Surfinia Seeds (lack of......)

Hia, me again, can anyone tell me where I can buy some Surfinia seeds? I can't seems to find them in any of the seed catalogues is it something to do with the fact they are a hybrid or something? You can get plug plants anywhere but not the seeds. Why is this????

 

they are micro-propagated and are sterile, so you can't grow them from seed.
They're also protected by Plant Breeders Rights so can't be sold without authorisation.
hope this answers your query
lynne

 

Well yes, that fairly much answers the question I think. No wonder I couldn't find any!!
What a bummer !
Thanks for answering Lynne.

 

No one bothered to tell my surfinias that they're sterile, they set seed quite well if I stop dead heading and no one told my aunt that thay can't be grown from seed, she keeps it and sows it the following year. They don't come true from seed but they do produce quite good plants.

 

What do you suggest Helen, leaving the dead heads on towards the end of the season and collecting the seed then? I must say I am not that much of an anorak that I would want or expect them to be perfect, but as I have said before, I am a tight fisted gardener and I get the best fun, taking seeds and cuttings and growing my own freebies! I saw on a gardening program recently that you can take late cuttings and over winter them so may try that as well. This is apparently ok so long as they are for personal rather than commercial use.

 

oooo, fancy that - GQT must have fibbed!

 

hi... just read all your messages about Surfinias.... I have grown them for years, ever since they came on market,before the public even heard about them, the first being the deeep purple and propagated from them, they self seed on floor below from my wall baskets during late summer in cracks of my paving and you can overwinter them in quite cold conditions. They don't need dead heading, just back in August to half and they are flowering non stop till well after frost even. Few years ago I started growing 5 col.. from seeds,
www.chilternseeds.co.uk have been selling seeds for several years now and I have been selling plants many years, you find them on all the carboots sales for years too.
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Ladybird
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I love cats, preferable to most people

 

I like cats, but dont like what they do.

 

Thanks for all your replies, I have now received my plastic greenhouse (see greenhouse posting) so will be having a go at seeds and cuttings, I will let you know how I get on. I also propose to pay Chiltern seeds a visit and have a good spend.
Cheers Jo

 

I dead head mine, it doesn't do any harm and gives me a chance to really sniff in the fragrance.
Yes just keep a few seed heads, even if you do dead head you're bound to miss some.
Top tip for surfinias if you're lazy with watering like me, is micro irrigation. Surfinias have drought it really sets them back, ten to fifteen minutes a day though a tiny pipe and they're happy as larry.

 

A very old thread I know, 7 years on I guess this is still the case as I cant find any seeds anywhere only plug plants ready for delivery in late March.

Chilternseeds sell what they class as "Surfinia Type" seeds - its a shame as they are a really nice plant and I was hoping to get a Yellow / Lemon colour to contrast with the Salmon F1 seeds I have waiting

 

Are these the right seeds??
http://search.thompson-morgan.com/seeds/Surfinia Seeds

 

Hi Joolz
I thought we had a lot of new members on this thread - then saw it was from 2005 !
The T and M are trailing petunias Velvet® range . I grew them about 3 years ago , they were good . A couple of other trailing petunias are Wave® and Avalanche® these can all be grown from seed - not that easy though
The Surfinia® is another trailing petunia , but is not grown from seed to my knowledge you can only buy them as plants. All the types above are registered trade names - Petunias are big business !
The registered trailing Petunia seeds in the UK cost about £0.30 a seed and good germination is difficult ( unless someone can give me the secret , as my success rate is getting worse !) You can buy Wave and Avalanche on Ebay USA for a round £0.10 . A really lovely plant petunias , although the cheap and cheerful ones can look like a soggy bag of chips in wet weather !

 

I don't know if it helps (or if T&M ones are the same) but the ones on Moles site say they are pelleted.

 

I'm trying to work out how one of my posts from 2005 about cats ended up in a thread about petunias.

Anyway, just buy a few plug plants very early, grow them on, take a few cuttings and you can double your plants by early June.