In my experience as a gardening and landscaping expert, petunias are known to be annuals in cold climates. This means that they only last for one growing season and do not come back the following year. However, in warmer growing zones, petunias have the ability to come back every year, but their lifespan is still relatively short, lasting only about three years.
It is important to note that while petunias can come back in warmer climates, they do not have a long lifespan compared to other perennial plants. This means that even if they do come back every year, they may only last for a few years before they start to decline in vigor and eventually die off.
One interesting aspect of petunias is their ability to self-seed. This means that if you allow the flowers to go to seed, they can scatter their seeds around the garden and new petunias can sprout up on their own. This can lead to a continued growth of petunias in your garden, even if the original plants do not come back the following year.
Personally, I have seen petunias self-seed in my own garden. I have had petunias that I thought were annuals come back the following year as new plants from the seeds they dropped. It was a pleasant surprise to see these vibrant flowers return on their own, without any effort on my part.
However, it is important to note that not all petunias have the same ability to self-seed. Some hybrid varieties may not produce viable seeds or may not have the same propensity to self-seed as other varieties. If you are specifically looking for petunias that will come back every year through self-seeding, it is worth researching and selecting varieties that are known for this trait.
While petunias are typically considered annuals in cold climates and only last one growing season, they can come back every year in warmer growing zones. However, their overall lifespan is still relatively short, lasting only about three years. The ability of petunias to self-seed can lead to their continued growth in the garden, even if the original plants do not come back.
