
Petunias in Desert Pots
Great for the Fall thru Spring Season
A love ‘em or hate ‘em relationship
We love them for their mounding beauty in pots. They can be a showpiece on their own or a magnificent addition to a large combination planter. We hate them for their leggy, sticky habit as they age, and their old-growth gets brown, making a mess of our hands if we try to prune them without gloves.
However, growers have developed new types of Petunias, said to be self-deadheading and don’t have this sticky problem. If you are old school in your favorites of Petunias (like I am), there are ways to prevent the plant’s icky, sticky nature. (See below under Care)

The Long Season for Petunias in Desert Pots
Petunias handle the desert’s cold winters well. Petunias are a “Shoulder Season” annual along with Snapdragons, Alyssum, and Dianthus which means they also can be planted in the late summer heat that stretches into autumn’s months where the thermometer seems to stall out in the upper 80’s and ’90s.
Planted in the fall or winter months, Petunias will last well into spring and some homeowners have been able to keep them going through the summer in the right conditions.
*Note: Petunias will reduce or stop flower production when it is cold. They will start strutting their stuff with brilliant color as soon as it warms up again.
Why I like Petunias in our Desert Pots
While Petunia Standard MixI say this with a little hesitation, I do love Petunias in pots. There are so many colors and varieties. More hybrids come out each year, tantalizing our visual senses and tempting us to choose one of each for our garden. However, they do have that sticky growth factor, which sometimes I’d rather not deal with.
But getting back to the colors! That will usually cause me to scoop them up! You have single color varieties and multiple colors washing into each other. Double varieties remind me of old-fashioned roses!
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Your Challenge
Post pictures of your Petunias in the comments below!

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Your Challenge
Post pictures of your Petunias in the comments below!
