In celebration of its 30th anniversary, Wave Petunias has partnered with the amazing child photographer Anne Geddes and offering a free photo shoot contest with prizes in New York City.
What a smart collaboration since Geddes is world famous for her heartwarming images of tiny babies outfitted in flower caps and placed in tea cups, baskets or blooms. Of course Wave Petunias are beloved too for their reliable pops of colors in the garden that last months and months.
© Wave Petunias with Anne Geddes
As part of the partnership, Geddes has crafted a series of images featuring 13 infants wearing petunia-themed hats, each nestled in the brand's iconic pink pots in a natural setting. This collaboration highlights the enduring charm of Wave Petunias but also symbolizes themes of growth, renewal, and the nurturing aspects of gardening.
The partnership also gives us the opportunity to applaud this amazing flower that I literally thank all summer. Let's face it. Most flowers just have a three-week run in the garden. But Wave petunias are the most popular bedding plants in North America for a good reason.
"They are known for a long flowering season, wide palette, versatility of use (containers, beds, window boxes, etc.), plus they are generally easy-care for gardeners of all levels who want to fill their sunny spaces with color," says Sarah Makiejus, Global Marketing Manager for PanAmerican Seed, the maker of Wave® Petunias.
"They spread 24-30 in. and, according to the USDA's census of hort specialties, petunias account for hundreds of millions of dollars in annual sales in the United States."
Flowers that spread
Let's focus as well on that spreading aspect. While we live in an Ozempic world, in the gardening space, we want girth, we want width, we want expansiveness. How often have you bought annuals and they add hints of color but don't take up enough space? One has to buy so many plants at great expense to make any impact. Not with my beloved Wave petunias.
© Wave Petunias
Within weeks, they literally take up the space where planted, relax, get happy and then spread their flower wings over the garden. Plus they are so compatible as well with other blooms.
"Petunias pair well with other sun-loving annuals, so the floral design options of mixed containers are endless," Makiejus adds. "This gives gardeners a creative outlet to customize an outdoor space that's unique to them in the colors they love."
In the flower world, the All-America Selections award is the equivalent of an Oscar. When you hear that a flower or plant wins this award, pay attention. Natch, they got one of these too.
Not only are Wave Petunias special as they are a foundational class of spreading petunias – a class not known before Wave® Purple Classic came on the scene in 1995 – but as a result, they deservingly took home the All-America Selections award.
Rarely does anyone think of what goes into any successful plant. It takes a lot of collaboration with people of different skill sets. Collaboration has always been part of Pan American Seed's success story. Folksy, focused and not flashy, this company is like Warren Buffett creating long term investments and partnerships that produce results.
After all, they would never let any petunia be a "Wave."
"Our plant breeders from PanAmerican Seed have a list of criteria to make sure any new colors or patterns fit the scope of Wave," says Makiejus.
"There are steps and evaluations that each new variety of petunia goes through before it can be added to the Wave family: uniform structure, color quality and intensity, flowering window, speed of production, and many more tests."
Since Wave Petunias are offered from seed, it adds an extra level of preciseness. To develop a top-quality petunia AND make it replicable by seed creates a more complex supply. Production farms and facilities are engaged to host mother stock of the hybrids. Seed germination testing helps with quality control. Seed processing (coating and pelleting) give the growers and home gardeners a good experience with the packeted seed, etc.
Wave is currently bred by award-winning petunia breeder Jian Ping Ren, and the product assortment is managed by Lisa Lacy of PanAmerican Seed. Both have played an instrumental role in trials and evaluations for Wave in this millennia. Says a lot about a company when key people have been there decades.
So confident was the company in the potential of this prized petunia that it trademarked a pink branded pot for added visibility in stores.
"This type of branding is commonplace nowadays, but for a flower in the late-90s, it was groundbreaking," adds Makiejus. "Wave was seen and asked for by name in the garden center and quickly became the No1 Plant Brand in the U.S." Yes, what Kleenex is to bath tissue is what Wave is to petunias.
The first Wave Petunia was bred by a Japanese beer company – Kirin Ichiban. Beer and wine companies often employ horticulturists who grow plants for the many flavors, botanicals and components that go into making their products. Back in the 1990s, the Kirin Ichiban brand was exploring opportunities for wine-grape breeding when it uncovered a vigorous spreading petunia growing wild like a weed. After many seasons of tackling and taming that plant, the breeder was able to produce a seed-raised spreading petunia – resulting in the first Wave Purple.
Spreading Petunia Wave® Purple Classic was introduced to American home gardeners after it won an All-America Selections award in 1995. It passed its trials with flying colors and wowed judges across the United States. Members of Ball Horticultural Company (headquartered in West Chicago, Illinois) were evaluators of that 1995 trial. They and Ball Garden Manager Jim Nau recognized Wave Purple's potential and rushed their team to Japan to meet the breeder. A genetics licensing partnership was settled, and PanAmerican Seed took over the ongoing breeding of Wave Purple, which soon introduced new colors in the Wave series as well as development of other petunia family members such as Tidal Wave, Easy Wave, Shock Wave, and E3 Easy Wave.
© Wave Petunias
These petunias truly are a gift to us all. Years ago when I was a CNN correspondent, I interviewed Anne Geddes. I remember inquiring how time-consuming it must be to capture that picture perfect moment with little babies and finding the right blooms that didn't bother them. "The petunias aren't heavy," she replied. They are, then, as they are now, just delightful, reliable and colorful.
"What I love about this collaboration with Wave is how it unites the purity of childhood with the vibrance of nature," says Geddes. "There's something magical about capturing a moment where both are in bloom."
To enter the contest, shoppers can find special Anne Geddes "baby bee" plant tags among Wave Petunias in stores, and enter the sweepstakes by scanning the QR code on the tag. The contest runs from National Wave Day (May) through July 30, 2025.
For more information:
Flower Power Daily
Jill Brooke
[email protected]
flowerpowerdaily.com
