The Garden Guy has a new honey, but I assure you it is not the kind that will get Mrs. Jan upset: It is a petunia like I have never grown before. It is Supertunia Honey — actually, three of them that I planted last October.
Somehow, I missed its debut, but I know it won a bunch of Top Performer awards in 2020. Hopefully you haven’t been asleep at the wheel like I have been, because I assure you this is a petunia with which you will fall in love.
This is not a Vista or Mini Vista, but a regular Supertunia that will get about 12 inches tall with a 24-inch spread. That I coaxed mine through the winter shows it has some perseverance, including taking 28 degrees Fahrenheit for five hours straight in March.
The color is absolutely mesmerizing. It starts off deep gold with hints of burgundy, aging to gold, and then a dashing yellow. It seems to me its color is even richer on those cool 40-to-50-degree mornings. The size of the blooms is also among the largest I’ve seen in the Supertunia group.
One thing I have also noticed is it seems to go with any color partnership you create. Since I planted in October, I’m not sure I had a plan or knew what I was doing. I for sure didn’t know how beautiful they would be. But I feel like I hit a home run in all my combinations; I love them all.
My first combo was really like hitting a low-hanging softball; how could I miss? I planted it in a dark blue self-watering AquaPot, which was an automatic gem of a color contrast. In the pot with Supertunia Honey petunia I planted Lemon Ball Sedum and Supertunia Black Cherry, which was also new to me.
In another container I used it with Superbells Grape Punch and Superbells Black Currant Punch calibrachoa. There is also a Supertunia Vista Paradise petunia on what I consider the backside of the container. With the Supertunia Honey and Superbells Black Currant punch calibrachoa, it is like hot butter toast with jam. In other words, it looks good enough to eat.
As you might expect, Proven Winners has some recipes that will take your breath away. One called Bright and Early leaves me with a "holy wow" feeling. This large container features Supertunia Honey, along with Supertunia Royal Magenta, our color of the year, as well as with the deep purple of Supertunia Royal Velvet. I assure you, this recipe is sure to bring happiness.
One other that captured my imagination is a hanging basket recipe called Orange Burst. You do not have to use a basket; a container would be great too. It features Supertunia Honey petunia, Ladybird Sunglow Texas primrose and Superbells Double Blue calibrachoa. Besides the color contrasts you have working in the recipe, the narrow pointed foliage of the Texas primrose gives it a special spidery look, which would really stand out in a basket placed at eye level.
Spring has sprung in the South, and I know it is headed your way too. If you are in any kind of rut with your designs, I am here to tell you, Supertunia could be the key to new thrilling artistic creations. Give all these babies plenty of sun, and water and give dilute water-soluble fertilizer about every other week.
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(Norman Winter, horticulturist, garden speaker and author of “Tough-as-Nails Flowers for the South” and “Captivating Combinations: Color and Style in the Garden.” Follow him on Facebook @NormanWinterTheGardenGuy.)
(NOTE TO EDITORS: Norman Winter receives complimentary plants to review from the companies he covers.)
