Tangled Branches: Cultivated
happenings in and around my zone 6b gardens in northern Virginia and in central Virginia
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Amazingly Fragrant
Petunias? Fragrant? I was sitting in the backyard in late afternoon/early evening a few days ago, and kept catching whiffs of a lovely flower fragrance. I was hoping it was the night-scented stocks (Matthiola bicornis AKA longipetala), but they weren't yet open. This was a sweet, spicy scent. I kept sensing there was vanilla in there somewhere. Delicious. And I didn't know where it was coming from. So I started sniffing all the flowers in bloom (not many at that time) and finally landed on a glowing purple petunia.
I bought some petunia seed this spring from Select Seeds. They were supposed to be 'Giants of California', which I had grown before from seed from Burpee's and loved for its huge, veined flowers. But the first flowers to bloom this year were on the small side, with no veining to speak of. So far only one of the current crop has looked anything like the 'Giants of California' I grew before. I was disappointed, but, well, that's how it goes sometimes in gardening. I didn't have any particular role for 'Giants of California'. No part to play in a color scheme or top billing in a container planting or anything like that, so I let these smaller-flowered imposters grow on. And then this totally unexpected and gorgeous fragrance wafts in.
Since that time, a white-flowered petunia has begun to bloom, and it too has the same wonderful scent. But in the same container with the purple one, is a pale pink one with very little scent. I see that Select Seeds offers a variety they call 'Old Fashioned Climbing' whose flowers look quite like the purple and white ones I've discovered to be fragrant. So I'm guessing that Select Seeds (or their supplier) has some quality control issues, but if they didn't I never would have discovered fragrant petunias. Has anybody ever tried to propagate petunias from cuttings? I'd really like to keep the purple one going (forever).
BTW, if you're scientifically minded, it seems that the protein responsible for petunia fragrance has been isolated.
Update, 5 PM:
Wouldn't you know it, I just happend to go to Merrifield Garden Center this afternoon, and there amongst all the nice fresh-looking annuals was an entire bench of 'Peg's Heirloom Petunias' (or something like that). They were purple and white, thickly planted in nursery containers. I didn't happen to look at the price, but the sign claims they are fragrant.
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