Petunia large-flowered California Giants Mix Seeds

Petunia large-flowered California Giants Mix, belonging to the Petunia grandiflora Superbissima group, is an older variety which had its moment of glory before the arrival of F1 hybrids. It remains an annual plant of timeless charm. Enormous flowers, the largest of the Petunia genus, full of exoticism, bloom on robust plants. This mixture offers a festive parade of flowers in refined shades of pink, red, purple, lilac, with frilly petals, deeply veined with richer, darker hues. They are absolutely ravishing in a romantic garden and are ideal in flowerbeds, borders, large pots and tubs. Sow under glass at room temperature.

Hybrid petunias are all derived from several plants originating from the warmer regions of South America. Petunia belongs to the Solanaceae family and is close to ornamental tobacco for example. Its foliage also contains alkaloids. 'California Giants' forms in record time, a dense, flared clump with a graceful, slightly cascading growth habit that reaches 50 cm in height and 30 cm in diameter. The plant is in bloom from June to October, provided that the wilted flowers are regularly removed and that fertilizer is regularly applied. Its cupped flowers are surprisingly large, measuring up to 15 cm in diameter. They appear as if woven from silk and velvet and come in a variety of colours, in shades ranging from lilac to purple, profusely veined with darker hues. The edges of the petals are all frizzy and the centre of the corolla is marked with a dark halo. The vigorous and healthy foliage is fairly pubescent and features entire margins and a dark green hue.

For more than a century, no other flowering annual has been the subject of such advanced selection by plant breeders. The results, such as demonstrated by the California Giants variety, are impressive since the splendour of their blooms and length of their flowering period rival those of pelargoniums. Plant them in large pots or in hanging baskets. You can also plant them in beds to punctuate borders with plants featuring grey foliage, such as mouse-ears, silver ragwort or sagebrush. If you wish to create a romantic, Victorian-era inspired, 'chic and bohemian' scene, plant several plants at the foot of grey foliage plants such as Faassen's Catnip, sagebrushes or annual poppies with pastel colours.

Warning: seeds are meant for very experienced gardeners who are used to sowing very fine seeds. These seeds are as fine as dust and are hardly visible to the naked eye.