Many hostesses dream of beautiful and admirable flower beds or flowerpots on windows and balconies. For this, petunia is the best suited. All over the world, this beautiful flower is among the ten leaders of the most popular flyers. An interesting fact: petunia is a distant relative of tomato and potato, because it belongs to the genus Solanaceae. Petunia is a perennial, but in our harsh winters the root system of the plant dies, so it is grown as an annual.
Petunia tolerates heat, but it requires constant watering. In cool weather, it continues to grow, but blooms reluctantly. There are several hundred species of petunia and only 4 groups: multiflorous, large-flowered, ampelous and floribunda.
We will talk about ampelous petunia, because it is simply indispensable in decorating balconies, windows, flower beds, flowerpots and hanging baskets. Many tried to grow a beautiful flower on their own, but not everyone managed to achieve lush flowering. The main secret is pinching ampelous petunia. Now we will figure out how and when to do it.
The easiest way, of course, is to buy seedlings, but since we are not looking for easy ways, we will grow it ourselves. Seeds need to be sown from February to the end of March. Use containers with a depth of 6-7 cm. Since they are very small, they need to be sown to the surface and sprinkled with fine sand a little. It is better to water with a sprayer, so as not to move them. Shoots will appear in 5-9 days. Under favorable conditions, after about 3 weeks, petunias can already be dived and transplanted into separate containers. Many people use plastic cups for this.
When to prepare to make pinching petunia ampelous?
In order to achieve maximum flowering, pinching the ampelous petunia must be done twice. The first time it is recommended to do this after the seedlings are planted in open ground, but not immediately. Give the plant time to grow stronger. Now observe: as soon as the planted shoots begin to grow and stretch actively, the moment has come (about the month of May). Count from the bottom of the stem 3-5 full-fledged leaves (this is the growth point of the plant), and everything on top must be plucked or cut off. Do not be alarmed if the growth of the flower slows down a little, but it will start letting out side shoots. The result will be abundant flowering and large buds.
Do not throw away the cut stems, they can be put in water, and they will take root. Before planting, leave only a couple of leaves, and cut off the rest, as in the first case.
Do not forget to do the second pinching of ampelous petunia after a month.
It will be nice to admire such a flowering plant as ampelous petunia. Pinching will form lush bushes strewn with bright, beautiful flowers.
However, this does not end the care of the plant. As wilted flowers appear on the petunia, they must be removed immediately. Do not forget that you need to regularly water and feed your plants with fertilizers. Then the whole summer and autumn will delight you with its variegated ampelous petunia. The photos presented in the article give an idea of how beautiful plants can grow and how they can decorate your life and evoke the admiring glances of passers-by.
Grow flowers - give joy!