Self-cultivation of petunias at home

Any garden will be decorated with petunia, which blooms profusely in various colors all summer and autumn. In addition, petunia unpretentious, not demanding in care.
Therefore, many are interested in how to grow petunia from seeds - planting features, caring for seedlings and an adult flower.

Ways to grow petunias from seeds

To get seedlings of petunias, you need to sow the seeds in February or early March. To do this, you can use seedling containers, or apply the technology of growing petunias by peat tablets.

• Most often, seedling boxes are used for this purpose. The flower seeds are light-like, that is, they need light for germination. Therefore, the sowing is done superficially, it is impossible to sprinkle them with earth, and for better contact with the soil, it is enough just to press.
• Seeds germinate at a sufficiently high temperature, about +25 ° C and an air humidity of 98%.
  Such conditions can be ensured if the seedling boxes are placed in a lighted warm place, covered with a light non-woven cloth. You can use glass or transparent film for this purpose, however, the nonwoven fabric provides the seeds with a more favorable growing environment, since moisture is better retained and the seedlings can breathe air.
  The non-woven fabric is removed when the seedlings grow a little.
• Sowing grains in peat tablets is much more efficient. Practice has shown that growing plants in peat tablets does not require further dives
  , and grown seedlings can be planted directly into the ground.

The advantages of pills are natural properties of peat, its water and air permeability, moreover, they contain enough nutrients necessary for the development and growth of seedlings.

It is very convenient to use these tablets for growing petunias from seeds. They are placed in a container - a plastic container with a lid, and filled with water.
Within 10 minutes, the tablets will swell, increasing in height, but maintaining the diameter. After waiting another 5 minutes, drain the excess water and, using tweezers or a toothpick, place one seed in the depression that is at the top of the tablet. Then the container is closed with a lid and placed on the windowsill.
Further growing and caring for petunia consists in maintaining the temperature and humidity required for seed germination and growth.
To prevent condensation from dripping onto the sprouts, you need to periodically ventilate the container and remove excess moisture from its walls and lid.

Not everyone has the conditions to grow petunia seedlings in an apartment. It is quite possible to breed petunias in a greenhouse, however, the seedlings for planting in the ground will be ready a little later than home ones.

The main thing is to prepare the greenhouse in such a way as to provide the plant with the required temperature and humidity conditions.

Features of growing petunias

Growing petunias indoors is troublesome, but very exciting.
The main thing is to ensure the light regime and maintain the required temperature.
Seedlings appear after about two weeks after sowing the seeds. This is a signal that it is necessary to reduce the temperature of the seedlings: during the day it should not exceed 20 ° C, and at night 16 ° C.
So that the sprouts that appear do not stretch out and grow well, do supplementary lightingusing a variety of phytolamps.

Additional lighting should be started as soon as the sprouts hatch. It is desirable that the plantings are illuminated for approximately 16 hours a day. This helps the seedlings grow strong and healthy, and further accelerates the formation of flower buds.

Diving and caring for petunia seedlings

Seedlings dive when the first full-fledged leaves appear.
In the agrotechnology of growing petunias, this is perhaps the most crucial moment. The sprouts are very delicate and fragile, for planting them you will need maximum patience and accuracy so as not to injure them.

For transplantation, use glasses made of transparent material filled with sterilized soil. In them sprouts are transplanted, dug out together with a lump of soil near the root.

Seedlings at the germination stage are quite capricious.
For about a month after the emergence of the sprouts, their development proceeds very slowly, since at this stage they build up the root system. More active growth begins when the seedlings are one and a half months old.
When the soil in a transparent cup is strongly intertwined with roots, the sprouts are transplanted into larger pots (up to 2 liters) and left there until planting in a permanent place.

The cultivation of ampelous petunias from grains, as well as the cultivation of cascading flowers, is carried out using the same technology as for other varieties.
Ampel petunia is the best option for hanging planters.

The ampelous group also includes cascading varieties. They have flexible, but thicker and shorter stems than ideal ampelous forms.

Cultivation of terry petunia, surfinia petunia has its own characteristics. The fact is that they do not give seeds, therefore they propagate by cuttings of shoots.

To do this, a shoot with two internodes is cut off from a flowering bush. Flowers and buds are removed. The tip of the cutting is "powdered" with root and planted in a cup, which is set in the shade. After 3 weeks, roots appear. Plants overwinter in the house at a temperature of 16 ° C.

How and with what water to water petunia seedlings

It is very important to learn how to water the petunia seedlings. This should be done in moderation and on time, observing some rules:

• Watering with a watering can is absolutely excluded. A fine spray gun is best suited for wetting the substrate. Waterlogging of the soil is dangerous by the appearance of a "black leg" - a disease in which the sprouts rot from below and die. Drying out is also detrimental to tiny seedlings.
• The most reliable way to maintain the correct soil moisture is to water the seedlings from the bottom of the pallet, not from the top.
• Use soft, chlorine-free water for irrigation. Therefore, be sure to defend tap water for at least a day, and add a little lemon juice just before watering.
• Water and substrate must be at the same temperature.

Important! In sunny weather, seedlings should be watered in the evening, since it is during the night that their growth is most intense and water consumption is greater, while during the day the water evaporates strongly.

Fulfilling these little secrets of breeding petunias, we get a full-fledged seedlings

What soil is needed for petunias?

For sowing seeds, it is allowed to use various soil mixtures based on peat, with the exception of alkaline and strongly acidic ones.

Independent potting requires certain skills, and the constituent components need to be sought somewhere, so the best option is to purchase a substrate in a flower shop.
It contains in an optimal ratio all the necessary substances for plant nutrition and growth.

To protect the plant from diseases, the acquired mixture must be spilled with a fungicide before planting.

Fertilizers for petunias

A plant cannot grow fully without the use of fertilizers throughout its development. Petunia is incredibly responsive to fertilization, and has a high need for them.Only when it receives the necessary fertilizing in abundance, it will bloom profusely until the very cold.

Try to use only specialized fertilizers, otherwise it is very difficult to maintain the concentration. Complex fertilizers with a high potassium content are also excellent for fertilizing.

At home, the easiest way is to use liquid fertilizers, which are diluted with water before watering. Their choice is wide enough.
Feeding should begin a couple of weeks after transshipment. Throughout the season, you need to continue to fertilize at intervals of two weeks.

In addition to feeding, caring for petunia involves periodically loosening the soil to ensure oxygen supply to the roots and watering.
Caring for adult petunias, many do not know that in order to form lush bushes, it is necessary to pinch, that is, remove, the tops of regrown shoots. This should be done in the phase of active growth, when 4-5 leaves are formed.

Petunias bloom profusely and continuously. They are planted on flower beds, in vases and containers, used to decorate flower beds. With a little effort and time to grow seedlings, you can plant the beauty of this delightful flower all season.

Article when to plant petunias for seedlings!

Growing and caring for petunias - video