Petunia Surfinia Deep Red

The Petunia Surfinia Deep Red forms a mass of flowering stems that can sometimes exceed 2 metres (6.6 feet) in length. It has a unique habit, both compact, upright and pendulous, which shows excellent resistance to weather conditions. It offers hundreds of single funnel-shaped flowers, in a rich and deep red, which are intensely coloured without being garish. Its unparalleled floribundity, from May until frost, as well as its beautiful heat resistance naturally make it suitable for hanging baskets. This generous annual plant is easy to grow, everywhere, with almost no maintenance required!

The Petunia belongs to the Solanaceae family; it is closely related to ornamental tobacco, for example, and its foliage also contains alkaloids. These annual, biennial or frost-tender perennial plants are most often cultivated as annuals, and all originate from the warm regions of South America. The Surfinia® Petunia is a sterile hybrid of Petunia, quite recent, with a pendulous and weeping habit rather than an upright one, which makes it a magnificent plant in hanging baskets. It was created in Japan, and is also distinguished by its beautiful and very long flowering period.

The Petunia Surfinia 'Deep Red' forms a vigorous bushy and trailing clump, with creeping stems cascading over 2m (6.6 ft) to 2.50m (8.2 ft). The plant is in flower from May-June to October, as long as faded flowers are regularly removed and fertiliser is regularly provided. Its cup-shaped flowers are medium-sized, in a rich and deep red tone, absolutely uniform, tightly packed against each other on dense foliage. The leaves, quite hairy, ovate and pointed, have entire edges and a dark green colour, it is vigorous and healthy. This variety shows an exceptional habit and tolerates heat well.

No other annual flowering plant has undergone such intense selection by breeders for such a long period. The results are impressive, as petunias compete with pelargoniums for the splendour and length of their flowering, as demonstrated by this Surfinia Deep Red variety. Plant it in large containers, or in hanging baskets, creating a perfect contrast with the dark blue or pure white Surfinia Petunia. You can also plant it in borders, to punctuate borders of plants with grey foliage such as cerastiums, cineraria maritima or artemisias. If you want to stand out, plant several plants to form an original ground cover at the base of plants with grey foliage such as Nepeta faassenii or annual poppies in pastel colours.

Green plants from 4 to 8cm (1.6 - 3.1 in) in trays of 5 small plugs, 2.8 cm (0.8 in) in diameter and 4 cm (1.6 in) high, labelled separately. Our plants are at least eight weeks old and are strong enough to be planted in the ground.

Note: Attention, our young plants in small plugs are professional products reserved for experienced gardeners: upon receipt, transplant and store them under shelters (veranda, greenhouse, cold frame...) at a temperature above 14C° for a few weeks before being planted outdoors once all risk of frost has passed.