By its nature, petunia is a perennial plant, but as an ornamental crop in Russia (due to the cold climatic conditions over a large area) it is grown as an annual. There are about 25 varieties of this plant in the nightshade family, which vary in flower size and height (from 20 to 70 cm). But they are all united under one common name - hybrid petunia. These charming and delicate flowers adorn not only city streets and squares, balconies and loggias of houses, but also front gardens in the countryside.
The birthplace of petunia is South America (to be more precise, Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia and Brazil). And in Europe, the flower appeared only at the beginning of the XIX century.
Petunia conquers with its bright and rich color of flowers. They can be yellow, white, pale pink, blue, violet, bright red, raspberry, and also unexpectedly variegated. Petunia is appreciated for its abundant and prolonged flowering, which lasts from July until the very frosts. That is, flowers rightfully earned the love of a large army of amateur gardeners and took the most honorable places in personal plots.
How to grow petunia? Naturally, this will require some physical effort and patience, as the plant is very sensitive to humidity and temperature.
Varieties of Petunia
All varieties of hybrid petunias are divided into several types:
- Multi-flowered.
- Bush.
- Undersized (or dwarf).
- Ampelic.
According to the shape of the bush, a plant can be:
- Cascading. The shoots of such petunias all the time tend to skyward. And only as the lashes elongate and under their own weight they slightly drop down. Cascading petunias are excellent for pots hanging in any convenient place; for pots and for decorating balconies.
- Ampelic. These plants have strong and flexible drooping shoots (that is, growing horizontally already at the seedling stage) in length from 50 to 150 cm. Therefore, they are extremely good for vertical gardening. And they don’t care about any wind. But ampelous petunias can simply be planted in the ground, providing them with a significant area for growing lashes. As a result, you will get a magnificent flowering carpet on your personal plot. How to grow ampelous petunia from seeds in the Russian climate? It is difficult, but possible if you select the right varieties for planting.
- Kustov. Petunias of this type do not need to be formed at all, as they have erect shoots (their height varies from 25 to 75 cm). One caveat: bush varieties must be pinched without fail. Such events stimulate the growth of side shoots and allow you to get more lush and neat bushes. Petunias of this type tolerate weather quite well, namely wind and rain.
The size of the flower is divided into:
- on having large flowers;
- blooming profusely;
- multi-flowered;
- having small inflorescences.
The shape of the flower can be:
- Terry. Petunias with such flowers are very elegant and look great not only in flower beds, but also in flower pots. Their minus is that magnificent inflorescences are very poorly resistant to such adverse natural phenomena as wind and rain. As a result of their exposure, the flowers become unsightly. Terry petunias also do not tolerate excess moisture: they simply begin to rot. This can happen when the summer is cool and damp. Note: to be pleased with the beautiful (with large flowers) bushes of terry petunias, it is recommended to plant them at a certain distance from each other (that is, not very densely).
- Plain. Usually this is a corolla with five fused petals with smooth edges.
Which is better: bought ready-made seedlings or grown independently?
Is it worth it to make so much effort to grow seedlings with your own hands? Maybe there is a reason to buy ready-made and not to suffer? Of course you can. And where is the guarantee that you will not be given seedlings affected by various pests, with a dying root system or with chlorosis? If you have trusted sellers selling quality seedlings, then, of course, buy and plant in open ground - everything is fine. But if in doubt, it is better to grow seedlings yourself. And how to grow petunia and care for it will be described later. Moreover, seedlings grown at home have a number of advantages compared to purchased.
- You will be able to plant the variety that you liked, and not the one that was available.
- Seedlings in total will cost significantly less than purchased.
- Your seedlings grown at home will be healthier (in terms of various diseases).
Tip: carefully choose planting material for seedlings. A lot depends on the quality of the seeds. Pay particular attention to the expiration date of planting material. This is very important: otherwise, do not count on good germination. Buy seeds only from time-tested vendors and growers.
Seedling dates
When to sow petunia for seedlings? If you want to enjoy flowering earlier (somewhere in June), then sowing seeds for seedlings should be done in late February or early March. But not everything depends on your desire. The location of your apartment, specifically the windows, as well as the presence of additional artificial lighting can make certain adjustments to the timing of planting seeds for seedlings.
- If window openings face the north side, then sowing should be carried out in late March, and even better in early April.
- If the south side, then you can safely sow already in early March.
- If you have fluorescent lamps that can be used as additional light, the answer to the question of when to plant petunia for seedlings is quite obvious: at the end of February.
