Surfinias and Petunias

In the spring, having a great display of flowers can look really impressive. It is a great way to brighten up the outside of your home and welcome the warmer weather. There are a lot of great flowers to choose from that can do just this, but surfinias & petunias are up there with the best. Read our guide below to find out more.

General Information

Surfinias and Petunias are very suitable for hanging baskets, tubs or on top of walls or window boxes. Having a plant trailing down can add real interest to a display that you have. These plants come in great range of different colours as well, which means that there is a lot of choice. You can get a display with a big mix of colours so that you can get a great random mix or you can select particular shades to have a colour scheme. The versatility is another reason for the plant being so popular. As well as differing in colour, there are different types of the plant as well. There are some which have double blooms or ruff centres which look rather different to the plainer but still beautiful normal blooms. Whether you want the more simplistic style or something rather more flamboyant, that will be up to you and depends on your personal taste.

On Receipt

For most jumbo plug plant collections, the “mini Greenhouse” they are packed in will have a label on the outside, listing the individual varieties inside. We recommend writing your own labels out on receipt!

Give your plugs a little attention on arrival – unpack them immediately, and either mist them or stand them in water for an hour – they may be slightly dry or yellow after being in a dark box in the post, but they’ll quickly recover. If you can’t do this, they can sit in Mini Greenhouses for a week if upright and not too wet.

We recommend that you leave them to settle for a day somewhere warm, light and airy such as a windowsill or greenhouse.

Planting advice for Surfinias & Petunias

• When you’re ready to pot on, use a good quality, multi-purpose compost, and fill 3-4in pots (7-10cm).

• Make a hole in the compost with a dibber or your finger, then holding each plug by its root ball, place it into the hole and gently firm the compost around it.

• For great results, we recommend using Windowsill Planters or 9cm pots in Shuttle Trays.

• Give your plants a good water initially, then only when the top compost starts to dry as they don’t like to be left in standing water.

• Grow on either on a bright windowsill or a greenhouse for 3-4 weeks before potting up into containers or into flower beds.

• If planting directly into flower beds when all risk of frost has passed, prepare the ground well, removing weeds and digging in some compost or well-rotted manure if your soil is not already rich.

• Plant approx. 20cm (8in) apart to allow them room to grow.

Aftercare for Surfinias & Petunias

• Feed using a high-potash feed such as Blooming Fast Superior Soluble Fertiliser for Flowers & Fruits, to encourage flowering.

• Water well, ensuring the ground is somewhat damp but not soaking, at all times.