Petunia is considered one of the most popular and beautifully flowering annuals, grown for decorative purposes for decoration of flower beds, balconies, summer cottages. It is easy to grow in an ordinary city apartment.
One of the most effective methods of propagation of this plant is considered to be cuttings of petunias. They are easy to breed, you just need to keep a few healthy bushes in the fall, and in the spring to get to work. The main thing is to be patient, buy soil and plastic containers for seedlings.
Propagation of petunia by cuttings of the mother liquor
So, in order to get a sufficient number of flowers without serious material costs, select at the beginning of September several bushes of petunias of your choice and transplant them into a flower pot. Plants can be wintered on a windowsill well-lit by the sun. Pre-trimmed too long branches of the bush. The plant will feel good at a temperature not exceeding +12 ° C. In spring (from the end of February to May), petunias are cutted. The apical shoots are cut from the bushes in the pot so that each has at least four leaves. Then, excess leaves are removed from each fragment, leaving two upper leaves, and the branches are shortened by half. As a result, the size of the handle should be about 6 cm.
Cuttings of petunias: rooting biomaterial
In order for the cuttings to be accepted, it is necessary to create optimal conditions for them. Room temperature is required from +21 ° to +24 ° . And the room should be sufficiently lit. Cuttings are placed in peat soil, deepening them by about 2 cm. Seedlings are placed at a distance of about 1.5 cm from each other. After planting, the box (plastic container) is covered with film or glass. Cuttings necessarily moisturize well, but do not fill. You can stimulate the growth of petunias using drugs such as "Heteroauxin" or "Kornevin." Tip: it is convenient to root flowers in containers with transparent sides through which overgrown roots will be visible. Seedlings grow up within 14-20 days, during which time they are gradually accustomed to fresh air, opening the polyethylene. Rooted plants are reloaded in containers using a mixture of sand and fertile soil (1: 5). After transplanting, the pots are placed in a shaded place for 7 days. Regularly water the cuttings and spray them with settled water from the spray gun.
Cuttings of petunias: care of seedlings
In order to make the petunia bush more beautiful, pinch the plants. Do this over the fourth (fifth) sheet. Tip: a cut top shoot can also be used for cuttings. If necessary, the procedure is repeated after two weeks. After a month, the cuttings grow and become ready for transplantation in a container with a large diameter (11 cm). As you can see, petunia cuttings are a fairly simple procedure that allows you to get beautiful flowers that fully preserve all the properties of the mother liquor. Caring for such seedlings is no different from seedlings purchased in a store or
grown from seeds. Petunia loves warmth and good lighting, is drought-resistant, but needs abundant watering with prolonged lack of moisture. The soil prefers sandy or loamy, fertile and well-drained soil. For prolonged and plentiful flowering, it is fed regularly, every 10 days, starting 7 days after planting in open ground and ending in August. It is advisable to use complex fertilizer for flowering plants with a predominance of potassium.