9 Easy-to-Grow Petunia Look-Alikes To Try This Year

Petunias are colorful, long-blooming, and create impressive displays in containers and beds. But if you’re looking to expand your garden palette, you may want something new. Still, you can maintain that familiar petunia look with several flowering plants offering remarkably similar appearances and their own special qualities. Whether you’re seeking better heat tolerance, unique fragrances, or simply something different, these convincing petunia look-alikes deserve a spot in your garden this year.

These look-alikes work beautifully in the same garden spaces where petunias typically shine—containers, hanging baskets, and garden beds. Many create that same visual impact from a distance while offering subtle differences that make them interesting additions to your garden collection.

Calibrachoa

At first glance, you might mistake calibrachoa for miniature petunias. That’s no coincidence—they’re close relatives in the same family. These prolific bloomers produce masses of small, trumpet-shaped flowers that look nearly identical to petunia blooms, just on a smaller scale. The flowers feature the same characteristic trumpet shape and come in virtually every color imaginable.

The small flowers bounce back quickly after rain, without the soggy mess that can plague petunias after a heavy downpour. They also drop spent blooms naturally so the plants always look fresh and tidy.

The trailing habit of calibrachoa perfectly mimics spreading petunias, creating cascades of color from hanging baskets and container edges. Plants typically spread 12-24 inches, forming the same flowing “waves” of color that make trailing petunias so popular. From a distance, a basket of calibrachoa is nearly indistinguishable from a basket of petunias.

Nierembergia

Nierembergia produces delicate, cup-shaped flowers that strongly resemble petunias but with a more refined, slightly smaller appearance. Also in the nightshade family, these plants share the same flower structure and familiar appearance. The most common varieties feature lavender-blue or white flowers with yellow centers. These look-alikes create a visual effect very similar to certain petunia varieties.

The plants typically form neat mounds that work beautifully in containers or garden edges, similar to the more compact petunia varieties. Their smaller flowers create the same overall impression as petunias, especially when planted in groups.

From a landscaping perspective, nierembergia creates the same carpet of color that makes petunias so popular for mass plantings. The flowers face upward just like petunias, creating that familiar sea of color that draws the eye across garden beds.

Browallia

Browallia delivers star-shaped flowers in vibrant blue, purple, or white that closely resemble blue and purple petunia varieties. These underused annuals share the same flower structure and familiar flared trumpet shape that makes petunias so recognizable.

Unlike some petunia look-alikes that only resemble petunias from a distance, browallia flowers have nearly identical structure when examined up close. The flaring trumpet shape with a yellow or white throat mimics petunia blooms almost perfectly, just on a slightly smaller scale. The rich blue shades available in browallia match the most popular blue petunia varieties.

The well-branched, slightly mounding growth habit resembles compact petunia varieties. This creates the same full, flower-covered appearance that makes petunias such garden favorites. When planted in containers, browallia creates that familiar mounded shape, completely covered in blooms.

Ruellia

Despite not being a true petunia, Ruellia has earned its common name “Mexican Petunia” for good reason. The trumpet-shaped flowers look remarkably similar to traditional petunias. They feature the same flaring shape and rich purple coloration that make purple petunias so popular. Each bloom lasts only a day, but new flowers open continuously.

The flowers emerge from tube-like buds that expand into classic petunia-shaped blooms. This look-alike has the same darker throat and veining patterns that are common in many petunia varieties. Grow these in a container if you live in their invasive range.

Unlike some other petunia look-alikes, Ruellia also features foliage quite similar to petunia leaves: lance-shaped, slightly fuzzy, and arranged along stems in a pattern reminiscent of petunia growth. The overall visual effect, especially when viewed from a short distance, is remarkably similar to a bed of purple petunias in full bloom.

Phlox

Annual phlox creates carpet-like displays of star-shaped flowers that mimic the mass-blooming habit of Wave® petunias. While individual flowers are star-shaped rather than trumpet-shaped, the overall visual effect from even a short distance is strikingly similar to a bed of spreading petunias in full bloom.

The low, spreading growth habit of annual phlox perfectly mimics Waves®. They create the same carpets of color that make those varieties so popular for landscape use. Plants typically spread 12-18 inches, filling spaces with solid bloom coverage just like spreading petunias. This similarity in growth habit makes annual phlox one of the closest substitutes for wave petunias in garden beds.

The flowers come in many of the same colors as petunias (whites, pinks, purples, and bicolors), creating an almost identical color palette.

Torenia

This look-alike has trumpet-shaped flowers that strongly resemble petunia blooms, complete with flaring petals and contrasting throats. The overall flower structure, particularly in varieties with solid colors, creates a visual effect very similar to petunias (especially the trailing varieties that spill over container edges).

The flowers feature distinctive two-toned coloration. In purple, pink, and white varieties, these markings enhance the resemblance to petunias. This enhances the familiar flared trumpet appearance with a contrasting interior that makes petunias so recognizable.

Torenia’s growth habit closely resembles the pattern of many petunia varieties, particularly the more compact trailing types. In hanging baskets and container edges, the cascading effect mimics the way trailing petunias spill over edges, creating that familiar waterfall of blooms.

Vinca

Vinca produces glossy, five-petaled flowers that, when viewed from a slight distance, create the same visual impact as a bed of petunias. While the flowers are technically simpler in structure than true petunia blooms, the flat-faced, rounded shape creates a similar appearance when planted en masse.

The neat, compact growth habit of Vinca closely resembles the more upright petunia varieties, forming mounds completely covered in blooms. This similarity in form means it can directly substitute for petunias in landscape designs without significantly altering the visual effect.

The color range matches petunia color options almost perfectly (whites, pinks, reds, and purples). They often have contrasting zones that mimic the throat patterns of petunias. When planted in mass displays, these color similarities enhance the resemblance to petunia beds. Keep these in a container if you’re in their invading range.

Petchoa

For the ultimate petunia look-alike, calibrachoa-petunia hybrids (sometimes marketed as Petchoa) combine the best features of both parent plants. These hybrids produce flowers intermediate in size between petunias and calibrachoa, with the exact same trumpet shape and familiar appearance as traditional petunias.

The flowers feature the classic petunia form with slightly more weather resistance, creating displays that look identical to petunia plantings but hold up better to rain and harsh conditions. The bloom size bridges the gap between larger petunia flowers and smaller calibrachoa blooms, creating a perfect middle ground that maintains that classic petunia look.

From any distance, these hybrids are virtually indistinguishable from the petunias that inspired them.

Verbena

Verbena delivers clusters of small, flat-faced flowers that create a similar color impact to spreading petunias while offering better heat tolerance.

Unlike some look-alikes that only resemble certain petunia types, verbena’s growth habit can mimic either compact or spreading petunias, depending on the variety. Trailing types create the same cascading effect as wave petunias in hanging baskets and landscape plantings, while upright varieties form mounds similar to grandiflora types.

The spreading growth pattern of many verbena varieties perfectly mimics the groundcover effect of Wave® petunias, creating solid carpets of color that flow across garden beds. This similarity in growth habit, combined with a comparable color palette, makes verbena one of the most convincing petunia substitutes for landscape use.