Unforgettable First Impressions: Witnessing the Birth of the Revolutionary Wave Petunia

Lise Goudreau
Norseco, Inc.

Jan Patranella
Ball Horticultural Co.

Jeanne Svob
Syngenta Flowers

Heather Will-Browne
Walt Disney World

What were your initial impressions when you first saw the original Wave Petunia in your trial, as compared to other petunias available at the time?

• Svob: “WOW!  And then WT*?  Being a late bloomer, it was a growing carpet of green until late May.  Once it started to flower it was interesting.  By our customer field day in early July, it was wildly weird and amazing.  Nothing we had ever seen before.  Growers flocked to it.  I’m certain it was the most photographed plant in the garden that year.”
• Patranella: “The outstanding spreading habit. We do row trials at Ball with petunia varieties of every type and form from various companies. Purple Wave was always the one with flower power all summer.”
• Goudreau: “At that time we used to grow all petunias in packs before transplanting in the field and I remember looking at those and seing already a difference in the pack for the fastest spreading. In the field, before flowering, they were looking strange and different but in flowers that was Wow!”
• Will-Browne: “The waves were unlike any petunia you had ever seen; they truly blew you away!”

Can you recall specific characteristics that stood out and made ‘Wave Purple Classic’ unique during the trials?

• Svob: “The trailing habit, the tremendous vigor and that vibrant purple color!”
• Patranella: “Weather tolerant and floriferous all summer.”
• Will-Browne: “They were perfect. A large, dense carpet covered in non-stop blooms. They just kept coming. Yes, it was a wave!”
• Goudreau: “That year we had 2 entries of that spreading type. The first one was earlier to flower with bright purple blooms and the second one more ‘flat’ later to flower. I loved the first one much more, the future Purple Wave.”

Were there any concerns or doubts initially about its performance or market appeal?

• Svob: “In that initial trial, we were only evaluating garden performance so I don’t think most people had considered how the heck they might grow this thing for retail.  If I remember correctly, once it won, it was a holdover for a couple of years.  By the sales release, there was information about daylength requirements and plant development needed for flowering, plant growth regulator use, etc.  It was a lot to process but it was such a unique and exciting plant growers were willing to embrace the challenge.  Everybody wanted it.”
• Will-Browne: “None that I knew of.”
• Patranella: “There were no concerns regarding its performance or market appeal. It opened new avenues for hanging baskets, mixed containers, and garden borders.”
• Goudreau: “Not at all.” 

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How did its spreading/trailing habit compare to the more traditional mounding petunias you were evaluating? What potential did you see in this different growth style?

• Svob: “It was a completely different animal.  Just a carpet of color.  At the time, I saw it as a great plant for landscape color.”
• Patranella: “The potential was to have a strong trailing habit that flowered heavily all summer in our trials.”
• Goudreau: “When we had these new trailing petunias from seed, we were really excited!”
• Will-Browne: “It was so unique there was nothing to compare them to. I remember seeing Wave petunias in huge hanging baskets at Ball trials. I took a few images, and for years used them in a color presentation demonstrating “Color at Eye Level”.

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Can you describe the “wow” factor, if any, that this petunia exhibited during the judging process?

• Svob: “Tremendous vigor, unique trailing habit and the vibrant purple color.”
• Patranella: “The wow factor was always the strong trailing habit and the number of flowers the plant produced.”
• Goudreau: “At our open day for customers, they were all stopping and standing in front of the row taking pictures and planting their flags in front of it. It would be a winner.”
• Will-Browne: “The WOW factor was the fact that it really was a wave of color. Uniform and covered in blooms. The size alone was a WOW factor!”

How did you anticipate the consumer response to such a different type of petunia?

• Svob: “Our field trials were in front of Kishwaukee College just north of Dekalb, IL so they were always open to the public.  We heard from the garden staff that the Purple Wave row drew the attention of everyone who walked through the garden.  And everyone loved it.  They’d never seen anything like it.”
• Patranella: “The consumer response was interesting because this was new. This led to the Wave pink pots and message regarding its outstanding performance.”
• Will-Browne: “You knew the consumer was going to love it because it would be large and in color when purchased. It was the first time I can remember such special marketing going into a container. How could anyone not notice that pink pot?”
• Goudreau: “We knew that it would be a success and would make the front page of our retail and growers catalogs once available. As seed buyers, we decided to give sample seeds to many growers.”

