Firefly Petunia

TIME Best Inventions 2024 Award

Light up the night the natural way with this glow-in-the-dark petunia. Although Firefly Petunia may have a supernatural, fairytale feeling, it is real and really does radiate a soft, mystical, living green light that creates a magical moonlight-like sense of wonder. Firefly Petunias are a perfect marriage of nature and science, and these charming plants will cast their spell of enchantment over all, including your garden pollinators, like bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.

Firefly Petunia is a marvel of scientific achievement. Its organic bioluminescence is produced through a genetic enhancement combining the DNA of naturally luminous mushrooms with that of petunia plants. The result is a bioluminescent petunia: a living plant with an abundance of white blooms that express the mushroom's natural glow and emit a self-sustained luminescence throughout its life cycle, from spring through fall.

Firefly Petunias use energy they harvest from the sun during the day to glow at night. The most vigorously growing parts of the plant glow the best—primarily the blooms—so younger blooms are the brightest, with luminescence diminishing as the flowers mature. The human eye is best adapted to viewing this glow when it is naturally dark, and bioluminescence is most pronounced in the darkest areas, free of any light pollution or ambient light sources. To view Firefly's glow during the day, the plant must be placed in a completely dark room, and it will slowly reveal its light after a few minutes, as your eyes adjust to the darkness.

Firefly Petunias create an awe-inspiring garden display outside—perfect for a moonlight garden—or a tranquil, sensuous atmosphere inside, perfect for enhancing your yoga or meditation practice. And growing these plants as a gardening project with your child may prove a truly fascinating experience, complete with his or her own homegrown nightlight, and possibly a new love for gardening as well as for science.

For the best light show, plant this pack of 3 Firefly Petunias together in an 8- to 12-inch patio pot or hanging basket. The 3 young annual plants grow quickly and reach a mature size of 8 to 10 inches tall and wide. They're delivered in three 45mm plantable paper pots designed to go directly into soil—paper liner and all—which keeps delicate roots from becoming stressed or damaged during transplant.

Firefly Petunias require lots of energy to maintain their glowing good looks. For best results, fertilize your plants with AlgoPlus Flowering Plants Fertilizer at time of planting, give them plenty of sunlight (6-8 hours of full sun), remove fading flowers immediately, and prune leggy growth. Adequate moisture is important also. Allow the soil to become dry to the touch before watering but never allow your plants to completely dry out. Plants thrive in temperatures between 65 and 75°F. They will struggle in prolonged periods above 90°F and will not tolerate freezing conditions.

Indoor plants require supplemental light. For LED lights, the best light waves for indoor growth are between 400-2,000 umol/m2/s. Avoid placing indoor plants near drafts or heat sources. If you have questions about Firefly Petunias, check out the "Firefly Petunias FAQs" blog.

Care guidelines are included with every pack or you can learn about proper care in our "How to Care for Firefly Petunias" blog post.