I’ve planted plenty of petunias and begonias this year. None of them have spread and are full of vibrant colour like this. In fact, my begonias look half dead and shrivelled up.
This container and others like it in the area are in full sun all day so begonias must be able to hack full sun.
For context I water and feed regularly, but mine always just end up looking leggy and turn brown and start to shrivel.
I also refuse to believe anyone is coming around a regularly deadheading these flowers..
by Liam437
18 Comments
interestingly my petunias have done amazing this year. usually crap. i bought them quite late which helps as more sun. fed weekly and watered twice a day until this last week.
https://preview.redd.it/7ku2dfckeugf1.jpeg?width=2296&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=73e0fae103b8d859d95d2365f13811120dd4b1e2
at its best a couple of weeks ago. i have never been this successful before
Basically…. Watering and feed
Only grown petunias this year, but I put in water gel and slow release feed into the soil. I do think it’s pure luck sometimes though. My 2 trailing petunias from Aldi filled out a planter very nicely despite their starting size and condition. Unfortunately the weeds also did very well this year 🥲
I imagine the planters out in public are started off with larger plants to begin with.
https://preview.redd.it/a27fmkv8jugf1.jpeg?width=3648&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=febe4d1c4df7886be10279d1cd46915b9532056c
This looks like a big planter, so although it’s crowded they have plenty of root space. This will help retain water so they won’t go from soaking to dry as quickly as if they were in a small pot. The container is wood, which doesn’t bake roots in the heat the same way as terracotta or metal planters do. These factors may help, in addition to the feed/watering already mentioned.
The plants may also be good quality, raised in optimum conditions, which may not reflect your experience with supermarket plants.
They water them – a lot.
The right amount of feed, i use slow release gro sure granules. And plenty of watering.
As well as what others have said, there’s a good chance these were all grown up in a nursery first before being bunched into that container.
I mix lime powder, slow release food granules and water crystals into the compost. When they are full on flowering I put plant food in their water.
I make sure they are always well hydrated.
I got these tiny plugs from the garden centre and they are huge now.
I think planting early and watering good works well.
My nearest town has a team of people who do indeed go around and deadhead all the flowers regularly. Begonias don’t need it though, they just drop off at the slightest hint of a breeze.
Try busy lizzies next year for a really easy and colourful display. They’re not beneficial to bees unfortunately but you can plant other stuff to compensate. They don’t need dead heading either!
https://preview.redd.it/kdgiic272vgf1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=aa13c174d9ed68903a6757bf3c02f6d9e17eebd2
One year I had amazing petunias, and I was cutting back 1/3 of the stems each week to about 6 inches. The cuttings root very easily, so a couple of gifted trimmings later, my neighbour ended up with beautiful petunias as well. They were so nice and bushy and flowered their socks off all summer!
Just plant them and water them that’s pretty much it
Hire your local council gardener team or a mix of bedding plants in a good sized pot and maintain the water, feeds and dead heading
I would have included a picture of yours in this post. It’s less about how they did this, which is the correct amount of light, water, drainage and nutrients. It’s more about what yours is lacking, which is best shown in a photo.
They have a team of volunteers to tend water and weed on a regular basis and live somewhere with a temperate climate. Looks like St Ives from the map, so no sneaky late frost.
Work with what you’ve got and aim for hardier plants and a watering system for next year. Next year is always better.
St ives!
I’ve been dead heading like crazy on my petunias and dahlias at the first sign of one wilting. I bought them both this year and they are glorious now. Started very small but now have taken over a huge planter. I put a small amount of Bloom feed during every watering.
I saw on instagram some woman in Russia growing petunias from seed and she just chops off any flowers that are already flowering before planting them in planters. To about inch tall plugs.
I think I will try that ruthless approach next year.