Petunia

Pests & beneficial insects

🐛 Prone to: Aphids

Aphids

Aphididae

Curled leaves, sticky honeydew and ants on patrol — usually with something already eating them.

, Whitefly

Whitefly

Aleyrodidae

A puff of white when you brush the leaf, and stickiness underneath.

, Thrips

Thrips

Thysanoptera

Silvery streaking with black specks — the specks are how you tell them from mites.

.

Attract Hoverflies

Hoverflies

Syrphidae

The adults only drink nectar. It is the larvae that eat the aphids.

, Lacewings

Lacewings

Chrysopidae

Golden-eyed adults that mostly drink; larvae that hunt like small alligators.

, Ladybugs

Ladybugs

Coccinellidae

The one predator here where the adults hunt as hard as the larvae do.

, Parasitic wasps

Parasitic wasps

Braconidae, Ichneumonidae and relatives

Pinhead-sized, stingless, and lethal to aphids and caterpillars from the inside.

, Minute pirate bugs

Minute pirate bugs

Anthocoridae

Two to three millimetres, and both stages hunt — thrips and spider mites, thirty a day.

to keep them in check — plant African MarigoldGood, French MarigoldGood and YarrowGood nearby.

Growing from seed

Start Petunia indoors about 10 weeks before your last frost, keeping seeds in warm soil (around 20–25 °C). Seeds usually come up in around 10 days. Move seedlings out once the danger of frost has passed, in full sun, spaced about 30 cm apart. Expect the first blooms in roughly 70 days.

Keep track of the seeds you own.

Companion Planting

• 
  round leaf lavender
  

  round leaf lavenderExcellent pair

  • ❧round leaf lavender attracts Hoverflies and Parasitic wasps, which prey on the Aphids and Whitefly and more that attack Petunia
  • ❧Petunia draws Bees and Bumblebees and more that improve pollination for both
  • ❧round leaf lavender roots deep while Petunia feeds near the surface — no competition
• 
  Spanish lavender
  

  Spanish lavenderExcellent pair

  • ❧Spanish lavender attracts Hoverflies and Parasitic wasps, which prey on the Aphids and Whitefly and more that attack Petunia
  • ❧Petunia draws Bees and Bumblebees and more that improve pollination for both
  • ❧Spanish lavender roots deep while Petunia feeds near the surface — no competition
• 
  Alfalfa
  

  AlfalfaGreat pair

  • ❧Alfalfa fixes nitrogen in the soil that Petunia feeds on
  • ❧Petunia draws Bees and Bumblebees and more that improve pollination for both
  • ❧Alfalfa roots deep while Petunia feeds near the surface — no competition

How to grow Petunia

1. Sow10 weeks before frost
2. Germinates10 days
3. Space30 cm apart
4. GrowFull sun
5. Harvest~70 days

Water: Medium · Height: 35 cm · Soil: Well-draining, fertile, slightly acidic