Plant Care Library

Group/Class:  ColorRush Series

Brand:  Ball

Description:

This exceptional selection offers an amazing performance in the garden, hanging baskets, or patio containers; holds up in heat and rain with little to no maintenance

Ornamental Features

ColorRush™ Merlot Star Petunia is blanketed in stunning crimson trumpet-shaped flowers with pink overtones and white stripes at the ends of the stems from mid spring to mid fall. Its pointy leaves remain green in color throughout the season.

Landscape Attributes

ColorRush™ Merlot Star Petunia is a dense herbaceous annual with a mounded form. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

This plant will require occasional maintenance and upkeep. Trim off the flower heads after they fade and die to encourage more blooms late into the season. It is a good choice for attracting butterflies and hummingbirds to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

ColorRush™ Merlot Star Petunia is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Border Edging
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting
• Hanging Baskets

Planting & Growing

ColorRush™ Merlot Star Petunia will grow to be about 12 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 30 inches. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 24 inches apart. Its foliage tends to remain dense right to the ground, not requiring facer plants in front. This fast-growing annual will normally live for one full growing season, needing replacement the following year.

This plant should only be grown in full sunlight. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid. It can be propagated by cuttings; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.

ColorRush™ Merlot Star Petunia is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor containers and hanging baskets. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing a mass of flowers against which the thriller plants stand out. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.