Supertunia Vista Bubblegum petunias (also called Bubblegum petunias) are beautiful and versatile plants for adding color to those sunny spots on your property.

Whether you are planting your Bubblegum petunias in the landscape or in a container, these plants will perform the best when cared for properly.

Here are 6 tips to keep in mind when planting and caring for your Bubblegum petunia in a hanging basket.

1. Place the hanging basket in a sunny spot

One of the best features of the Bubblegum petunia is its abundant blooms. Don’t lose this beauty by placing your hanging basket in a shady spot at your home.

Similar to the popular Wave petunias, Supertunia Vista Bubblegum petunias need at least 6 hours of sunlight to perform at their best. For some trees, the combination of morning and afternoon sun can meet this need, but be sure to keep an eye on this early on.

If the basket of Bubblegum petunias isn’t flowering much or looks unhealthy, it may be a sign that the plants need more sun.

2. Don’t overcrowd your basket with plants

If you are planting your Bubblegum petunia plants in a hanging basket yourself, you’ll want to plant no more than 5 plants for a large hanging basket (12″ to 14″ hanging basket).

We plant a maximum of 3 Supertunia Vista Bubblegum plants in a 12″ hanging basket. Due to their vigorous growth, this is certainly enough to make a striking display. Supertunias and wave petunias are similar in this way.

If you do plant more Bubblegum petunias in your basket (or your purchase a basket with more than 3 Supertunias), you’ll just want to make sure you are fertilizing and watering the plant enough. Growing in a basket limits the plants’ resources significantly, so the more plants that are battling for these resources, the higher the importance to keep them fed!

3. Plant with slow-release fertilizer

Since the need for a consistent supply of nutrients is so important, we recommend growing your hanging basket of Bubblegum petunias with slow-release fertilizer.

Slow-release fertilizer can be applied with small pebbles in the potting soil. These pebbles break down over the summer and slowly release fertilizer for the plants.

We always plant our hanging baskets with slow-release fertilizer pebbles, but also recommend that the hanging basket is fertilized additionally as well (water-soluble fertilizer is fine).

The slow-release pebbles will help the plants along during periods when it’s not being fertilized and the additional fertilizer will help the plant prosper.

4. Strategically arrange the plants in the hanging basket

Bubblegum petunias are major spreaders, spreading up to 4 feet long!

You can take advantage of this spread by planting the Bubblegum petunias around the perimeter of the basket. This way, the plant’s vines will cascade over the basket’s rim nicely and give the basket a nice full look.

5. Be careful before planting them with other plants

Supertunia Vista Bubblegum petunias are some of the most vigorous growing annuals. Planting them with other annuals in a small area (e.g., a hanging basket) will likely result in the Supertunia plants overcoming the other plants.

If you are planting just one Supertunia Vista Bubblegum plant in your hanging basket and you want to add some variety, make sure to plant another vigorous growing annual.

Any other Supertunia Vista or Supertunia plant will be fine. Grasses can also be used to add height in the center of the basket.

6. Plant them early

Since Bubblegum petunias are vigorous growers, why not enjoy that beautiful full plant for as long as possible?

Unlike other annuals that you need to be careful before planting them outside too early, a well-hardened off Bubblegum petunia can be ready to be planted in its hanging basket outside as early as mid-March (in PA).

The added benefit of growing the Supertunia Vista Bubblegum in a hanging basket is that it can be brought inside overnight if there is a spring cold snap out of nowhere.

Growing Bubblegum petunias in a Hanging Basket

Growing Bubblegum petunias in hanging baskets can create a beautiful display that enhances your home.

Already purchased a Bubblegum petunia basket? No worries! Feel free to skip to the Bubblegum petunia hanging basket care tips to get some tips on keeping your basket beautiful all summer long!

We put together this guide to go over some things to consider when planting your own hanging basket with Bubblegum petunias in it.

It’s recommended that you either purchase young Bubblegum petunia plants for your hanging basket.

We don’t recommend growing Bubblegum petunias from seed directly in the hanging basket. You’ll first want to plant Bubblegum petunia seeds in a smaller container and transplant the young plant into the hanging basket when the plant is ready.

This advice goes for any plants grown from seed.

First, a little bit about choosing flowers for your hanging basket.

Hanging baskets with Bubblegum petunias

Growing Bubblegum petunias in a hanging basket is a popular choice by gardeners. A Bubblegum petunia plant can be grown by itself in a hanging basket or in a combination with other plants.

Plants that grow well with Bubblegum petunias in a hanging basket

It’s important to choose plants to grow with Bubblegum petunias that have similar growth tendencies and care.

How to plant Bubblegum petunia hanging baskets

If you have your Bubblegum petunias and you are ready to pot them up in a hanging basket, here’s the process.

