Over the years I’ve tried dozens of petunia cultivars, but I always circle back to the Waves for their floriferous and long-blooming habit. ‘Tidal Wave Silver’ has always out-performed them all in my yard. Just two or three plants will provide you with a huge mound of silvery-lavender flowers all summer long.
The plants grow up to two feet high (especially if they have something to lean on) and they can spread as much as 5 feet. And they don’t die out in the center like so many petunia cultivars do.
Here’s what I said about ‘Tidal Wave Silver’ when I added to my Garden Winner list more than a decade ago:
Before my love affair with Petunia ‘Opera Supreme Pink Morn’ this past gardening season, one of my favorite petunia varieties to grow was ‘Tidal Wave Silver.’ The plants are unusual in that they will grow somewhat vertically if you give them something to lean against like a trellis or fence.
Last summer my husband and I planted two ‘Tidal Wave’ petunias in the flowerbed in front of his office. They grew like gangbusters, and I trimmed them back severely several times throughout the summer because they were mowing down everything else in the flowerbed. They put on a spectacular display and didn’t get leggy or spindly as the season wore on like many other petunias do.
I had forgotten how much fun they are to grow. The ones we planted were purchased, but I’ve sprouted ‘Tidal Wave Silver’ indoors from seed in years past with great success. I’ve already ordered my packet of seeds, and I’m looking forward to growing this vigorous show-stopper in my garden again this summer.