Petunia exserta

A native of Brazil, this gem has ruby-red star-shaped flowers with gold dust pollen at the tips of the curved stamens. As I sat collecting seed pods a hummingbird dipped into each flower in front of me, a joy to see. A weaver that combines with sacred basil, as shown here, and more with ease.

How Wild! From Brazil comes this incredibly rare species Petunia--in 2007 only 14 plants were found growing in a single location. Huge thanks to ever so cute & witty horticultural super-geek Joseph Tychonievich, proprietor of the blog Greensparrow Gardens, who slipped some seeds our way. THANK YOU JOSEPH for letting us in on this extraordinary find! A profuse bloomer, unusual, long tubes open into exotic 2.5" vivid red flowers from early Summer to Fall. Easy & fast with a 2' x 2' upright, bushy form. Because of its close relationship to Petunia axillaris, if both are grown in the same garden they will likely cross, resulting in pink blooms. Overwinters in mild-Winter climates. Hummingbird pollinated. Rich soil & super cool in containers (5+ gal). Reseeds politely.