So I want to buy these petunias again next year, but I have no idea what variety they are. I bought them on clearance and unfortunately they had no tag in the pot. After searching online, I suspect they may be 'Black Velvet' or 'Black Cat.' Next spring I'll plan to go back to the same plant hut and hope they use the same supplier as they did last year.
Black petunias were developed by Jianping Ren at Ball Horticulture in the UK and introduced to the public in the spring of 2011. They created quite a buzz because of their unique and unusual color. It is said that they don't perform as well as other petunias, but mine seemed to do just fine, as you can see. They may not get the same spread as a Wave petunia, but who cares -- I love the unique color. I used my black petunias as a specimen planting.
In the top photo you can see a clear mason jar with solar LED lights that I placed next to the petunias. The mason jar lights remain lit up all night until morning. I was able to look out the window and see my black petunias at night! Can you see me in the photo? I'm the one inside the mason jar taking the picture.