Note: it is not necessary to plant seeds in the new moon or full moon. There is a chance to get bad shoots. Why You Need It? These days, the soil should “rest”: let it relax.
Growing seedlings at home
Even a novice gardener, of course, if desired, is able to sow seeds at home, grow seedlings from them and plant it in open ground. Everything is very simple. We must adhere to fairly simple recommendations, and everything will work out.
Preparing the soil mixture
How to grow petunia? You need to start with the preparation of the soil. Petunias really like neutral and slightly acidic soil. In addition, it should be distinguished by friability (i.e. lightness) and fertility. In addition, the soil should pass air and moisture well.
Note: you can acidify by pouring water diluted with lemon juice.
The soil mixture can be prepared independently: you need to mix sand, turf, peat and humus in a ratio of 1: 2: 2: 2. And you can use another recipe: peat, sand and earth (from the infield) in a ratio of 2: 1: 1.
Tip: it is not superfluous to add potassium sulfate, ash (wood) and perlite to the soil mixture.
Regardless of which recipe you used, all the components must be thoroughly mixed, and then sieved through a large sieve, and then through a fine sieve. Next, the mixture must be treated with a fairly strong solution of potassium permanganate.
Cooking seeds
How to grow petunia from seeds? A very important point in this process is high-quality planting material. Shelf life of seeds also plays an important role.
Remember: the older the seeds, the less likely they are to germinate well.
Before planting, petunia seeds must be processed without fail. It consists in soaking them for 4-6 hours in a weak solution of potassium permanganate. These actions will beneficially affect the germination of seeds, as well as the immunity of young seedlings.
Currently, some producers place seeds in a special nutrient coating, which subsequently dissolves in a humid environment. That is, planting material looks like a dragee. Soak them in potassium permanganate is not necessary: ​​this is a plus. The disadvantage of this idea is that if the seeds do not appear in moist soil, then they will not germinate.
Planting seeds
You can plant petunia seeds on seedlings using different methods:
- Sowing in peat tablets.
- Planting seed in separate containers (for example, in plastic cups from sour cream, as well as cardboard bags from kefir or milk).
- Sowing in plastic cassettes.
Let us dwell on the method of growing seedlings using peat tablets (read below).
It is important! Due to the fact that the seeds are quite small, we recommend mixing them with dry sand (naturally sifted). Shoots will be more even.
How to grow petunia in peat tablets
Petunia seedlings are very painful for any transplant. Therefore, the best way to grow seedlings is a method using tablets of peat. Because subsequently, when “seedlings” “move” to “permanent place of residence”, it will be quite easy to transplant seedlings into open ground.
In addition to this indisputable argument in favor of peat tablets, there are several more justifications for using this particular method:
- Efficiency. Almost all seeds germinate and develop well due to the good air and water permeability of peat.
- The composition of peat tablets includes nutrients so necessary for young plants.
- Profitability.
Landing algorithm
How to grow petunia in peat tablets? It’s easy, you just have to adhere to certain recommendations:
- The timing of planting petunias for seedlings is from late February to the 5-10th of March. By this time, you must have the required number of tablets from peat. As well as a sufficient supply of seeds of those varieties that you prefer.
- We prepare peat tablets for planting. We place them (with the holes up) in a deep container, fill them with settled water at room temperature and leave them to swell for 30 minutes. After this time, they should increase by 8-10 times. It is not recommended to pour water into the pan sharply and with a large jet. Otherwise, leaching of all nutrients in the soil mixture may occur.
- The swollen tablets are placed in another tray (not so deep and, of course, without any liquid). And the holes up.
- We begin the landing process. Due to the fact that the seeds of petunias are very small, you can mix them with sand and then sow. And you can use slightly moistened toothpicks, which are very easy to pick up planting material and place them in the recesses in the tablets. In each recess, you can put 1 seed, and you can also 2-3. In the future, weaker sprouts are simply removed, leaving only the strongest.
- Squeeze the seeds lightly into the soil mixture and in no case should we add them to the ground. Otherwise, there is a risk of being left without seedlings, as it simply will not sprout.
- Landings are covered with a transparent and light plastic cover or plastic wrap. That is, we create greenhouse conditions that will contribute to faster and more successful seed germination.
Important: the greenhouse should be opened every day (for 20-40 minutes) to irrigate and eliminate accumulated condensate. You can completely remove the polyethylene or the lid only after the seedlings begin to rest on them.
