GARDENING

HOW PLANTS GOT THEIR NAMES . . .

. . . Petunia

PETUNIAS, although discovered by the Spanish in SouthAmerica, acquired the name by a roundabout route.

It’s derived from French petun, from Portuguese petum, from pety, in a native Paraguayan

language – all words meaning tobacco, to which petunias are related, along with potato, pepper and tomato.

In relatively modern times –around 1830 – they were introduced to Britain by the great Scottish botanist and explorer John (James) Tweedie.

Of the many species of petunia, Petunia tweedia was named after him, though its name has since been changed.

Tweedie endured numerous gruelling experiences on his plant-hunting expeditions including a trek of many miles hacking through ferocious thistles and being shipwrecked twice, nearly starving to death on both occasions.

He died in SouthAmerica aged 87 but by then had introduced several outstanding garden plants to Britain, including verbena, pampas grass and, of course, petunias.

OUTSTANDING: Striking pink petunias with their yellow centres

BRIGHT‘n’BEAUTIFULBRIGHT‘n’BEAUTIFUL

COLOURFEST: Petunia trials bed at Mr Fothergill’s Seeds. Inset left, Purple-veined petunia. Below, Red petunia variety

NEW VEGGIES FOR THE NEW YEAR

IF YOU are among the many people cultivating their own produce in the recession, here are some top crops to try.

Most can be grown successfully in large pots and tubs:

l An improved Little Gemtype lettuce, Pasatiempo. l Two kinds of carrot –Topweight, a whopper that’s

said to beAustralia’s most popular variety, and

Mercurio, which is quick to

grow but slow to bolt (go to seed).

Others include:

l Sprouting broccoli Burgundy for summer and

autumn harvesting if sown with heat in February or March.

l Sweet pepper Big Ben,

producing bell peppers weighing up to 350g (12oz).

l French dwarf bean Atlanta. l Cucumber Lunchbox,

which has numerous mini cucumbers.

l Pea Champion of England,

a heritage variety, growing to 2m-3m (6ft-10ft) and yielding a huge number of pods.

l And an unusualAsian variety of melon, Budgie,

said to be suitable for maturing and ripening in a warm outdoor spot if sown with heat from February to April – and gradually acclimatised to outdoor conditions in May.

THERE’S more than a grain of truth in the old country saying: “As the days grow longer, the cold grows stronger. ”

That’s a warning of what to expect through January into February, even allowing for global warming.

But gardeners need not despair – we can enjoy snuggling down indoors with the seed catalogues which are packed with glorious flowers and tasty vegetables to grow later this year.

For flowers, I’m concentrating on petunias this year, mostly the Grandiflora types, with huge, trumpet-shaped, luminescent blooms in a spectacular range of colours, from pure white through orange and scarlet to pink, purple and even sky-blue.

Many have contrasting veins, stripes or centres. The best are vigorous, longflowering and weatherresistant.

These are a tribute to painstaking plant breeders, who have produced modern varieties from a few wild species from SouthAmerica, one white and a couple which are purple.

They are now so genetically mixed up they are known as Petunia x hybrida and by the names of their varieties and series.

As well as Grandifloras, there are multiheaded Multifloras, coloured and frilled-edged Picotees, trailers for pots, boxes and hanging baskets, and even frilly doubleflowered forms.

Each of the many series has some special quality.Among them are Daddy series –Sugar Daddy, Blue Daddy, etc – which are very early-flowering. Ultra-types include some with striped petals, giving a star-like appearance; Dream series, in shades of red, are extra weather-resistant.And Wave petunias are superb for large pots or ground cover because of their spread – Tidal Wave can stretch to a metre wide. New varieties are being tested continually by major seed firms such as Mr Fothergill’s Seeds, based in Suffolk (pictured).

Many petunias can be grown from seeds but the Surfinia series, one of the most successful ever, can only be grown from cuttings because the flowers do not set seed. For the best results, that means sending for plug plants by mail order or buying them from a garden centre in March orApril and nurturing them with heat until reliably warm weather arrives.

Many petunias can also be grown from seeds, which are very tiny – almost dust-like – so it’s easier to sow thinly and evenly on the surface of gritty compost and covering with a very thin layer of moist horticultural vermiculite or with cling-film to keep the compost moist until germination starts. Then provide plenty of light.

Don’t plant out in the garden until you’re absolutely sure the frosts are over. Pick a sunny spot and feed, water and remove dead flower heads regularly until wintry weather returns.