Graffiti® Mix Pentas Seeds

Graffiti is the most colorful and uniform (all colors reach the same size and bloom at the same time) series of pentas ever grown, and this delightful mix lets you sample all 6 glorious colors. For a heat- and drought resistant annual that brings pollinators into the garden and produces glorious cut-flowers all summer, you just can't beat Graffiti.

This sun-loving annual is easy to grow and eager to bloom, setting large, tightly-packed flowerheads above the foliage. Expect it to reach 12 to 15 inches high in full flower, and to spread 10 to 14 inches wide in the garden. Graffiti is also happy in containers.

You will find 6 luscious colors in this mix: bright red, red lace, rose, pink, white, violet, and lavender. Red Lace is particularly attractive, with a white overlay on the blooms that really does look like a veil of lace strewn over the plant. And Rose features bright white eyes. The colors all complement one another, and you will find yourself wishing you had planted even more seeds to have plenty of blooms for the vase as well as the garden. After all, you can't cut all these Graffitis—they are a main food source for those beautiful butterflies and hummers you keep seeing.

Like all pentas, Graffiti prefers soil that is not too rich. If it's a bit on the dry side, all the better. Heat, sun, and good drainage will have the plants blooming heartily all summer long.

Start the seeds indoors, germinating them at 75 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit with high humidity. (If using the Bio Dome, just leave the dome on with the vents closed. If using a seed flat, wrap a plastic bag loosely around it.) The seeds need light to germinate, so do NOT cover them. (In the Bio Dome, you can either place them into the bio sponge hole or set them on top of the sponge, beside the hole—we have tried both, and they work equally well.) Germination takes about 7 to 10 days, after which you can lower the temperature to 70-75 degrees, then (as the seedlings grow), to 65-70. Transplant when the seedlings have at least 2 sets of true leaves; they should begin blooming about 8 to 10 weeks later, or when the hot summer weather arrives.