Temperature mode
How to grow strong seedlings of petunias? To do this, you must strictly adhere to the temperature regime, first of all. If all the rules for creating a certain microclimate are observed, then seedlings will appear within the first week. Remember: the temperature should be around +25 degrees. If it is lower, then the seeds may simply not germinate, and if it is much higher, then the young shoots will quickly stretch and in the future will be susceptible to various diseases.
Watering Recommendations
When watering, you should be guided by the rule of the golden mean: too waterlogged soil mixture can lead to serious fungal diseases of plants; and if the soil is dry, then the seedlings will simply die.
Important: "water procedures" should be carried out as needed, that is, as the top layer of the soil mixture dries.
A little about feeding
Planting petunias, tips on care and growing require fertilizer in a certain amount. Without them, the plants will begin to hurt and wither. What to feed?
- During the first 14-17 days, the emerged seedlings are gently sprayed with a weak (i.e. pale pink) potassium permanganate solution. You can use the finished drug "Previkur".
- After 3-4 leaves have formed, saturate the soil with a solution of "Crystal" (yellow).
- After the formation of the 5th leaf, we begin to combine spraying, for example, with Kristallon green or with Uniflor, with fertilizing under the root of Kristallon yellow. Of course, using "Crystal" is preferable. But if there were problems with its acquisition, then you can use its analogues, such as "Mortar", "Plantafol", "Kemira Lux" and others with a similar action.
- Fertilizer for plants already in open ground. For these purposes, we insist in a large container (for example, a barrel) for 15-17 days different herbs with water. Then, when the make-up is ready, add it about 1 liter to a bucket of water and water it. We do this in the process of normal watering.
About the pick
How to grow petunia without picking? When are such events not needed? The ideal option is considered (for example, when sowing seeds in peat tablets or plastic cassettes with separate cells), when picking is not performed, since petunia has a weakly branched root system, which is better not to bother unnecessarily, especially since it lies quite shallow.
Picking is necessary when the seeds are sown in a large single container. It is necessary to carry out a similar manipulation when 4-5 leaves have formed in the plant. We pick-up in pre-prepared containers (for example, ordinary plastic cups) in which we make holes for drainage. We fill the pots with soil mixture and drainage, then we transplant seedlings there with a large lump of earth.
It is important! Since picking events are stressful for petunias, so that young plants are less sick and more likely to get used to new conditions of existence, it is necessary to maintain a temperature of at least 17 degrees (but not higher than 20 degrees) in the room and cover them from direct sunlight.
After 15-17 days, you can dive into more voluminous cups or pots.
Make pinching
Such actions allow you to ensure that the petunia grows in a lush bush, and does not look like one long stalk. Pinching (that is, breaking off with the fingers or cutting off the upper part of the stem with scissors at the point of growth) should be carried out when the plant has 5-7 leaves.
After this procedure, new shoots begin to appear, which will form a lush bush. To achieve the desired shape, 2-3 pinching may be necessary (with an interval of 2 weeks), or maybe more.
We temper seedlings
Before planting in open ground (approximately 2 weeks), it is recommended to harden the seedlings. How to do it? In April, begin to take seedlings out onto a balcony or veranda: first by 10-20 minutes, then increase the duration of the “air procedures” and maximize them (that is, when the seedlings will be there all the time, including night hours, if the temperature is above +5 degrees, of course).
When cooling, be sure to bring flowers into the house. Petunia does not tolerate sub-zero temperatures and can die.
Outdoor landing
Seedlings are planted in open beds from mid-May to mid-June: it all depends on the weather in your area. Everything will go well if you follow simple rules:
- Humus (rotted) should be added to the soil, as this will have a beneficial effect not only on the development of the root system, but also on the active growth of the green mass of plants.
- An outdoor transplant is best done either in the early morning or late evening. The third option may be just a cloudy and warm day, during which you can "relocate" petunia to "permanent residence".
- The transplant hole should be 100 mm deep and the same width.
- The distance between the petunias planted in peat tablets should be about 20-22 cm for small-flowered plants, 25-28 cm for large-flowered plants, or about 35 cm for bush species.
When transplanting petunias to open beds, you cannot pull out a seedling from a tablet: you can significantly damage the root system of the plant. Just gently cut the mesh and remove it.
- A plant with a lump of peat should be placed in the soil mixture, sprinkled with earth on top and slightly compacted.
- After these actions, the planted petunia should be abundantly watered with warm water.
- Then care for the plants in accordance with the recommendations for caring for adult bushes of the crop.
Many ask how to grow petunias for sale. Very simple - exactly the same as described above. Nothing new or special. I wish you success in this matter!