Gardeners' favorite is ampelous petunia, which is no coincidence. This plant becomes the brightest and most picturesque decoration of houses and gardens. Petunia is planted in hanging or tall flowerpots, wide containers, balcony boxes. During growth, the ampel varieties form many hanging lashes, creating a waterfall of flowers that cause everyone to admire.
Often these plants are used in landscape design: they successfully fill voids, decorate alpine hills, terraces, areas near pools, small ponds.
How to choose a variety
There are many varieties of ampelous petunias. It is often difficult to choose one thing - there is always a desire to buy several varieties at once. But first, it’s worth learning about each of them, as you may encounter some difficulties when growing.
For convenience, all varieties of ampelous petunias were conditionally divided into two types: real ampelous andcascading. They differ as follows:
- Ampel hanging down with beautiful lashes. With a large number of petunias, you can create a real flower curtain.
- Stems of ampelous varieties, while still seedlings, develop horizontally.
- Cascade initially grow up, but as it grows, the shoots bend down under their own weight.
The main difference between cascading and ampelous petunias is the length of the shoots. In the former they are short, while in the latter they can reach a meter or more. This should be taken into account when using flowers as decoration.
The most famous varieties
There are a huge number of ampelous types of flowers. They differ in the length of the whip, flower size, color, duration of flowering, etc. Among the variety of these amazing plants, the following varieties of ampelous petunia are distinguished:
- Avalanche. The variety is often used in decorating loggias and garden arbors. In this variety, the petals are painted in rich colors: red, blue, orange, pink. Often, mixes of shades are created from the ampelous Lavina petunia that look original in hanging planters.
- Shock Wave is a hybrid form. Many flower growers fell in love with the variety because of simple and double flowers. It looks very beautiful in white: sparkling inflorescences contrast perfectly with emerald foliage.
- Velvet. It is characterized by velvet leaves and flower petals. Most often, this variety is planted in gardens where there is a lack of pollination of crops. This is due to the fact that the variety is an excellent honey plant, itattracts a large number of bees. Velvet is characterized by long inflorescences and late flowering.
- Opera Supreme - F1 hybrid. The variety is quite unpretentious, feels great in low light, which is an indisputable advantage. It can be grown even in an apartment at any time of the year. Opera Supreme grows beautifully and blooms even with insufficient care. To form a beautiful bush, it is necessary to cut and water the plant in a timely manner. According to reviews, the ampelous petunia of this variety looks perfect on the loggia, balcony. It hangs in luxurious lashes more than a meter long. Compared to others, Opera Supreme has small, simple flowers, but it blooms profusely.
- The Snow Queen. The lashes of the plant reach eighty centimeters in length. It blooms in a beautiful snow-white color with a light aroma.
- Explorer. This variety is considered one of the most popular. It is grown by many gardeners and appreciated for its many colors. The length of the lashes is about half a meter: the shoots are strong, able to withstand strong winds. The flowers are large, with a wax structure.
- Easy Wave Red. The length of the branches of this variety ranges from eighty centimeters to a meter. The color of the flowers blends perfectly with the green foliage.
- Katerina. The variety captivates with its unusual salmon color. The diameter of the flower is small, about six centimeters. The veins on the petals add originality.
- Svetlana. It is famous for its elegance, magnificent lashes, grows up to a meter in length. Emerald leaves are arranged alternately, flowers with a diameter of five centimeters in the form of a funnel.
- Black velvet has very large inflorescences. Petals in buds with a velvety surface are painted in deep black. The diameter of the flower can reach nine centimeters.
In addition to these varieties, such as surfinia, supertunia, fortunia, tumbelins are also valued. The main advantage of which is abundant long flowering and resistance to weather changes.
Surfinia
Cultivation of ampelous petunia has its own characteristics: such a plant can only be obtained with the cutting method of reproduction.
Surfinia is a whole group of hybrids with long stems. The species is characterized by rapid growth, resistance to precipitation, long flowering. Flowers can be of a variety of colors: veined, multi-color, plain, with a red, black center. All of them differ in diameter - from five to ten centimeters.
Among the shortcomings, it can be distinguished that reproduction is possible only by cuttings taken from the mother plant. It will not work to propagate the ampelous petunia of this species by seeds.
Fortunia
It is characterized by a large number of buds, the bush seems to be strewn with flowers. Spreading bushes look perfect in flowerpots on a leg, in hanging planters. Can also be grown as a groundcover.
