Types of Petunia Flowers

Petunias are, without a doubt, one of the most popular and reliable choices for gardeners across the globe, and for good reason.

Few flowers rival it when it comes to delivering non-stop, vibrant colour throughout the growing season, with their blooming season extending from spring until the first frost of autumn. Their bright, cheerful hues add vibrancy to any garden, bouquet, or arrangement, and their relatively easy-care nature makes them an easy flower even for amateur gardeners.

Whether you’re aiming for an elegant window box display, a sprawling ground cover, or a lush hanging basket overflowing with blooms, there’s a petunia variety out there perfectly suited to the task.

To help you navigate the rich world of these floral superstars, our guide will introduce the nine major types of petunias, detailing their unique features, typical colours, and ideal uses. Get ready to discover the perfect petunia to transform your garden into a continuous showcase of colour!

What Makes Petunias Popular?

have earned their status as garden favourites due to several key appeals:

• Vibrant Colours: They come in an incredible array of rich, cheerful colours including deep purples, fiery reds, pure whites, sunny yellows, and even bi-colour patterns.
• Long Flowering Season: Petunias are true floral workhorses, providing continuous blooms from spring through fall.
• Versatile Uses: They are incredibly flexible, suitable for everything from neat borders and sprawling garden beds to stylish containers and magnificent cascading displays in hanging baskets.
• Wide Variety of Shapes and Habits: From tiny, neat blooms to large, ruffled flowers, and from upright, mounding plants to fast-growing trailing varieties, there’s a petunia out there for every spatial requirement.
• Attractive to Pollinators: Petunias’ trumpet-shaped flowers are magnets for hummingbirds and various butterflies, adding life and movement to your garden.

9 Types of Petunia Flowers

1. Grandiflora Petunias

Grandifloras are the traditional show-stoppers of the petunia world, known for their large, impressive blooms that are often 3 to 4 inches across in diameter. They typically have a mounding, slightly upright growth habit, making them ideal for use in large containers or on patios where their size can be appreciated. They grow best in mild climates as their large petals can be damaged by heavy rain or strong winds.

2. Multiflora Petunias

Multifloras offer durability paired with abundant, medium-sized blooms of typically 2 inches across. Bushy, compact, and mounding, these petunia varieties are excellent for filling large garden beds, borders, and window boxes due to their density and uniform height. They do have better weather tolerance than Grandifloras, allowing them to thrive in areas with more unpredictable rainfall.

3. Milliflora Petunias

Milliflora are the dainty, delicate choice for close-up petunia enjoyment. These compact plants tend to have a huge number of small blooms (less than 1 inch wide), growing in a neat, tight, and compact mounding habit. Milliflora are also loved for their bright, clear colours. They’re ideal for edging garden paths, small containers, or in mixed miniature arrangements where space is limited but you still want a continuous blanket of colours to brighten up the area.

4. Wave Petunias (Spreading Type)

Wave petunias are the game-changer that revolutionised petunia gardening. These medium to large flowers have an exceptionally fast-growing and vigorous habit, covering large areas quickly. Plus, they require minimal deadheading even for lush, overflowing displays. They come in spreading, low-to-the-ground or cascading forms, fitting perfectly in hanging baskets, large planters, or as colourful ground cover in garden beds.

5. Supertunia Series

Supertunia is a premium, patented petunia line known for its superior performance. It’s highly vigorous, self-cleaning (no deadheading needed!), and with an exceptionally long bloom season. Supertunias are known to be far more heat- and weather-tolerant than many traditional types with a very strong, mounding, and trailing growth. They’re great as a premium container plant, demanding high performance all season. If you’re thinking to invest in a virtually maintenance-free, top-tier display, the Supertunia might be the right fit for you.

6. Surfinia Petunias

Surfinias are the original European trailing petunia and can still be seen twined around lampposts and bridges across many European cities. Developed in Japan, these medium to large blooms have become the most popular petunia variety worldwide due to their excellent trailing and cascading habit and robust weather-resistance. This makes them ideal for creating dramatic, flowing waterfall-like outdoor displays in baskets and high planters.

7. Double Petunias

Double petunias are ideal if you a rich, full look with abundant petals, especially in pinks, reds, and purples. These blooms have ruffled, layered petals, giving the flower a carnation-like or rose-like appearance that makes the large blooms appear even bigger. Their growth habit is generally upright and mounding, great for placing in decorative containers on patios or home gardens where their full, lush appearance can be admired close up. However, this fullness does make them susceptible to damage in heavy rain.

8. Veined Petunias

As their name suggests, veined petunias feature distinctive, dark veining patterns radiating from the throat onto the petals, creating a unique colour contrast. The flowers usually come in light pink, white, or yellow with deep burgundy or purple veins. This unique pattern adds complexity and visual interest to sophisticated mixed container arrangements with intricate detail, putting their mounding or semi-trailing growth habit to full artistic use.

9. Fringed Petunias (Cascadia/Frill Types)

Fringed petunias are all about a delicate, multidimensional visual appeal. The edges of the petals are distinctly frilled or ruffled, giving the flower a soft, textural look that complements its softer pastels and elegant bi-colours. Fringed petunias can be mounding or semi-trailing, depending on the specific cultivar; this makes them wonderful for window boxes or hanging baskets where the unique texture and visual depth can be easily seen. They instantly add a unique texture and vintage, luxurious feel to floral displays.

How to Choose the Right Petunia Type for Your Space

Selecting the best petunia requires several key considerations:

• Climate: If you live in a location with heavy rain or high humidity (like Singapore), prioritise weather-resistant types like Multiflora, Supertunia, or Surfinia. Avoid the large-petalled Grandiflora and Double Petunias for open-air locations.
• Hanging Baskets vs. Garden Beds: For hanging baskets or window boxes, choose trailing varieties like Wave, Surfinia, or Cool Wave to ensure maximum cascade. For garden beds and borders, opt for mounding types like Multiflora or Matrix series.
• Trailing vs. Upright Varieties: Determine your desired aesthetic. Do you want blooms that sprawl (trailing) or those that create a neat mound (upright)? Trailing varieties require less maintenance because they naturally spread and cover the ground.
• Bloom Size vs. Maintenance Level: If you choose very large-bloomed Grandifloras, you must be diligent with deadheading and protecting them from severe weather. If you want minimal maintenance, opt for the self-cleaning Supertunia or the smaller-bloomed Milliflora and Wave types.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do petunias bloom all season?

Yes, with proper care and deadheading (removing spent blooms), petunias are famous for blooming continuously from spring until the first hard frost of autumn.

Which petunia type is best for hanging baskets?

The Wave Petunias (especially the Tidal Wave and Shock Wave varieties) and the Surfinia and Supertunia series are universally considered the best types for hanging baskets due to their strong, fast-growing trailing habit.

Are petunias easy to grow for beginners?

Yes, they are very easy to grow. They are tough, readily available, and forgiving. Their main requirements are consistent sun and regular watering.

How often should petunias be watered?

Petunias should be watered regularly, ensuring the soil is consistently moist but not soggy. In containers or hanging baskets, especially during hot weather, this often means watering once a day.

Can petunias survive extreme heat?

While they prefer cooler temperatures, modern varieties like the Supertunia series are specifically bred to have high tolerance for extreme heat and humidity, continuing to bloom even when traditional varieties fade.

Do petunias need full sun or partial shade?

For the best, most abundant bloom production, petunias require full sun (at least 6 hours of direct sunlight per day). They can tolerate light partial shade, but flowering will be significantly reduced.