By its nature, petunia is a perennial plant, but as an ornamental crop in Russia (due to cold climatic conditions over a large area) it is grown as an annual. There are about 25 varieties of this plant of the nightshade family, which differ in flower size and height (from 20 to 70 cm). But they are all united under one common name - hybrid petunia. These charming and delicate flowers adorn not only city streets and squares, balconies and loggias of houses, but also front gardens in the countryside.
The homeland of the petunia is South America (to be more precise, Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia and Brazil). And in Europe, the flower appeared only at the beginning of the 19th century.
Petunia captivates with its bright and rich colors of flowers. They can be yellow, white, pale pink, blue, purple, bright red, crimson, and also unexpectedly colorful. Petunia is valued for its abundant and long flowering, which lasts from July until the very frost. That is flowers by rightearned the love of a large army of amateur gardeners and took the most honorable places in the gardens.
How to grow a petunia? Naturally, this will require some physical effort and patience, as the plant is very sensitive to humidity and temperature.
Petunia varieties
All varieties of hybrid petunias are divided into several types:
- Multi-flowered.
- Shrub.
- Short (or dwarf).
- Ampel.
According to the shape of the bush, the plant can be:
- Cascading. The shoots of such petunias are constantly striving upwards. And only as the lashes lengthen and under their own weight, they slightly droop down. Cascading petunias are excellent for planters hanging in any convenient place; for pots and for decorating balconies.
- Ampelous. These plants have strong and flexible drooping shoots (that is, growing horizontally already at the seedling stage) from 50 to 150 cm long. Therefore, they are extremely good for vertical gardening. And they don't care about any wind. But ampelous petunias can simply be planted in the ground, providing them with a significant area for growing lashes. As a result, you will get a magnificent flowering carpet in your backyard. How to grow ampelous petunia from seeds in the Russian climate? Difficult, but possible if you choose the right varieties for planting.
Bush. Petunias of this type are completelydo not need to be formed, as they have erect shoots (their height varies from 25 to 75 cm). One caveat: bush varieties must be pinched without fail. Such activities stimulate the growth of side shoots and allow you to get more lush and neat bushes. Petunias of this type tolerate bad weather quite well, namely wind and rain
The size of the flower is subdivided:
- on having large flowers;
- blooming profusely;
- multi-flowered;
- having small inflorescences.
Flower shape can be:
- Terry. Petunias with such flowers are very elegant and look great not only in flower beds, but also in flowerpots. Their disadvantage is that the magnificent inflorescences are very poorly resistant to such adverse natural phenomena as wind and rain. As a result of their exposure, the flowers become unsightly. Also, terry petunias do not tolerate excess moisture: they simply begin to rot. This can happen when the summer is cool and damp. On a note: to please you with beautiful (with large flowers) terry petunia bushes, it is recommended to plant them at some distance from each other (that is, not very densely).
- Simple. This is usually a corolla with five fused petals that have smooth edges.
Which is better: bought ready-made seedlings or grown by yourself?
Is it worth it to make so much effort to grow seedlings with your own hands? Maybe there is a reason to buy ready-made and not suffer?Of course you can. And where is the guarantee that you will not be handed seedlings affected by various pests, with a dying root system or suffering from chlorosis? If you have trusted sellers selling quality seedlings, then, of course, buy and plant in open ground - everything is fine. But if in doubt, it is better to grow seedlings on your own. And how to grow a petunia and care for it will be described later. Moreover, home-grown seedlings have a number of advantages over purchased ones.
- You will be able to plant the variety that you like, and not the one that was available.
- Seedlings in the end will cost much less than purchased ones.
- Your seedlings grown at home will be he althier (in terms of various diseases).
Tip: carefully choose planting material for seedlings. Much depends on the quality of the seeds. Pay special attention to the expiration date of the planting material. This is very important: otherwise, do not count on good germination. Buy seeds only from trusted sellers and growers.
Date of planting for seedlings
When to sow petunias for seedlings? If you want to enjoy flowering earlier (somewhere in June), then sowing seeds for seedlings should be done in late February or early March. But not everything depends only on your desire. The location of your apartment, specifically the windows, as well as the presence of additional artificial lighting, can make certain adjustments to the timing of planting seeds for seedlings.
- Ifwindow openings face the north side, then sowing should be done at the end of March, and even better at the beginning of April.
- If on the south side, then you can safely sow in early March.
- If you have fluorescent lamps available that can be used as additional light, then the answer to the question of when to sow petunias for seedlings is quite obvious: already at the end of February.
