Petunia flower, care of which does not take much effort and time, has recently gained particular popularity. Mainly due to compositions from various garden flowers decorating apartments, offices, cafes. The central place in them is precisely the petunia, which is perfectly combined with other flowers (begonia, geranium, lobelia). You can often see hanging compositions that are composed of the same petunias, but of very different varieties. This is amazing beauty! Planting, growing and caring for petunias is a very simple matter, even a beginner grower can do it.
Landing
This flower is planted in open ground (or container, pot) seedlings usually in the second half of the month of May. Petunia seeds (caring for them and preparing them for planting is mandatory) in the second half of the month of March are sown for seedlings. Petunia blooms, which is planted in this way, by about mid-June. And flowering lasts until October. This method is very good if you want to decorate the balcony, as well as to compose the composition. For a summer cottage, it is not necessary to grow seedlings, you can sow seeds directly in open ground (in the last decade of May). In good weather, the seeds will be taken immediately and will grow quite rapidly. By the end of June it will be possible to observe the already blooming petunia. You can even propagate these flowers with cuttings, then this should be done at the end of summer. But this procedure is a bit more complicated than the previous ones.
Petunia - soil care
Petunia is a very photophilous flower. Therefore, for her it is necessary to take an open place in the garden. According to growing conditions, ordinary petunia is similar to cloves. She is also unpretentious to the soil. But if possible, it is better to plant petunia on non-acidic sandy loamy soil, well-drained, not loamy. When planting it in a container or pot, the soil should be slightly different. It is better if it is moisture-resistant, well-permeable, loose, very nutritious. Good drainage is required. The following soil composition for petunia is recommended: turf land - two parts, leaf land - two parts, peat - one part, sand - one part. To give greater friability, you can add perlite.
Petunia - care
When caring for petunias, it is important to remember that large-flowered varieties are more moody than small-flowered ones. They require a lot more heat and light, they can not stand even the slightest cool dampness. The main danger lurking in the open ground petunia - strong wind and rain. They can cause significant harm to the flower. And this can provoke a complete cessation of its flowering. The advantages of pot growing these flowers is that the pot can always be hidden from the weather.
To form beautiful bushes, the tops of the petunias at the seedling stage need to be pinched at the level of the 5th internode (tentatively). In adult plants, long shoots are pruned, this also contributes to a good branching of petunia. Faded flowers should definitely be removed, this contributes to the formation of full new buds.
Feeding and watering a petunia flower
Caring for this flower is so simple - even overdrying and waterlogging are not afraid of him. Only the latter does not mean abundant watering with petunias with stagnation of water and the appearance of dampness! For petunias, this is a death sentence. Do not forget about frequent spraying. Petunias love it. In hot weather, it is advisable to water them twice a day (minimum). With good moisture permeability of the soil and the same drainage, stagnation of water and waterlogging are practically excluded. In order not to damage the flowers, it is better to water under the root.
Petunias do well without fertilizers, but to maintain lush and long flowering, you should still feed it. An excellent mineral fertilizer is perfect for this. You need to make it according to the usual scheme - 2 times a month.