The world of bedding and patio plants has changed in the last two years, and as you might expect, Instagram has had an influence on that! I truly believe that the Petunia SKYfamily is the most Instagrammable of all Petunias, if not all bedding plants. You can easily find images with thousands of likes, from all around the world.
This range of unique Petunias is the amazing result of a chance finding, as a gentle blip in genetics caused speckles to appear on a plain flower. This was then selected and incorporated into a range of colours over the space of 20 years. It’s certainly very different to the Petunias that my grandma used to grow..

Cherry Sky
Petunia SKYfamily is just so damn stylish. It looks great on its own in the border – my favourite is the original NightSky®, which shows off the white speckles at their very best. The next variety to come was the pink, which is equally as gorgeous. But don’t stop there, there is now a gorgeous lilac variety, and many more colours too!
Here’s a list of all the shades to look out for:
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- Carmine Sky
- Cherry Sky
- Circus Sky®
- Electric Purple Sky®
- Glacier Sky
- Lavender Sky
- Lightning Sky®
- Mystery Sky
- NightSky®
- Pink Sky
- Royal Sky
I have been racy and planted them all up together, and the result is akin to a constellation! I must admit I sneaked outside some nights to check if they glowed in the dark too!
I posted about these plant on Facebook, and one commenter said, ‘Love these petunias. So unusual. I always try to get these for my window boxes as so many people love them too and comment on them.’
Why not check out my fun Instagram Reel to see what I mean! But I’ve also been playing with them in mixtures.. with spider plants, grasses, and more (see below)! You could also try them as a fun short-term houseplant, if you really wanted to!

NightSky®
What can you expect from SKYfamily?
As with many modern Petunias, these are cutting raised, which means extra vigour, a long flowering period, and the plant doesn’t waste any time setting seed! The habit is stretching, meaning it is great in borders, bedding, as ground cover, but also in baskets and window boxes, where you need that little bit of cascade action!

Lavender Sky
I guarantee that you WILL find these plants in the garden centre, as SKYfamily has been incredibly popular ever since its release. The plant sits proud on the garden centre bench and entices you to buy, as you marvel at the gorgeous flowers – every single one is different.
It’s also a great first plant for a child. Why don’t you give them the job of counting the spots on the petals – that will certainly keep them busy!!

Mystery Sky
Let me know how you get on with the SKYfamily this season, I’d love to see how you use it in containers and borders! Watch my reel below for even more inspo.
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Michael has been involved with gardening and plants since he was just five years old. He is a self-professed Plant Geek, and was listed in the Sunday Times top 20 most influential people in the gardening world, thanks to his plant hunter role at Thompson & Morgan.
Michael was responsible for new plant introductions such as the Egg and Chips plant and the FuchsiaBerry and keeps busy travelling the world in search of new plants as well as lecturing worldwide, including stints in Japan. He is very active on social media – so why not give him a follow at @mr_plantgeek or Facebook. You can also listen to The Plant Based Podcast with Michael and co-host Ellen-Mary on iTunes, Spotify and Google.
Susan Lewis79
Night sky and lavender sky my favourites
ValerieMoran
I miss my night sky petunias, couldn’t get any this year at all