Note: do not plant seeds on a new or full moon. There is a chance of getting bad shoots. Why You Need It? These days, the soil should “rest”: so let it relax.
Growing seedlings at home
Even a novice gardener, of course, if desired, is able to sow seeds at home, grow seedlings from them and plant them in open ground. Everything is very simple. It is necessary to adhere to fairly simple recommendations, and everything will work out.
Preparing the soil mixture
How to grow a petunia? You need to start with soil preparation. Petunias really like the soil neutral and slightly acidic. In addition, it should be distinguished by friability (that is, lightness) and fertility. In addition, the soil must pass air and moisture well.
Note: you can acidify by pouring water diluted with lemon juice.
You can prepare the soil mixture yourself: you will need to mix sand, turf, peat and humus in a ratio of 1:2:2:2. Or you can use another recipe: peat, sand and earth (from a personal plot) in a ratio of 2: 1: 1.
Tip: it will not be superfluous to add potassium sulfate, ash to the soil mixture(wood) and perlite.
Regardless of which recipe you use, all components must be thoroughly mixed, and then sifted through a large sieve, and then through a fine one. Next, the mixture must be treated with a rather strong solution of potassium permanganate.
Preparing seeds
How to grow petunias from seeds? A very important point in this process is high-quality planting material. Seed shelf life also plays an important role.
Remember: the older the seeds, the less likely they are to germinate well.
Before planting, petunia seeds must be processed without fail. It consists in soaking them for 4-6 hours in a weak solution of potassium permanganate. These actions will have a beneficial effect on seed germination, as well as on the immunity of young seedlings.
Currently, some growers put seeds in a special nutrient shell, which subsequently dissolves in a humid environment. That is, the planting material looks like a dragee. Soaking them in potassium permanganate is not necessary: this is a plus. The disadvantage of this idea is that if the seeds are not in moist soil, then they will not germinate.
Planting seeds
You can plant petunia seeds for seedlings using different methods:
- Sowing in peat tablets.
- Planting seed in separate containers (for example, in plastic cups from sour cream, as well as cardboard bags from kefir or milk).
- Sowing in plastic cassettes.
Details stopon the method of growing seedlings using peat tablets (read below).
This is important! Due to the fact that the seeds are quite small, we recommend mixing them with dry sand (of course, sifted). Shoots will be more uniform.
How to grow petunias in peat tablets
Petunia seedlings are very painful for any transplants. Therefore, the best way to grow seedlings is the method using peat tablets. Because later, when the seedlings "move" to a "permanent place of residence", it will be quite easy to transplant seedlings into open ground.
In addition to this undeniable argument in favor of peat tablets, there are several more justifications for using this particular method:
- Efficiency. Almost all seeds germinate and develop well due to the good air and water permeability of peat.
- Peat tablets contain nutrients needed by young plants.
- Economy.
Algorithm of landing operations
How to grow petunia in peat tablets? It's easy, you just need to follow certain recommendations:
- The timing of planting petunias for seedlings is from the end of February to the 5-10th of March. By this time, you need to have the required number of peat tablets. As well as a sufficient supply of seeds of the varieties you prefer.
- Preparing peat tablets for planting. We place them (holes up) in a deep container, fill with settled water at room temperature andleave to swell for 30 minutes. After this time, they should increase by 8-10 times. It is not recommended to pour water into the pan abruptly and with a large jet. Otherwise, all the nutrients in the soil mixture may be washed out.
- The swollen tablets are placed in another tray (not so deep and, of course, without any liquid). And with holes up.
- Starting the landing process. Due to the fact that petunia seeds are very small, you can mix them with sand and then sow them. And you can use slightly moistened toothpicks, which are very easy to pick up the planting material and place them in the recesses in the tablets. In each recess, you can put 1 seed, or you can put 2-3. In the future, weaker sprouts can simply be removed, leaving only the strongest.
- Seeds are slightly pressed into the soil mixture and in no case do not dig in the ground. Otherwise, there is a risk of being left without seedlings, as it simply will not sprout.
- Plantings are covered with a transparent and light plastic cover or plastic wrap. That is, we create greenhouse conditions that will contribute to faster and more successful germination of seeds.
Important: the greenhouse should be opened a little every day (for 20-40 minutes) to irrigate and eliminate the accumulated condensate. You can completely remove the polyethylene or the cover only after the seedlings begin to rest against them.
