Petunias (Photo by Allen Owings)

Petunias are a great flowering bedding plant to add to your landscape prior to the end of winter/beginning of spring.

You can select from many varieties. Wave, Easy Wave, Tidal Wave, Madness and Supertunias are some you will see at garden centers.

Plant spreading petunias 18 inches apart and clumping petunias 12 inches apart in the landscape. Avoid planting too deep. Soil should be slightly acid and well-drained and amended with organic matter, such as new landscape bed soil. Fertilize at planting with a slow-release fertilizer. Irrigate petunias a couple times weekly to establish them and then once every seven to 10 days when rainfall is lacking.

Petunias provide a cascade of nonstop color for three to four months in mid- to late spring, and sometimes until early summer. They can be lightly pinched and deadheaded after their initial bloom is completed to encourage a re-bloom.

These plants are ideal in landscape beds in front of woody shrubs and in combination with ground covers and similar plants.

Allen Owings
Rick Bogren