I went to my favorite nursery to buy plants on probably the worst possible day this spring – the Friday night before Mother’s Day. Nevertheless, I found everything I wanted surprisingly quickly and made my way to the checkout. The place is a little old-school and doesn’t have a scanner or a screen displaying each price as it is checked out. I was quite shocked at the total as it was significantly higher than what I had calculated in my head. When I questioned it, I was told that I had purchased “Crazytunias” and that they were $4.50 a piece rather than the $1.79 I thought they were. That’s $4.50, for a piece for an annual plant! I had even hesitated to put them in my cart when I thought they were $1.79 each! Usually my reaction would have been, “I don’t want them then,” but the checker had already run my credit card and there was a line of shoppers backed up behind me. So I bit my tongue and brought them home.
I did some research on Crazytunias and I have high hopes that they will be worth the steep price. Crazytunias are reputed to grow strong and fast and not grow straggly and develop the center bald spot typical of petunias. Their growth habit is described as “chunky.” They are multi-branching and don’t need trimming. Crazytunias supposedly shine whether it rains too much or the summer sun bakes them.
They are also described as “pet friendly.” I am not exactly sure what that means. Does it mean that if my young puppy, Ivy, takes a nibble she won’t be harmed, or does it mean that she won’t be tempted to take that bite? That remains to be seen. On second thought, at $4.50 a pop, maybe I should keep them out of her reach.
Crazytunias come in a wide variety of solid colors and multi-colors with several sub-series. I chose a solid pink because that fits best with the rest of the plants in my containers. It wouldn’t be my choice, but the most talked about is ‘Black Mamba’, considered by many to be the best black petunia on the market with no striping or fading of its large, open flowers.
An internet search of the Crazytunia series and subseries will have you running to the plant nursery! Here is a link for a preview: https://www.provenwinners.com/plants/series/crazytunia
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