Are petunias perennial or annual?

Garden petunias (*Petunia × hybrida*) are tender perennials that survive as perennials only in USDA zones 10–11. In zones 3–9, frost kills the plants each winter. In zones 7–9, petunias can be overwintered as cuttings taken before frost. Otherwise, treat them as annuals and repla

Petunias are native to South America, where they grow as perennials in frost-free conditions. In American gardens, nearly all petunias are treated as warm-season annuals because they cannot survive freezing temperatures.

What petunias are

Modern garden petunias are complex hybrids derived primarily from two South American species, Petunia axillaris and Petunia integrifolia. Per Missouri Botanical Garden, Petunia × hybrida is "a tender perennial treated as an annual." The native species are perennial in their South American homeland (zones 10–12), but the hybrid garden types have the same cold sensitivity.

Per NC State Extension, petunias are "frost-tender annuals in most of North America."