If you’ve found yourself searching for summer flowers in South Africa, or easy flowers for beginner gardeners to inspire your next gardening project, the beauty, versatility and ease of petunias won’t disappoint. 

Growing petunias, whether from seed or seedling, will reward you with a rainbow of colours in your garden, whether sprucing up your garden bed edges, or adding dimension to your hanging basket plants.

So, how can you get the most out of these long-blooming flowers for summer? 

Read on to find out all about how to plant petunias, and petunia care to ensure these annuals add colourful personality to your garden year after year.

When to plant petunias in summer

Being warm-season flowering annuals that thrive during hotter summer months, petunias have the best chance of survival if planted between late summer and early autumn, so think January into March.

How to grow petunias from seed

If you’ve chosen to grow your petunias from seed, plan to give them some extra TLC in the first few weeks after planting. This is because of their seeds’ delicate nature. You’ll need to ensure they get the right amount of light, and water them every couple of weeks with a water-soluble fertiliser.

Keep an eye on them – once they’ve developed two or three true leaves, the seedlings are ready to be transplanted into their individual pots.

Want to start with seedlings? Brighten your garden with our petunia seedlings, available in-store and online.

Petunia watering and feeding tips

The golden rule when it comes to keeping your petunias hydrated is to check their soil first before watering. Only water when the top two centimetres of soil dries out.

Because these blossoming beauties thrive in full sun, the best time to water yours is in the morning, before the heat of the day has set in, or in the evening, when it has begun to cool down. With that said, if you see yours struggling during the peak of the day, water it immediately.

Petunias are known to be heavy drinkers, so sticking to these guidelines will ensure yours stay healthy and avoid the risk of becoming susceptible to pests and other problems.

Petunia companion planting ideas

• Salvia

Salvias and petunias share similar growing environments, and come into bloom during roughly the same season, making salvias ideal companion plants for petunias. 

Salvias also love full sun and moist soil conditions; plant them behind your petunias to display a variety of colour all season long.

• African daisy

African daisies, or gazanias, are happy neighbours to petunias, both producing an abundance of striking colourful blooms. They can both be planted in the ground or in containers, and prefer full sun.

• Tomatoes

Petunias thrive next to vegetables and are proven to be beneficial to vegetables and fruits. Being the beauties that they are, they are natural pollinator magnets, and tomatoes growing alongside them also benefit from this. 

Petunias and tomatoes both enjoy the sun and are happy with regular waterings.

• Geraniums

It wouldn’t be a complete list of petunia companion planting ideas without mentioning geraniums. A popular choice as a bedding or pot plant, geraniums have similar requirements to petunias, and pair well in flower beds and containers. 

In the height of summer, petunias keep blooming right beside geraniums, adding colour during the hottest days.

How to prune petunias for more blooms

‘Little and often’ is key to your approach when pruning petunias for more blooms. 

Petunias’ long flowering window is one of their great benefits, but it also means regular pruning will keep them looking at their best for the entire season.

Look for branches that are starting to look long and straggly, and then close to but just above a set of leaves. The recommended amount to cut back is about one third, giving your plant the room to flourish and multiply with more blooms over the next two weeks.

Petunia perfection

Ready to give these long-blooming flowers for summer a try?

Browse our range of petunias, from hanging basket petunias and petunia seedlings, to flower seeds. Armed with this guide, and help from our expert in-store consultants, you’ll have all that you need for a beautiful floral display in your garden during summer.