The Perfect Petunia

I like petunias, but I’ve had difficulty finding a cultivar that looks good all summer. Some get leggy or spindly. Others have leaves that turn brown and die from the center of the plant leaving scraggly stems and an ugly hole. I’ve tried old ones, new ones, Waves, Supertunias, Surfinias. Some perform better than others, but ultimately I have to massively deadhead, sheer them back or yank them out all together at some point in the season. I’ve used different fertilizing schemes, watered less, watered more. Nothing works.

I finally found the exception. It’s Petunia ‘Opera Supreme Pink Morn’. I bought a packet of seeds from Park, sprouted them indoors this spring and planted them outside in one of my raised flowerbeds. This cultivar is a 2007 All-America Selection (AAS) winner and the description bragged about its free-flowering, self-cleaning habit. It did not disappoint.

I planted four of them together and they quickly spread into a nice clump that spilled over the edge of my raised bed. They survived drought conditions in July and an August with 14 inches of rain. I have not touched the plants since I put them in the ground. They still look as fabulous as the first day they began to bloom. I gave some of the extra plants to my sister and she reports the same excellent results in her garden.

Petunia ‘Opera Supreme Pink Morn’ not only beats all other petunias, it’s probably the best performing annual I’ve sprouted from seed in 15 years.