1. Preparing your hanging basket

Grab your hanging basket and fill it up to a few inches shy of the brim with potting soil.

2. Unpacking your Bubblegum petunia plants

Pull the Bubblegum petunia plants from their pack or pot by squeezing the bottom of the container and gently pulling the plant out. You can turn the container upside down as you do this to get gravity on your side.

3. Staging your Bubblegum petunia plants

Stage your plants in the hanging basket how you would like them.

Tip: If the Bubblegum petunia plants are rootbound (meaning their root cubes are very tight and interwoven), you can do the plant a favor by gently pulling the root cube apart a few times. This encourages the plant to spread its root out in the new soil.

4. Planting the Bubblegum petunia hanging basket

Cover the Bubblegum petunia plugs up to match the soil line of the plants.

5. Watering the plants in

Watering Bubblegum petunias in a hanging basket is similar to watering the plants in a pot or in landscapes.

Water the Bubblegum petunia basket and apply slow-release fertilizer (if not already included in your potting soil).

Tips for planting Bubblegum petunias in a hanging basket

1. Don’t overpack your basket

You don’t want to make the mistake of filling your Bubblegum petunia basket too full when the plants are small. Many varieties of Bubblegum petunias have the potential to overcome other plants in a hanging basket if they don’t have enough space to grow.

If planting your basket with just Bubblegum petunias, you could get away with just one plant per hanging basket, but many will plant three to really get a nice display (stick with odd numbers). This will depend largely on your basket size, but for a general 12″ basket, 3 plants will easily be enough.

If you are planting Bubblegum petunias with another plant in a hanging basket, be careful as to not crowd any of the plants.

2. Choose a hanging basket with good drainage

Choose a hanging basket with good drainage holes. This will help protect the Bubblegum petunia from root rot.

3. Plant the hanging basket early

Since Bubblegum petunias are great growers, even late plantings will flourish.

But, as it is with any annuals, the earlier you can safely plant them outside, the better. This will allow you to cure that cabin fever and get an early look at some blooms.

Be careful about planting annuals outside too early. Planting outside too early and they may freeze from a late frost. One thing to keep in mind is whether the Bubblegum petunia plants you have are hardy enough.

Located in PA life myself? You can check what your growing zone is here, which can act as a guide to determine when to plant Bubblegum petunias outside.

4. Fertilize throughout the summer

Even if your hanging basket’s potting soil has slow-release fertilizer in it already, we still recommend fertilizing the hanging basket throughout the summer.

Some growers recommend fertilizing hanging baskets every third watering, but this will vary on how much fertilizer the potting soil had in it, how the Bubblegum petunias are looking, and how much sun the hanging basket is receiving.

5. Consider the sunlight requirements of the hanging basket plants

Keep in mind the sunlight requirements of all the plants in the hanging basket, not just the Bubblegum petunias.

Without enough sun, you may notice some plants not blooming as much or getting stunted growth.

We cover hanging basket plants that grow great in shade here and other plants that grow great in full sun here.

6. Cut back the Bubblegum petunia for fresh growth

We find that cutting back Bubblegum petunias will promote growth and encourage future blooms.

Feel free to cut back the Bubblegum petunia in your hanging basket if you see that it’s getting straggly or overcoming other plants in the basket.

7. Keep the hanging basket watered but don’t overwater

While Bubblegum petunias love the sun, they’ll be relying more heavily on you for water when planted in a hanging basket. Make sure to keep the basket well-watered throughout the summer, especially over sweltering days.

For the heat of the summer, you may have to water the hanging basket once or more a day.

Be careful that you don’t overwater it.

A great way to tell if it needs some water is to see if the first inch or so of soil is moist. Or, you can lift the basket from underneath to test its weight. A Bubblegum petunia hanging basket that is in need of watering will be noticeably light.

8. Plant with slow-release fertilizer

Since the need for a consistent supply of nutrients is so important, we recommend growing your hanging basket of Bubblegum petunias with a slow-release fertilizer.

Slow-release fertilizer can be applied with small pebbles in the potting soil. These pebbles break down over the summer and slowly release fertilizer for the plants.

We plant our Bubblegum petunia hanging baskets with slow-release fertilizer pebbles, but also recommend that the hanging basket is fertilized additionally as well (water-soluble fertilizer is fine).

The slow-release pebbles will help the plants along during periods when it’s not being fertilized and the additional fertilizer will help the plant prosper.

Conclusion

Supertunia Vista Bubblegum plants are a popular flower choice for growing in hanging baskets for a reason — their vigorous growth and striking display of flowers make them a favorite among many growers.

The next time you are growing these plants in a hanging basket, keep in mind our tips for healthy growth.