How to grow seedlings of petunia properly

Very often petunia decorate the terrace and balcony, especially with the help of ampel varieties, but you need to take care of the beauty of the hanging basket or box. To begin with, you need to talk about which varieties can be grown at home.

Article content:

• What kinds of petunias can be grown at home?


• How to grow a beautiful petunia


• How to treat petunia, and what diseases can occur?

What kinds of petunias can be grown at home?

Multi-flowered petunias - differ in a large number of flowers with a diameter of about 5 centimeters. Do not require too much care, quickly grow in the sun and the soil of the garden. Cold and rains do not affect the growth of petunia, they still bloom quickly and become lush and beautiful. Outwardly they look very attractive due to the fact that they have a suitable height and are quite even. Often it is grown in carpet flower beds to decorate huge flower beds. You can use it to decorate the cottages and curbs.

Terry multi-color petunias - are distinguished by a large number of terry flowers with a diameter of about 5 centimeters, externally reminiscent of carnations.

Large-flowered petunias - have a diameter of 7-10 centimeters, it is very large and wonderful flowers, also terry, but their number is limited. Often it is planted in pots or containers on loggias or balconies, and very careful care is required. Cold flowers are contraindicated, since they are sensitive to temperature changes. Cold rains and wind can destroy flowers, rotting processes will begin, so provide a warm place where petunia will be safe.

Fiminous petunias - on the sides of the flowers there is a beautiful fringe, while the flowers are large enough.

Terry large-flowered flowers - look like roses, attract a lot of attention.

Excellent petunias - the diameter of the flowers is 10-12 centimeters, they are wavy along the edges, and many veins of dark color are in the throat.

Floribunda( group of flowers) - do not react to cold and wind. Universal, because it is pleasant to combine multiflorous and large-flowered varieties. They have incredibly beautiful and large flowers of different colors, as well as protection from adverse weather conditions. Flowers are ideal for decorating arrays and huge flower beds.

Amp Petunias - often they can be seen on balconies in window boxes, containers and vases. Shoots that descend to the ground are covered with beautiful flowers. Most often they are planted in the ground, they grow quite quickly, so you can fill the flower gardens in a short time. You can embellish the shore of the reservoir or the slope of the alpine hill, but there is a drawback: in Russia, the flowers do not look so attractive, because we have a northern climate, and for its growth you need a lot of moisture and high temperatures. But with a strong desire in the summer you can grow shoots up to 100 centimeters, although it is difficult to do.

Surfinia - petunia, in which hanging stems grow incredibly fast to a length of about two meters, while the flowers also grow very quickly. The largest flowers have a diameter of 5 centimeters, have a completely different color, but most often have a light or dark yawn.

How to grow a beautiful petunia

To begin with, you need to decide when to do it and how. You can arrange seedlings, even in late March and early April. In advance, buy seeds in the store, they are cheap, but outwardly resemble poppy seeds. It is preferable to use disposable containers for seeding, preferably with a lid. They are sold in any stores in the place where disposable tableware is. In advance, pierce a red-hot knitting needle at the bottom of the container a few holes to drain the water, to ensure ventilation will need holes in the lid.

Next, you need an earth mixture, you can buy it, too, in a hardware store. You can make a mixture of sand, garden land, peat, rock crumb and vermiculite. Note that the mixture must have a friable consistency, it should not dry quickly, if it dries, it should be moistened very quickly. Do not pay too much attention to nutrition, because petunia will grow rapidly, and it is very easy to feed it. It is necessary to pay attention to acidity, the mixture should be neutral, for example, when using peat it is necessary to mix it with ash or dolomite flour. Due to the fact that the seeds of the plant are sensitive, first steamed the soil so that it cleared of pathogenic algae and fungi.

Then fill the container with wet earth and gradually sow seeds. For comfort, you can mix small seeds with dry sand or plant seeds in small groups, then remove excess seeds. For a comfortable fit, you can use peat pills, but only if there are a lot of seeds. It is easier to get rid of extra seeds than to dive. Do not forget to label the crops of petunias, for example, cut out a few labels from aluminum cans from cola, and then sign with a marker. Be sure to cover the container with a lid, but do not do this if you cover the containers with a plastic wrap.

All crops should be placed in such conditions, where they can comfortably grow. For example, varieties that love heat will grow very quickly at a temperature of +20 degrees Celsius. You can experiment and dramatically change the temperature, so that seeds quickly began to grow, to do this, remove the containers in the refrigerator for ten days, then return to a warm place. But do not despair if this does not work - seeds are often poor quality and poisoned chemicals. Control the growth of seeds, watch them every day, a lot depends on this, and people forget about it. If seedlings are devoid of sunlight, they can stretch too quickly, sometimes in 24 hours. Periodically reduce the temperature, watch for sunlight, but do not remove the plastic film and cover, you need to wait until the seeds get rid of the shell. This will happen only when they receive a sufficient amount of moisture.

Be sure to set the backlight if sunlight does not reach the colors. You can light the seedlings with special lamps or fluorescent tubes. But if you planted very few flowers, you can use the usual energy-saving lamp. Note that there must be a lot of light, and it should not heat the air. The distance from the flowers to the lamp should be 20 centimeters, but much depends on the power, if the lamp is weak - keep a distance of 5 centimeters. You can purchase lighting with a timer to turn it on and off without your participation, it's very convenient. When the seedlings grow, they will stop demanding much attention. Take care that they do not dry out too much and are well lit.

Do not forget to fill a small amount of coarse sand, this is necessary to protect the crop from the formation of moss along with algae. Also, it protects the flowers from rotting the root collar, which can provoke the death of all flowers. If you do not take this into account, and the disease has already deepened, you need to get rid of the dead flowers, remove them along with the earth, and place powdered coal or ash on that place, then add fungicides. Watering the flowers after this can not, in any case do not transplant the seedlings, it needs oxygen and sunlight. For processing, you can use special biologics, for example, Extrasol or Phytosporin. Diving can only be done next month, but it will not be difficult, unlike the treatment of flowers.

How to treat petunia, and what diseases can occur?

Despite the high immunity of these colors, they are still susceptible to diseases, especially if they grow under adverse conditions. If you do not have enough experience in growing flowers, problems will appear at the very beginning of the seedling. As a rule, plants can get sick at too frequent watering, very dense sowing, heavy soil and so on, this provokes the growth of fungi. It is because of this that a "black leg" appears, because radical decay is formed. If you notice at least one sign of the disease, you should immediately begin to treat the flowers. For example, if the root of the stem darkens or becomes too soft.

• Get rid of the soil and part of the plant if it gets sick;


• Treat remaining flowers with fungicides;


• In time get rid of water, otherwise the soil will be too much moisturized;


• Fungal disease looks like a white bloom on the flowers. It can occur with temperature changes and high humidity, especially if flowers grow at high temperatures. If you find a fungus, treat the petunia with sulfur;


• Choose a ground with a pH above 5-6


• Carry out disinfection of the ground before planting. To do this, simply ground the earth;


• Do not plant the plant too thickly;


• Adhere to the desired temperature, depending on the type of petunia;


• Do not forget that too high soil moisture provokes fungus development;


• Nitrogen fertilizers in large quantities lead to diseases;


• If the plant does not receive iron in sufficient quantities - diseases will appear;


• Use the means that repel spider mites, aphids and so on;


• Water the plant on time.

Good luck to you, our dear readers!