Fortunia flowers are small, about six centimeters. In order for the plant to bloom well, it is placed in a well-litlocation.
Fortunias are first-generation hybrids that are perfectly propagated by seeds. The seed material is very small, so it is sown using a special technology.
Supertunia
Some plant varieties are easily confused with surfinia. This is mainly due to long shoots, good weather tolerance. However, this group has larger flowers, reaching ten centimeters in diameter.
Supertunia does not have a powerful root system like Fortunia. That is why it is most often used for vertical gardening. In a flower bed, a flower does not grow as actively as in a hanging planter.
Tumbelina
The peculiarity of this subspecies of petunia is in its terryness. Such varieties are characterized by a cascade type of growth and excellent branching of the bush. Tumbelina flowers usually have dark streaks. Plants perfectly tolerate adverse weather conditions.
Tumberlinas are resistant to diseases, however, almost all varieties are demanding on the conditions of detention. They need to be planted in fertile soil and make sure that it does not dry out. This subspecies likes regular feeding and good lighting.
Someone may find them troublesome to care for, but their beauty makes up for this shortcoming.
Cultivation of ampel varieties
Having chosen the varieties of ampelous and cascading petunias you like, you can proceed to sowing. Almost all varieties are dependent on the length of daylight hours, so plants are grown on the lightest window sills. Plants sown in February will please with abundant flowering in the summer. For seedlings choosenutrient soil. Do not forget about watering and top dressing. This will help grow bushes with numerous flowers.
Sowing seeds
The best time for sowing is the end of January-beginning of February. In this case, by the end of May, beautiful and strong bushes with gorgeous buds can be formed.
For sowing, it is necessary to prepare nutrient soil or peat tablets. The use of the latter is advisable only if the seeds are in granules. You can sow the seeds in a common container, from where the seedlings will then dive one by one into separate containers.
Sowing in container
Planting an ampelous petunia is no different from sowing other species. For growing in a container, it is necessary to prepare the soil. It is steamed beforehand. Then they fill the container, slightly compacted. Snow is laid on top of the ground with a thin layer, leaving about a centimeter to the side. The snow is compacted. Seeds are laid on it. It is not necessary to sprinkle soil on top, as the seeds need sunlight for germination.
The container with sowing is covered with glass from above. The container is placed in a bright warm place. Before germination, crops can not be opened, but if there is excess moisture inside, ventilation is necessary. To do this, the container is opened for fifteen minutes, removing all drops of water from the glass.
Sowing in peat tablets
Before sowing, peat tablets need to be prepared, pour water over them. After complete swellingplaced in a mini greenhouse. A seed is placed in the center of each. Crops are covered with a lid and waiting for shoots. During seed germination, it is important to ensure that the peat does not dry out.
Sprouting
After the second pair of true leaves appear on the seedlings, you can carry out the first pick. Plants from containers are planted one at a time in a container. Those grown in peat tablets usually do not dive, but only sprinkle with soil along with the tablet so that the cotyledon leaves are underground.
To get strong and he althy seedlings of ampelous petunias, it is necessary to feed them in a timely manner. During the period of active growth, nitrogen fertilizers are used. They help to increase the green mass, stimulate branching. From the moment the first bud appears, the dosage of nitrogenous fertilizers is reduced, and phosphorus-potassium fertilizers are increased. Be sure to apply complex mineral fertilizers once a week.
The second transplant is carried out to a permanent place when the plant releases a bud or blooms its first flower.
Features of cultivation
When growing plants in pots, each watering involves the introduction of top dressing. So you can get a beautiful ampelous and cascading petunia with a plentiful fluffy hat and many flowers.
Most ampel varieties love the light. Such plants are best placed in the open sun to appreciate their true beauty. With a lack of light, a small number of buds form on the bush, the petunia blooms poorly, and the whipare starting to stretch. This leads to a loss of decorativeness. To avoid this, you should choose the right place where the plant will be placed.
You should not plant more than two plants in a twenty-liter container. The bulk of the ampelous varieties have a powerful root system, and several at once simply cannot get along in such a small pot: they will be small, unsightly. The volume of the ball or cascade will directly depend on the volume of soil mixture allocated to one plant.
As a result of the work done, the resulting petunia bushes will delight with their beauty all summer, and some subspecies and varieties will continue to bloom until frost.