Temperature conditions
How to grow strong petunia seedlings? For this you needstrictly adhere to the temperature regime, first of all. If all the rules for creating a certain microclimate are followed, then shoots will appear within the first week. Remember: the temperature should be around +25 degrees. If it is lower, then the seeds may simply not germinate, and if it is much higher, then the young shoots will quickly stretch and will be subject to various diseases in the future.
Irrigation recommendations
When watering, you should be guided by the rule of the golden mean: too waterlogged soil mixture can lead to serious fungal diseases of plants; and if the soil is dry, then the seedlings will simply die.
Important: "water procedures" should be carried out as needed, that is, as the top layer of the soil mixture dries.
A little about top dressing
Planting a petunia, tips for care and cultivation involve the application of fertilizers in a certain amount. Without them, the plants will begin to hurt and wither. What to feed?
- During the first 14-17 days, the emerging shoots are carefully sprayed with a weak (that is, pale pink) solution of potassium permanganate. You can use the ready-made preparation "Previkur".
- After 3-4 leaves have formed, we saturate the soil with a solution of "Crystal" (yellow).
- After the formation of the 5th leaf, we begin to combine spraying, for example, with Green Crystal or Uniflor, with fertilizing under the root with Yellow Crystal. Of course, using "Crystal" is preferable. But if there are problems with its acquisition, thenyou can use its analogues such as Mortar, Plantafol, Kemira Lux and others with a similar effect.
- Fertilizer for plants already in the open field. For these purposes, we insist in a large container (for example, a barrel) for 15-17 days different herbs with water. Then, when the make-up is ready, add about 1 liter of it to a bucket of water and water it. We do this during normal watering.
About the pick
How to grow a petunia without a pick? In what cases such activities are not needed? The ideal option is considered (for example, when sowing seeds in peat tablets or plastic cassettes with separate cells), when picking is not performed, since the petunia has a weakly branched root system, which is better not to be disturbed unnecessarily, especially since it lies quite shallow.
Picking is necessary when the seeds were sown in a large single container. It is necessary to perform such a manipulation when the plant has formed 4-5 leaves. We carry out picking in pre-prepared containers (for example, ordinary plastic cups), in which we make holes for drainage. We fill the pots with soil mixture and drainage, then we transplant seedlings with a large clod of earth there.
This is important! Since picking events are stressful for petunias, so that young plants get sick less and get used to new living conditions faster, it is necessary to maintain the temperature in the room at least 17 degrees (but not higher than 20 degrees) and cover them from direct sunlight.
In 15-17days, you can make a pick in larger cups or pots.
Pinching
Such actions allow the petunia to grow into a lush bush, and not look like one long stem. Pinching (that is, breaking off with your fingers or cutting off the top of the stem at the point of growth with scissors) should be done when the plant has 5-7 leaves.
After this procedure, new shoots begin to appear, which will form a lush bush. To achieve the desired shape, it may take 2-3 pinching (with an interval of 2 weeks), and maybe more.
We harden seedlings
Before planting in open ground (approximately 2 weeks), it is recommended to harden the seedlings. How to do it? In April, start taking the seedlings to the balcony or veranda: first by 10-20 minutes, then increasing the duration of the “air procedures” and bringing them to the maximum (that is, when the seedlings will be there all the time, including at night, if the temperature is above +5 degrees, of course).
When it gets cold, be sure to bring flowers into the house. Petunia does not tolerate sub-zero temperatures very well and may die.
Landing in open ground
Planting seedlings in open beds is carried out from mid-May to mid-June: it all depends on the weather in your area. Everything will go well if you follow these simple rules:
- Must (rotted) should be added to the soil, as this will have a beneficial effect not only on the development of the root system, but also on active growthgreen mass of plants.
- Transplanting into open ground is best done either in the early morning or late evening. The third option could be just a cloudy and warm day, during which you can "relocate" the petunia to a "permanent place of residence".
- The transplant hole should be 100mm deep and 100mm wide.
- The distance between petunias planted in peat tablets should be about 20-22 cm for small-flowered plants, 25-28 cm for large-flowered plants, or about 35 cm for bush species.
When transplanting petunias to open beds, you can not pull the seedling out of the tablet: you can significantly damage the root system of the plant. Just carefully cut the mesh and remove it.
- A plant with a peat ball should be placed in the soil mixture, sprinkled with earth on top and lightly compacted.
- After these steps, the planted petunia should be poured abundantly with warm water.
- Further, care for plants should be carried out in accordance with the recommendations for caring for adult bushes of the culture.
Many people ask how to grow petunias for sale. Very simple - exactly the same as described above. Nothing new or special. Good luck with this!
