killerplants.com | Weird Plants | Weird Plants Archive Most Recent | Free Newsletter Signup

What is so odd about the color of the petunia?

By Chelsie Vandaveer

Killer Savings Offer:

October 11, 2001

Sponsored By: Spring Hill Nursery—>Click here.

Henry Fields Seed and Nursery—>Click here.

killerPlants Tendrils: ~~1~~2~~3~~4~~5~~

Suggested Reading—>Click here.

Killer Savings Nursery Links—>Click here.

Killer Picks: Cascadia Petunias, Blue Wave Hybrid Petunia, & more—>Click here.

The petunias (Petunia X hybrida) of today are robust plants with big showy flowers; our grandparent's petunias were rangy plants with small flowers. We have lots of colors to pick from, our grandparents had but a few pale pinks, lavenders, and whites. But, the petunia of old held many of the colors petunias have now. The colors were merely hidden.

The color of petunias is determined by pigments called flavonoids within the vacuoles of the cells. Through trial and error hybridizing, we have manipulated the flavonoids of the petunia.
advertisement

Bouquet of Petunias by Victor Santos
Buy this Art Print at AllPosters.com

More of one flavonoid and less of another resulted in new colors. Then it was noticed by Robert Griesbach of the U.S. National Arboretum that flavonoids are sensitive to chemical changes. Change the chemistry in the vicinity of the flavonoids and the color changes.

One of the easiest ways to modify the color of a flower is to change the pH (the acidity or alkalinity) of the vacuole. A gene from corn alters pH. When this gene is inserted into the DNA of the petunia, it transforms the color of the flowers.

The colorful petunia has an added benefit in the garden. It is in the Solanaceae. The petunia and the potato are kin. Like the potato, the petunia contains substances poisonous to many insects. The petunia serves as a repellant, helping to keep pests away from other plants.

The U.S. National Arboretum is working on flower color genetics. To learn more about new flower colors, click on the link:

http://www.usna.usda.gov/Research/flowercolor.html

killerPlants Tendrils: ~~1~~2~~3~~4~~5~~

Unique Professionally Designed Gardens

Springhill Nursery®

Spring Hill Nursery has unique gardens professionally designed by experts to take the guesswork out of gardening. Whether you are looking for a three season garden, foundation garden, or a garden to attract hummingbirds and butterflies, Spring Hill Nursery has created a step-by-step design just for you. Click here - $20 off your first order at Spring Hill Nursery!

Cascadia Petunias

Springhill Nursery®

Petunia X hybrida - Petunia like you've never seen before! Extremely long blooming - early spring to first frost - with avalanches of smaller flowers and lush, heart-shaped leaves which cascade as long as 8-10'.

Cascadia Petunias are great for ground cover as well as cascading from hanging baskets, containers and walls. An exciting annual developed in Israel, rarely seen in America.

Create an outstanding coordinated display with four colorful, long blooming varieties.

These Cascadia Petunias includes the following varieties:

Pink...carmine pink blooms Click here - Save $20 on $50 order
Choice...clean white blossoms Click here - Save $20 on $50 order
Red...cheerful, magenta-red blooms Click here - Save $20 on $50 order
Blue Spark...lavender-blue and white, bicolor blossoms Click here - Save $20 on $50 order

Shipped in 3'' pots. Deer tend to avoid. Zone 9 to 10 [More petunias...]

Blue Wave Hybrid Petunia

Gurney's Seed and Nursery®

Use as a Ground Cover or in a Hanging Basket

Velvety, dusky blue blooms cover the plants all season! Needs no pinching or pruning. Trailing plants can spread 3-4 ft., yet stay just 4-7 inches tall.

These familiar, trumpet-shaped flowers brighten flower beds from summer until frost! They thrive in full sin or light shade and will even tolerate poor soil. The ruffled blooms come in a wide range of pretty colors.

Great as edging plants, in mixes planting, hanging baskets, window boxes and for seaside gardens. Attract hummingbirds, too! Click here - $20 off any order for $50 or more at Gurneys.com! [More petunias...]

Prime Time Petunia Mix

Henry Fields Seed and Nursery®

Prime Time Petunia Mix yields an abundance of star-shaped blooms in blue, burgundy, red, rose and violet.

Grows 10-12 in. Very early. Click here - $20 off at Henry Fields Seed and Nursery! [More petunias...]

Gerbera Daisy, Orange

Springhill Nursery®

Gardeners all over the world are discovering the joys of growing gerberas. These cheery tender perennials are also known as 'Transvaal' or 'South African' daisies after their native home of Transvaal Province, South Africa. Only now are they making a splash in the US, and Spring Hill is proud to offer this top quality specimen.

Large and velvety, gerbera's daisylike blooms come in a rainbow of vivid colors and dance above a cushion of soft, lush foliage on thick, sturdy stems.

Often the flower form is so perfect and uniform that they may be mistaken for artificial flowers. But these very real eye-catching blooms grow with abandon and last all summer long!

Use your Gerbera daisies to add flare to a traditional landscape planting. They're an exciting alternative to standard bedding plants such as marigolds, petunias and salvia. Planted in your garden, they will attract bees and butterflies, but not deer. They're also ideal for containers such as window boxes and patio planters. When the weather turns cool in fall, take the pots inside to a sunny windowsill. Your plants will perk up the following spring, just in time to enjoy another season of glorious blooms.

These versatile, easy-to-grow plants also are long lasting in the vase. Professional florists love them for cut-flower arrangements-and so will you. Try them for yourself and you will unlock new creative possibilities!

Spring Hill Gerbera Daisies come in red, orange, pink, yellow and white. Each grows to a height of 12-18" with a spread of 12-15".

Shipped in 3" pot. Deer tend to avoid.

Gerbera jamesonii Zone 9 to 10 Click here - $20 off your first order at Spring Hill Nursery! [More Gerbera Daisies...]