hybrid of a large white petunia and a violet-flowered petunia found in Argentina.

Petunias are classified as the genus Petunia of the family Solanaceae. Petunia x hybrida is the name for the common petunia, the large white one is called Petunia axillaris, and the violet flowering petunia is known as Petunia integrifolia. Would you believe that they are related to the potato, tomato, tobacco, and aubergine, through their relationship with the nightshade family?

There is a very colourful petunia, 'Fairyland' a true miniature, with small leaves and lots of 3-5 cm flowers in over ten colours including pink, purple, red, salmon, white and many double colours. These compact bushy plants which grow to 20 cm high are very resistant to disease. They are ideal for patio tubs and containers, for hanging baskets, and massed displays; also for rockeries and slightly raised parts of the garden where their wonderful colours can be shown to a great advantage.

At this time of the year here in Australia petunias have been ready for bedding and for planting out for a few months. Many of the local garden centres have between 20-30 different varieties to choose from. Whilst we are talking about different varieties, they tell me that some varieties are known by different names in other countries. So, if you want to look for a particular variety, it may be as well to take a note of the colour and the shape of the flowers.