Petunias are one of the most beautiful and bright summer flowers. They are decorated with flower beds, balconies, loggias, window sills. Florists are crazy about petunias, because they surprise with a variety of hybrids, color colors and shapes. These relatively unpretentious plants delight the eyes with flowering from spring to late autumn, it is easy to care for them. But in terms of growing seedlings, many inexperienced gardeners have some difficulties.
Planting petunias
From the very moment of sowing seeds, flower care begins. Already in mid-February, you can begin to prepare boxes and substrate. Seeds are sown in early March. If you plan to grow seedlings at home, and not in well-equipped greenhouses, then you should not save seed, as many seedlings may not germinate due to lack of light. It is recommended to choose a light and nutritious substrate, the seeds should be mixed with sand before sowing and evenly spilled on the ground.
Boxes with petunia should be covered with glass or film. At high humidity and an air temperature of about 21 ° C, plants germinate in a week. It is important to know the basic rules of how to care for petunia (seedlings). So, the grower is obliged to daily monitor the maintenance of an acceptable temperature, a high level of humidity, the presence of a light source. If everything is done correctly, then already in mid-April, seedlings can be transferred to the greenhouse or planted in open ground.
Pick of petunia
This procedure with seedlings is carried out after the appearance of the first three to four leaves. Picking allows you to form a strong root system and strengthen the stem. Some beginner gardeners do not know how to care for petunia (seedlings), so they lose sight of a pick. As a result, the plants are weak and painful. First you need to prepare the substrate and small pots or ordinary 100 g plastic cups. The container should be filled with soil, in the center make a small depression and pour. The plant is picked out with a knife and transplanted to a new place. In no case should kinks or kinks of the roots be allowed, if they are too long, then it is better to shorten them immediately. Dive can be repeated after a month, having planted seedlings in a large container.
Petunia transplant
Almost all plants should be replanted in cloudy weather or in the evening. Planting of petunia seedlings is carried out only after good wetting of the substrate. This is done so as not to injure the roots. Seedlings are carried with a small spatula along with a lump of earth. After transplanting seedlings, it is necessary to water the soil again well, it is recommended to sprinkle top with humus or peat.
Should I pinch flowers?
Experienced flower growers can talk for hours about how to care for petunia (seedlings). On the question of whether to pinch it, opinions differ. To understand whether this should be done, you need to figure out what kind of procedure it is and why it is needed. Pinching and removing excess growing shoots are necessary to improve flowering and form a more beautiful and luxurious bush. After transplanting into the open ground, the plants acclimatize and begin to grow rapidly upward, behaving in a cache-pot and ampelous petunia in the same way. Seedlings after pinching slows down in growth, lateral shoots begin to cluster in it and larger and more beautiful buds appear.
Landing of petunias in open ground
Depending on personal preferences, petunia seedlings are planted in flowerpots, flowerpots or open ground. Photos of bright, double flowers drive mad gardeners, but to get such beauty, you need to work hard. Petunias are usually planted on flower beds in May, but before this, the seedlings are tempered at low temperatures (about 10 ° C) so that the flowers are not afraid of night frosts. Plants with a strong root system take root quickly and grow. To petunias were beautiful and bloomed until the fall, you can add ash, peat or humus to the ground as a fertilizer.
Useful Flower Care Tips
Many beginning gardeners cannot grow flowers the first time because they do not know how to care for a petunia. Seedlings need to be dealt with daily, to prevent drying out of the soil, carefully and moderately watered. With a lack of moisture, the plants die, and with waterlogging they are ill with a “black leg”. Small seedlings can be washed with water, so they should be watered under the root.
In order not to grow a greenhouse plant, which is afraid of drafts and the slightest drop in temperature, starting from the second week, it is recommended to open a window for 10 minutes for ventilation. In this case, the flow of cold air should not go directly to the flowers. Do not forget about top dressing: a few days after the first dive, you can begin to make complex mineral fertilizers and growth stimulants, alternating them. A little later, you can add root dressing.
In the early stages, petunia seedlings are especially in need of care. The price for one plant ranges from 15-100 rubles. (depending on the variety), it is not so expensive, given the fact that growing healthy and beautiful flowers can be very problematic. Seedlings need round-the-clock bright lighting, if there is no way to illuminate with a fluorescent lamp in gloomy weather and leave dim lights for the night, then you can not do petunias at all. Even if the seedlings appear, they will be weak and will soon die. It is impossible to prevent the appearance of crusts on the ground, with excessive stretching of the seedlings, pour the substrate into the box. Compliance with these recommendations will allow you to get a healthy, flowering petunia.