Petunia
Undoubtedly the most common herbaceous plant, often grown in huge beds. Although fairly easy to grow, it does have problems.
- If the seedlings are started while it is too hot, they will refuse to develop and most will eventually die.
- The seedlings are very prone to stem rot, so the leaves need to be kept away from the soil (see the section on planting).
- When young plants, they can easily be killed by snails and slugs.
- In a bed, they need to be heavily watered. Otherwise, they will remain stunted plants and not expand to cover the soil.
- They do get attacked by mealybug, grasshoppers, caterpillars and whatever else exists in your garden. The plants are very brittle, so your cat sitting on them will be catastrophic.
- They cannot survive heat and will die when the hot season starts.