Knowing what you know now about the success and impact of the Wave series, what were the key factors you believe contributed to its popularity?

• Svob: “It was a unique product, and Pan Am did a remarkable job with the marketing.  It was everywhere at retail.  It was clearly labeled.  It didn’t take long for consumers to ask for it by name.   (My sister still calls every spreading petunia Wave.)”
• Patranella: “Gardeners want to be successful. They get discouraged if something doesn’t perform well for them in their garden or containers. The outstanding performance of the Wave petunias brings people back to more colors and more ways to use them.”
• Goudreau: “That it was a ‘wow’ series but PanAmerican Seeds did a very good job promoting and educating the growers and customers.”
• Will-Browne: “The appearance alone sold the product, but I think the creative marketing had a huge impact as well.”

How did the introduction of Wave petunias influence the petunia market and breeding trends in the years that followed?

• Svob: “Every breeder wanted a Purple Wave.  There were some good knock-offs early on.  But the amazing purple color and the brand recognition of Purple Wave gave the Wave series a giant edge at Retail.  In the years since, the “vigorous, trailing/spreading” petunia category has grown in popularity especially with the focus on containers and hanging baskets.  A lot of very good series and varieties in both seed and vegetative exist today due to the evolution of this segment.”
• Patranella: “I believe the success of the Wave series generated interest in more breeding companies both from seed and vegetative cuttings to bring more types to the market. More types of habits and colors gave people more choices on what types to use for their specific garden and container uses.”
• Goudreau: “All breeding companies started working on that type, trying to improve and compete with it.”
• Will-Browne: “Everyone wanted to get on the bandwagon.”

Were there any lessons learned from trialing the first Wave Petunia that you applied to judging subsequent entries in later years?

• Svob: “As we experienced Purple Wave, it became apparent that the breeding needed to evolve to something more upright and easier to manage in production, of course with an earlier flowering response.  The characteristics I looked for in the newer breeding included an abundance of color, sufficient vigor and tight branching that held the plants upright through the growing season.”
• Goudreau: “Reading the characteristics of the entries more carefully before planting in the field! My row was not large enough for the same number of plants as that needed for traditional petunias!!! Three Purple Waves were filling space of 8 of traditional ones!”
• Will-Browne: “The only lesson learned was that you had to wait for competition to produce similar entries to use as comparisons.”

What are your lasting memories of evaluating ‘Wave Purple Classic’ and being part of its journey to becoming an AAS winner?

• Svob:  “The amazing vigor, unique trailing habit and fabulous color was a beacon that drew every visitor to our AAS trials directly to that plant.  The subsequent impatience everyone expressed while we waited through a couple of hold-over years for seed production.  The excitement of the first years for sales.”
• Goudreau: “I think that was the most exciting entry of my judge’s career. I still see myself in front of the row, looking at it and seeing the sales potential. I remember being excited for Rudbeckia Indian Summer and Prairie Sun, Nierembergia Mont Blanc, Osteospermum Asti White, Ornamental Millet Purple Majesty, but not as much as Purple Wave.”
• Will-Browne: “The excitement and enthusiasm it generated in the entire horticulture industry.”

As an experienced horticulturist, what did the success of Wave petunias mean to you personally? And do you still grow Waves in your own garden?

• • Svob:  “Sadly, I have a lot of shade so I can’t grow Waves or any petunias in my garden.  My favorite variety is Easy Wave White.  Yeah, I know it’s white.  But it is a beautiful plant with lots of color, excellent branching, and a fantastic habit.”
  • Patranella: “I live in Texas now so I can get an early jump on gardening. Wave petunias in the spring are outstanding. So fun to find way to use them and impress the neighbors.”
  • Goudreau: “Yes and I also love Easy Wave series.”