Cambridgeshire plant breeder
David Kerley is known the world over for his Tumbelina series of double
petunias. They're the best; that's all there is to it. He's also introduced
many many other fine petunias as well as phygelius, primroses, violas,
chrysanthemums and more. I've featured him a number of times here on the RHS
New Plants blog, and I'm happy to do so again here with a one-off petunia, Martha
Washington (‘Kermartha').
This is the first in his
Designer Double Series of petunias. His original Designer Series includes some
fine varieties, including ‘Corona Rose Rim', featured on my Transatlantic
Gardener blog a few months ago.
‘Martha Washington',
sometimes listed simply as ‘Martha', makes a mounded plant, perhaps better
suited to a pot than a hanging basket although I've also seen it looking good in
baskets. As you can see from the picture (click to enlarge), each individual
flower has a broad rim in a vivid salmon pink shade around a broad white zone.
In the centre is a ruffled cluster of smaller petals in the same bright colour
combination.
Plants are both neat and
prolific, and best displayed where the overall effect of a plant in full flower
can be appreciated while at the same time the intriguing detail of individual blooms
can be seen in close-up. Like so many of David's petunias it takes bad weather
well.
You can order plants of Petunia Martha (‘Kermartha') from Thompson &
Morgan, and look out for it in garden centres in spring.