Meet absolutely at every suburban area, far from every flower. As a rule, the most beautiful specimens require special care, which not every gardener can provide, but the petunia is not particularly whimsical, although it looks simply amazing. This plant is chosen for planting in flowerbeds, flowerpots, border lines and to complement all kinds of floral arrangements. A large selection of its varieties and colors allows the plant to harmoniously coexist with any flowers and delight the eye of the owner of the site, and how to plant petunia on seedlings and care for it is described in the article below.
Varieties of varieties
At the moment, breeders have already bred more than 25 varieties of annual and perennial petunias, but not all of them can grow in open ground without special care. In summer cottages, annual plants of the following varieties are most often found:
- Cascading. This petunia is often called ampelous, and it is found more often than all others. Its stems are very long, the flowers are quite large. Most often, varieties are grown in hanging flowerpots and in flower beds to cover the soil. The culture grows rapidly and tolerates cold well. The most popular varieties of cascading petunias are Rapunzel, Mashenka, Salne Magic and Avalanche.
- Large-flowered. The plant of these varieties grows no more than 45 cm in height, and its inflorescences have a diameter of 6-10 cm. It is best to plant petunia in flower beds or ground pots, since their buds will be clearly visible only from above. Such flowers are heat-loving and more demanding to care for, so to get decent seedlings, you need to follow all the recommendations when you can plant petunia in different regions. The most common varieties of grandiflora are Maestro, Hit Parade, Miss Blanche, Mambo F1 and Limbo F1.
- Small-flowered petunia is also found on sites. Its flowering is the longest, the stems are long, but the buds themselves do not grow more than 6 cm in diameter. Such varieties are not unpretentious, because the wind and rain are poorly tolerated. The most popular are Fantasy, Mirage and Flat Crystals.
Omens
How to plant a petunia correctly, our ancestors could not determine by the lunar calendar, because then it simply did not exist. For them, the main rules have been prevailing signs for years, relevant to this day. So, according to folk wisdom, planting a flower on Palm Week is strictly prohibited. Such plants will surely die or hurt all summer, without giving proper flowering.
They also believed that the plant should be sown and planted on the ground on a certain day of the week. When planting a petunia, the belief in this case suggests that the day of the week for work should begin with the same letter as the name of the culture. That is, you need to plant a flower only on Friday and Monday. If the planting is carried out on a day starting with the letter “C”, then the plant will not grow at all.
A similar situation is observed with the time of work. Since many people admire the flowering of petunias in the evening, when the summer heat subsides, then you need to plant flowers also in the evening.
It is believed that a large crop of carrots affects the flowering of the plant, therefore, after harvesting the vegetable, the sown flowers will bloom especially plentifully.
Popular signs relate not only to when to plant a petunia. Many people believe that the more people take part in sowing and planting, the more buds will be on the plant throughout the season.
Seed time
Depending on weather conditions and the location of the region, a flower is sown at different times. The common period for this is the end of winter and the beginning of spring, but more accurate dates depend on the specific geographical location. For the northern regions, the Urals, the Leningrad and Moscow regions, the optimum sowing time will be mid-March. Fully fully grown and will be ready for planting in the soil with seedlings only by mid-June.
In conditions of the middle lane, sowing can begin at the end of February, and sometimes at the end of January. In this case, transplantation into the ground is carried out at least 90 days later, and flowering will begin in early summer.
In the southern regions, sowing can be safely carried out at the end or even mid-January. The buds will open in May. By the way, in order to get May bloom from petunia in the northern regions, it is necessary to place seeds in the soil no later than the first days of March and it is necessary to additionally highlight seedlings.
Before planting petunia on seedlings, you must take into account its varietal affiliation. So, cascading varieties are recommended to be sown in January-February and, if possible, in a cache-pot. Dwarf and bush petunias are best sown closer to spring, not earlier than the end of February.
If the flowers are sown immediately in the greenhouse, then the timing will fluctuate within the last two months of winter, regardless of the plant variety.
We plant petunia for seedlings according to the lunar calendar
Petunia differs from many cultivated flowering plants by a high seed germination rate. On average, the indicator is at around 70-80%, which is not typical for all colors. Many are sure that this indicator can be improved by planting plants according to the lunar calendar, because the phases of the Earth’s satellite affect absolutely everything living on the planet. In this case, the calendar changes annually, and when to plant petunia according to the lunar calendar this year, you can find out from the following list:
- Suitable days. In February: 14, 15, 21 and 22. In March: 1, 13, 14 and 15. Rarely, sowing is also possible in April, depending on the location of the region. So, in the second month of spring it is better to carry out work 17-20 and 25-28.
