Getting it to bloom

Why won't my Wave purple petunia bloom? (and how to make it flower)

Also called Wave Purple Petunia, Wave Petunia Purple (Petunia × hybrida 'Wave Purple').

More about wave purple petunia

About Wave purple petunia

Petunia × hybrida 'Wave Purple' · also called Wave Purple Petunia, Wave Petunia Purple · flowering

Wave Purple petunia is a vigorous trailing and spreading hybrid petunia that produces a continuous carpet of rich purple blooms from spring to frost. Its spreading, self-cleaning habit eliminates the need for deadheading, making it ideal for hanging baskets, containers, and as season-long ground cover in full sun beds.

Plant type: flowering

Watch for — Tobacco budworm: Caterpillars of this pest chew holes in petals, especially in warm climates; inspect plants regularly and treat with Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) at first sign of damage.

The reasons wave purple petunia isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming wave purple petunia traces back to one of these, roughly in order of how common they are:

Too little sun — most of these need full sun (or very bright light) to flower well; shade gives leaves, not blooms.
Too much nitrogen feed, driving lush foliage at the expense of flowers (very common with general or lawn feeds).
The plant has not been deadheaded, so it stops flowering once it sets seed.
Irregular watering — drought or waterlogging at the budding stage makes buds abort.
It is still too young or was checked by a transplant and is rebuilding before flowering.

Feeding wave purple petunia a high-nitrogen general feed and growing it in too little sun — you get a big leafy plant and almost no flowers.

The fix — how to get wave purple petunia to flower

Maximise sun. Give wave purple petunia the sunniest spot you have — for most bedding and fruiting plants, more direct light directly means more flowers.
Switch the feed. Move off high-nitrogen feeds and use a higher-potassium "bloom" or tomato-type feed as it comes into flower.
Deadhead regularly. Remove spent flowers often to keep it producing more rather than stopping to set seed.
Water consistently. Keep moisture even through budding and flowering — drought-then-flood swings make buds drop.

Light and feeding do most of the heavy lifting here. Dial in the spot with the light guide for wave purple petunia and get the feeding right with the wave purple petunia fertilising schedule — the wrong feed (too much nitrogen) is one of the most common silent reasons a healthy plant makes leaves instead of flowers.

Bloom season and what to expect

Wave purple petunia flowers across its growing season (mostly summer) and, kept fed and deadheaded, can bloom for many weeks or right up to frost.

Post-bloom care so it flowers again

Deadhead, keep feeding lightly, and many will rebloom; collect seed from the best plants at the end of the season if you want to grow them again.

For everything else this plant needs day to day, see the full wave purple petunia care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

Wave purple petunia blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my wave purple petunia flower?

Wave purple petunia blooms on the season's growth given enough sun, warmth and the right feed — there is no cold or photoperiod trick, just good growing conditions and a bloom-leaning feed. The most common reason it is not happening: Too little sun — most of these need full sun (or very bright light) to flower well; shade gives leaves, not blooms.

How do I make wave purple petunia bloom?

Give wave purple petunia the sunniest spot you have — for most bedding and fruiting plants, more direct light directly means more flowers. Move off high-nitrogen feeds and use a higher-potassium "bloom" or tomato-type feed as it comes into flower.

When does wave purple petunia normally bloom?