Are You Ready for a Black Petunia?

By Larry Rettig (LarryR)
September 8, 2010

The horticulture industry is abuzz about 'Black Velvet,' a breeding breakthrough in petunia color by Ball FloraPlant.

I've never known a gardener who is blasé about black.  That color in a flower has always intrigued some gardeners and repulsed others.  When 'Black Velvet' bursts onto the garden scene in 2011, there are bound to be both accolades and brickbats.  For the time being, the accolades have it by a long shot.

There are those who caution that 'Black Velvet's' flower power may strike gardeners as underwhelming.  We've gotten used to floriferous varieties like the Wave series, the Supertunias, and the Cascadias.  Some critics say that although the photos tend to show plants with lots of blossoms, they may not flower particularly well, once planted in the average garden.  That claim is based on observations at two trial gardens, one in the city of Buffalo, New York, and one at Penn State's Lancaster County research farm.

Almost lost in all the hype are two of 'Black Velvet's' sister varieties, rolled out by Ball FloraPlant at the same time:  'Phantom' and 'Pinstripe.'    'Phantom' has a large yellow star on a "black" background.  Except for narrower stripes, 'Pinstripe' closely resembles 'Phantom.'  Although almost all the attention is focused on 'Black Velvet,' of the three new varieties, 'Phantom,' with its beautiful star image and stunning color contrast, is by far my favorite of the three.

But is it really black?

So, do "black" flowers really go with "everything?"

Not as far as I'm concerned.  The combining of colors in the garden is a very subjective, individual matter.  I don't care for "black" and red, for instance, while others might think they look fantastic together.  Among my favorite colors to pair with "black" are white, gold, pink, and lavender.  If you're a fan of "black" flowers, why not snag a couple of 'Black Velvet' petunias next spring and see how they pair up with what else is growing in your garden?!

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Growing Your "Black" Petunias Plant in Sun (at least 6 hrs. of sun) Space 8-10" apart Grows 8-10" tall by 8-12" wide Keep evenly moist Best if fertilized regularly (or with a slow release fertilizer) Credits  All petunia photos courtesy of Ball Horticultural Company Thanks to Margiempv, PurplePansies, Buttoneer, bootandall, and Bug_Girl for the use of their PlantFiles photos

Petunia 'Black Velvet' with  Euphorbia 'Breathless'

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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© Larry Rettig 2010

About Larry Rettig   An enthusiastic gardener for over 50 years, my first plant was a potted Ponderosa Lemon tree ordered from a comic book ad at age 15. I still have it, and it’s still bearing lemons! My wife and I garden on 3/4 of an acre, both flowers and vegetables. Although our garden is private, it's listed with the Smithsonian Institution in its Archives of American Gardens and is on the National Register of Historic Places. We garden organically and no-till. Our vegetable garden contains a seed bank of vegetables brought to this country from Germany in the mid-1800s. For more info: http://davesgarden.com/community/blogs/m/LarryR/. Photos that appear in my articles without credit are my own.

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Discussion about this article:

Subject Topic Starter Replies Views Last Post I love these - but mine are yellow :( Suze78 1 2 Aug 7, 2012 11:37 PM I love these - but mine are yellow :( Suze78 0 1 Jul 13, 2012 9:58 AM Black petunia Spriggin 3 15 May 9, 2012 8:58 PM Black petunia mekos 18 106 Jan 15, 2011 4:25 PM black garden dbelcher 1 20 Sep 14, 2010 9:12 AM Black! Sharran 4 39 Sep 10, 2010 1:34 PM I ❤ Chocolate wind 2 25 Sep 9, 2010 2:30 PM

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