- Bad days. There are actually few of them, in February it is the 15th, in March - 2 and 17, and in April - 16.
- Neutral dates. If there is no time for sowing on a calendar day favorable or the weather simply does not have it, you can land on acceptable neutral dates. In February it is: 17, 18 and 23. In March: 20-23, 29-31. In April from 9 to 11.
Soil preparation
Regardless of when to plant a petunia - in February or March, the soil should be prepared in advance and according to general recommendations. Although the plant is unpretentious, it can bloom profusely only in a nutrient medium. You can buy ready-made soil for seedlings, or you can prepare it yourself.
The main thing is that the mixture is slightly acidic and enriched with nutrients. In this case, the best composition is considered to be soil, consisting of:
- parts of sand;
- two parts of humus;
- two parts of peat;
- two parts of turf land;
- a small amount of baking powder for earth and mineral fertilizer.
Sowing rules
In order to properly plant petunia for seedlings, other rules must be considered. Seed containers must have drainage holes, and their location in the future should be sunny and protected from drafts.
Since the seeds of the plant are very small, for the convenience of their uniform distribution over the soil, it is recommended to pre-mix the planting material with a small amount of sand. They do not need to be deepened, sand with seeds is simply distributed on the surface of the soil and sprinkled with snow on top. If you wish, you can first spread the snow on the ground, and then pour seeds on it. This step is necessary for hardening the seeds, in addition, with the gradual melting of snow, the seeds will sink into the soil, and the soil itself will be sufficiently compacted.
To plant petunias at home, it is necessary to provide an air temperature of 23-25 ° C. It is under such conditions that the seedlings should germinate, and after hatching the first seedlings, the temperature can already be reduced by 3-5 degrees. This happens no earlier than after 2 weeks, the main thing is to provide the seeds with sufficient moisture and cover the container with film after sowing.
When the seedlings will already have several pairs of leaves, it needs to be dived and transplanted into more spacious containers. Favorable days for such a procedure are February 9 and 10, March 8-10 and April 4-6.
How to plant petunia in peat tablets
This kind of soil has recently been very popular among gardeners. Peat pills are peat pressed with various forms with mineral fertilizers. The size of the tablets is very small, each costs about 5 rubles and is ideal for almost any seedlings. How to plant petunia in peat tablets? To do this, they must be soaked in water until swelling, and then transferred to landing containers. Place 2-3 seeds of flower on each washer without deepening, cover the containers with foil and place in a warm place. The tablets need to be regularly moistened and condensate collected from the film, as in the case of cultivation in ordinary soil.
Landing in the "snail"
Recently, another option for sowing seeds of various plants is gaining popularity.
Unlike the option where it is described how to plant petunia in peat washers, you don’t have to buy anything at all. To make a planting container, you only need a roll of toilet paper, water for irrigation and the seeds themselves.
So, the paper needs to be unrolled and spread in 3-5 layers on a bare floor or put a film under it, if the process is carried out on a carpet. After that, the entire surface of the paper must be moistened with water using a spray gun and spread the seeds at a distance of 1-2 cm from its upper edge. It is very important to maintain a sufficient distance between the planting material so that the seedlings do not die due to lack of space. It is enough to place the seeds at a distance of 3-5 cm. After this, the roll rolls back and the resulting "snail" is fastened with an elastic band. The seed edge should be on top of the structure. After that, the roll is put on a pallet and also covered with a film, only completely. It’s best to just put a bag or a cropped bottle on the “snail” and put everything in a warm place. The advantage of this method is the landing speed, low cost and the absence of injury to the roots during further picking.
Landing Rules
Knowing how to plant petunia seeds is not enough to grow a strong flower. It is necessary to know the timing of planting a plant in open ground, as well as the preferences of the crop to the composition of the soil and location.
So, petunia equally loves light and shadow, so the site should not be lit all day, giving the plant the opportunity to relax in the shade. The soil for the flower should not contain much peat and sand, and the distance between the bushes should be at least 25 cm.
When to plant a petunia in a permanent place? Timing depends not only on the maturity of seedlings, but also on the temperature in the street. You can’t take a plant out into the open ground if the average daily temperature does not exceed 10 ° C. In addition, the temperature of the soil should be at least 15 ° C, which means that in a hurry to get early flowering, you can simply ruin the plant.
When to plant a flower in the soil according to the phases of the moon
According to the phases of the Earth’s satellite, in the future, the growth of the crop is influenced not only by the correctly selected planting date, but also by the time of transplanting seedlings to a permanent place. Choosing the appropriate number, it should be remembered that at the time of transfer to the plant there should be at least 90 days, so the transplant is carried out not earlier than May.
