Bubblegum Paradise, Fuchsia offer picture perfect garden vistas

Norman Winter
·3 min read

The Garden Guy has had the most fun the past few months when I show Supertunia partnerships on my Facebook page. The comments start off on can it compete with my Bubblegum and then will conclude with something like my Bubblegum will cover that plant up, chew it up and make it disappear.

So, it goes with Supertunia Vista Bubblegum which is probably the most celebrated plant in history with a trophy case consisting of 323 awards. I urge everyone who reads this to join the Facebook page, Proven Winners Gorgeous Gardens. You will be shocked at what you see.

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So, let’s get down to some facts, the Supertunia Vista series represents the thoroughbred racehorses so to speak of petunias. Supertunia Vista Bubblegum may very well be the Secretariat of the group. You youngsters may not be familiar with that name but that was a Triple Crown winning horse that just didn’t win but at the finish line photos there were no other horses to be seen.

This container in early May was planted in Early October with Supertunia Vista Bubblegum and Superbells Grape Punch calibrachoa.
This container in early May was planted in Early October with Supertunia Vista Bubblegum and Superbells Grape Punch calibrachoa.

So, the Vistas are huge, reaching 12-inches tall and trailing 36-inches. There are six varieties in this group with the newest being Supertunia Vista Jazzberry. I assure you three things, first there are no losers, secondly you can design wonderful combinations even with Bubblegum, and thirdly this group of six are among the best petunias at attracting butterflies.

James, my color design guru son, has created container master pieces for high traffic commercial shopping centers and upscale communities. I can tell you Supertunia Vista Fuchsia is no second fiddle to the pink Bubblegum.

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In one particular, James used partners like Indian Summer rudbeckia, Diamond Snow euphorbia and Luscious Royale Cosmo lantana for a most complete garden look. Whatever your other favorite flowers are, they are candidates for Supertunia Vista partnerships.

One of his most talked about designs was created in a horse trough near a children’s play area. The trough has Supertunia Vista Fuchsia intertwined with Supertunia Lovie Dovie. Luscious Royale Cosmo lantana, Truffula Pink gomphrena, Little Quick Fire hydrangea and then a touch of the tropics from large Portora elephant ears.

Supertunia Vista Fuchsia is vigorous just like Vista Bubblegum but with a cherry color.
Supertunia Vista Fuchsia is vigorous just like Vista Bubblegum but with a cherry color.

One humorous comment when a follower looked at my post of a Supertunia Vista Bubblegum petunia and Superbells Grape Punch calibrachoa. She said it looks good now but its not for the long haul. It was a photo from early May. I chuckled knowing it was planted in early October so it had already made the long haul of almost 8 months.

This brings up the possibilities of Supertunia Vista petunias for planting in October. I did that not only in the container just discussed but in a large sweeping bed where I planted Supertunia Vista Bubblegum, Supertunia Vista Paradise and Supertunia Vista Silverberry in an around Pugster buddleia, Limelight Prime hydrangeas and large Portora elephant ears.

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The winter did their toll on the tropicals and of course hydrangeas and buddleia are deciduous. The Supertunias would grow and bloom when warm, and then kind of hunker down during periods when freezing. They bloomed from October until July 1 which was about 9 months then I pulled to bring in more plants to try.

The six Supertunia Vista petunias are big, bold and wonderful. If you don’t want the big then consider the Supertunia Mini Vista group that has nine great selections with four new colors this year, Scarlet, Yellow, Midnight and Sweet Sangria.

Norman Winter is a horticulturist. He is a former director of the Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens. Follow him on Facebook at Norman Winter “The Garden Guy.” See more columns by Norman at SavannahNow.com/lifestyle/home-garden/.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah GA gardens: Supertunia Vista Bubblegum Paradise, Fuchsia