Skip to main content

Pretty Petunias (Petunia Seed Collection Tutorial)

Spring/Summer means the return of Petunias, my favorite flower. I have been growing them from seed for several years now (which is difficult based solely on how small the seeds are!) and I try to collect seed at the end of the season. I also end up buying 2 or 3 unique varieties every year. Luckily the seeds tend to be quite inexpensive when compared to their plant counterparts. Especially when you collect them for free! I've included a picture-tutorial at the bottom of this post to help with petunia seed collection.

A selection of Petunias I grew in 2020


Petunias are an incredibly diverse flower and come in a wide variety of shapes and colours. They serve well in multiple applications, including bedding plants and hanging containers. They are incredibly forgiving if you forget to water and grow quite quickly - three plants will easily fill a hanging basket. We typically put 5-7 in our hanging garden boxes in front.

That's just two petunia plants!


I typically start petunia seeds around January (in 2021 I started them on Dec 26th and it was way too early). If you aren't interested in growing from seed, Petunias show up on store shelves around the beginning of May. I have purchased petunia seeds from several companies with varying degrees of success - and at vastly different price points. 

A months worth of growth


The reason to purchase seeds over saving them is reliability - saved seed will contain mixed genetics if the petunias are cross-pollinated. I have had plenty of odd looking petunia flowers due to this. This process is also how new varieties are created, but the likelihood of stumbling across a good combination is rare. Being able to duplicate that combination is even harder - the below photo is two plants from the same package of saved seeds. 

The plant on the left had more pink in it's DNA compared to the one on the right  - despite coming from the same saved seeds.

The only way to guarantee the same DNA traits is to propagate from clippings - luckily Petunias root quite easily in both dirt and water. However, if you decide you'd like to try saving some petunia seeds of your own here's how to do that! 



Step 1: Wait for the petunia flower to die and fall off on its own - do not deadhead.

Step 2: Where the flower was connected there should be a hard green lump (that's the seed pod!) - not every flower will produce one of these so  if you don't see one on the first flower you check, keep waiting for new flowers to die off and checking their former places.

(Optional Step 3: Put a clip or something on the stem to identify that's where the seed pod is - I use coloured bobby pins)

Step 4: Wait for the seed pod to turn brown and open - petunia seeds will fly out and get caught on the sticky leaves. 

Step 5: Collect and save in a dry location until next year!


The seeds are incredibly small and it's easy to 'lose control' of how many go into a section - causing a cluster of tangled seedlings. If you're willing to put the time in to untangle and re-pot the seedlings you'll be blessed with plenty of petunia plants!

(I've stopped trying to seed precise numbers and just separate seedlings as need be)


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Indoor Seed Starting Set Up (DIY Grow Light Table)

Growing seeds indoors doesn't require a lot of money or fancy equipment, but premade grow table kits can be quite expensive. I've saved over $500 by creating a DIY version that works just as well for a fraction of the cost.  Top: Lee Valley Grow Table Bottom: My DIY Version My first few seasons of starting seed indoors I used my Grandfather's "Professional" Light Table - it was a gift from his children one year and cost well over $1,000 at the time. It had three tiers of shelving with adjustable fluorescent tube fixtures that got quite warm. The plastic shelves were removable for easier cleaning. It worked really well and the plants benefitted from the adjustable lights. My Grandpa's Grow Table - 3 Tiers, 4 Ft Long, Approx $1000 value.  When I decided to expand, I looked at purchasing a similar light table - the cheapest option for a similar size (4 feet long, three tiers) was well over $700. I figured I could DIY for cheaper, leading me to buy a metal 5-tier ...
Post a Comment
Read more

So You've got Seedlings... Now What?

In my last post I broke down how to have the best chance at seed germination, if you missed it you can read it here:  Seed Starting in 5 Easy Steps    If you were successful, you should see small green leaves emerging from the medium within 3 - 14 days. If there aren't any sprouts after two weeks you can try and troubleshoot the issue, or discard and start over again. I have been growing from seed since 2016 and sometimes still have issues with seed germination.   The first signs of life! The first set of leaves (called Cotyledons) act as sensors for the seed, they determine if there is enough light to provide food for the roots. They will stretch out and up on a long stem searching for light over the first few hours after emerging. This is when it is vital to provide plenty of light - either a sunny window or artificial lighting. The first "True Leaf" on the left, and the "Cotyledons" on the right - they look very different therefore it is easy to identify them...
Post a Comment
Read more

Supporting Canadian Seeds

There's just something mesmerizing about a freshly stocked seed display... It's easy to get lost in the bright colours and various shapes, little packages of potential. A favorite past-time of mine in the winter is to review seed catalogues (typically print copy but pdfs are becoming more common) for the same reason - they're just really beautiful to look at.  Burpee Seeds (I haven't tried them - they financially support Monsanto)  Over the years I have tried a handful of different seed companies, although I try to order from exclusively Canadian companies.  The only exceptions so far have been Valley Greene (which I bought at a local surplus depot) and this year (2021) when I placed an order with Baker's Creek based out of Missouri. Here's a list of companies I have used and my thoughts on them.  OSC / Aimers (Waterloo, ON) OSC Display in a local nursery I was lucky enough to be born and raised in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario - meaning "OSC" or Ontario...
Post a Comment
Read more