In May, 10, 11, 13, 14, 18, 19 and 24-28 are considered favorable for this. If the transplant is carried out in June, then it is best to carry it out on the 7th, 8th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 14th, 15th, or 20th-25th.
In case of bad weather at a time suitable for transplantation, the plant can be transferred to an acceptable neutral day. A sufficient number of them in the calendar:
- in May - 1-5, 12, 16, 17, 23, 30 and 31;
- in June - 1, 2, 9, 19, 26, 27 and 29.
In no case should you transfer the plant to a permanent place from May 7 to 9, as well as 15, 21 and 29. In June, 3-6, 13, 17, 28 and 30 are prohibited days.
According to experts, with all the recommendations, petunia will grow strong and will bloom profusely throughout the season.
Watering and dressing rules
The lunar calendar has recommendations not only on the timing of when to plant petunia seeds for seedlings or to plant adult seedlings in the ground. According to the phases of the Earth's satellite, many gardeners determine the time of watering a flower. In this case, the general rule is regularity and moderation, so you do not need to water the plant every day, even if favorable dates follow each other.
So, it is best to hydrate the petunias from 6 to 8, from 16 to 18, and from February 26 to 28. In March 6-7, 16-17, 24-26 numbers will be optimal. In April 2-3, 12-13, 21-22 and 29-30.
It is recommended that fertilizers be made on the same dates. According to the calendar, the interval between favorable numbers is just 10 days, which is the optimal time between top dressing of cultivated plants. Certain adjustments should be made only when choosing between mineral and organic fertilizers. The first is recommended to be introduced during the growth of the moon, and the second - during the waning.
Of course, guided by the above rules, one should not forget about the basic requirements for growing petunias. Even if you overdo it with watering on the most favorable days, the plant will simply rot, there will be no growth, let alone flowering. If possible, water for irrigation should be used rain or melt, well, or to defend the tap. It is necessary to pour the liquid strictly under the root of the flower, and if it grows in a pot or pot, then generally in a tray.
To top dressing brought maximum benefits, it must be carried out the next day after moisturizing. It is better if the Moon at this time will not be in Aries, Sagittarius or Leo.
After a dive, the first feeding should occur no earlier than 2 weeks later. From organics, fresh manure is better not to use at all, since a large concentration of nitrogen in it provokes a riot of green mass at the expense of flowering.
Lighting and temperature
For flower seedlings, daylight hours should last 12-14 hours, so in winter they need to be additionally highlighted. You can use for this special phytolamps or ordinary desktop with daylight.
How to plant petunia on seedlings for further active growth is understandable, but a wrong place for an adult plant in the open ground can spoil all previous efforts. To avoid this, it is necessary to choose a well-lit place with shading in the morning or afternoon. A good light source, of course, is a growth stimulator, but constant lighting, especially in the summer heat, can simply burn plants.
As for the temperature, during seedlings it should not fall below 23 ° C, but after the emergence of sprouts it can be reduced to 20 ° C. All the while the seedlings are under the film, it is very important to remove a large amount of condensate in a timely manner. Such aeration and removal of excess fluid is a good prevention of many fungal diseases in the future.
Petunia care also includes pinching the tops of the plant, which is carried out in the phase of the fifth leaf. This technique is necessary for greater bushiness of the flower, and, therefore, to increase the number of its buds. Removing dry leaves and faded buds is necessary only for aesthetics and does not affect the growth of petunia in any way.
Dangers to the flower
To prevent fungal diseases, it is recommended to water the flower moderately, but if petunia grows in the open ground, it will not work to shelter it from rain. In order to prevent the disease “black leg” at the same time, according to the instructions, treat the bushes with an antifungal drug.
It is not possible to get rid of the rot or powdery mildew that has already spread throughout the plant. Such specimens should be immediately removed and burned, and adjacent plants urgently treated with an antifungal agent. The most popular is Fitosporin.
When it is not possible to plant petunia in March due to the location of the region, the seedlings may suffer from a lack of light. In this case, the seedlings are greatly elongated, and only additional highlighting will help to correct the situation. At the same time, sprouts that have already been stretched must be sprinkled with earth for rooting.
To prevent the occurrence of pests, flowers can be treated with soapy water or special chemicals. They will help with already appeared slugs, whiteflies or aphids.
General recommendations for disease prevention are the sowing of proven quality seeds, compliance with the recommendations for sowing and planting, as well as the rules for caring for an adult plant.