How and why to plant petunias for the winter in Phoenix, Arizona

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Petunias do great in Phoenix. The best planting time is late October or November, but you can plant them all winter. In fact, the only time you shouldn't plant them is in spring. If you're from back east, that may sound strange, but things are different here in the desert.

This year I decided to plant one in a pot, a nice big one. It's October 27th as I write this, and with regular watering, it will look great until the heat starts to set in, which here is in the spring. So I will get about five months of enjoyment from this plant. It's an annual, after all, and if I were planting it back in Minneapolis, where I grew up, I wouldn't get that much time between spring and the cold of winter.

Normally I plant them in the ground, usually from six-packs, but this year I have a puppy who still hasn't learned not to dig in the garden, and freshly-planted flowers would just be too much of a temptation for her. Even this pot will get her interest, but it's on the patio and I can watch it carefully.

I got the plant at Home Depot, which is where I recommend that you get annuals, because you want them young and fresh. Nurseries without that much rapid turnover tend to not have annuals quite as fresh. Your results may vary, but that's been my experience. The plant cost five dollars and forty-eight cents plus tax, which hurts a bit considering that I started planting six-pack annuals when they were ninety-nine cents. Oh well.

I selected a pot that will allow it to grow, and it will. You can't see it, but there's a drainage platter under the pot, which will allow me to water it generously without getting a bunch of water spilled out on the patio. What you're looking at right now is right after it was potted, so I'm watering it slowly, going back, adding more water, letting it soak in, going back. The potting soil is party some old stuff I had, and party some new potting soil. I added in some dry fertilizer and some moisture crystals. The watering can has both Miracle-Gro in it, and Superthrive. I believe in doing everything, as you can tell!

This will make a nice display all winter!


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