The People Producing Petunia Perfection
Image: Val Bradley
As you stand in the garden centre or nursery and gaze at the huge choice of petunias on offer for your summer bedding scheme, spare a thought for the years of selection and breeding that went into providing this terrific choice.
One UK company has been involved in such breeding for 25 years and has been behind some of the best new developments over the years. Kerley & Co. was founded in 1999 after garden breeding by David and Priscilla Kerley produced the world’s first double trailing petunia, named ‘Priscilla’. The remarkable success of this one plant (still in production) kick-started the breeding programme that has since produced multiple classics.
(Above: David Kerley | Below: Priscilla)
25 years on and now with son Tim involved too, the company is still producing unique plants with a reputation for strong garden performance and great weather resistance. This year, they are introducing:
- ‘Pinwheel Scarlet’ (Below), the first red picotee basket petunia
- Two new Tumbelinas, Carmella and Chartreuse
- Three new plants in the Pizzazz series of bold colours with a green rim ‘
- Starburst’ selections with a striking star-vein marking on the flowers.
Kerleys also produce other plants, including Begonias and Calendulas. These include the Sweetspice series of Begonias and the Galaxy series with dark leaves. The Calendulas include the popular PowerDaisy collection.
Based in Cambridgeshire, you can see images for these plants and many more on their website kerley.co.uk