Many garden and balcony owners appreciate the petunia because of its many different colored flowering varieties and the extremely long flowering period from spring to the first frost. However, care should be taken to ensure that the green parts of the plant are somewhat toxic.
Are petunias poisonous to people and pets?
Petunias are slightly toxic to people and pets because they contain the toxin solanine. However, the solanine content is lower than in potato plants. Eating green parts of plants can cause nausea, diarrhea and symptoms of poisoning. Children and pets should be kept away from petunias.
Petunias as a risk to people
Basically, the green parts of the petunia plant should not be very tempting for consumption by adults and children, as on the one hand they taste horrible and on the other hand they scratch terribly in the throat due to the sticky hair with trichomes. However, these nightshade plants also contain a certain amount of the poisonous solanine, although the content is lower than that of potato plants. Even if touching the plants does not cause symptoms of poisoning, children should be made aware of the nausea-inducing effect of consuming them in small doses. Unlike nasturtiums or other edible garden plants, petunias are not edible.
Be careful with pets
As a rule, pets such as cats automatically shy away from the smell of petunias. Indoor cats and rabbits with little access to fresh green food can still be tempted to nibble on the petunias on the balcony. In the worst case, this can lead to diarrhea and symptoms of poisoning. If there is a realistic risk of this, you can switch to non-toxic alternatives for balcony planting:
- Catnip
- Deadnettle
- Field thyme
- Marguerite
Tip
Like many other attractive flowering plants in the garden and on the balcony, petunias are not suitable for consumption. Nevertheless, you shouldn't panic given the amount of solanine it contains. If you have small children in the household, it is sometimes a good idea to get them into the habit of being very careful with unfamiliar plants so that there is no danger from the large number of potentially dangerous plants in and around the house.
