Petunia: planting and care

Petunia is considered one of the favorite flowers of most gardeners. The birthplace of this flower is Uruguay, but it gained popularity in Europe. Now this beautiful flower can be found in almost every garden of the old world.

Varieties of petunias

Nowadays, not only classical varieties petunias, but also all kinds of hybrids, which allows you to choose from a huge number of plants.

• Among the hanging petunias, Easy Wave is considered one of the best varieties. This variety was bred in America. It is one of the easiest varieties to care for and grow. The variety is distinguished by a variety of colors. It forms a spherical or dome-shaped shape, suitable for growing in floor or hanging pots.

• Petunia Surfinia is characterized by rapid growth, but does not tolerate unfavorable conditions. Prefers to grow in slightly shaded areas. This variety has large flowers of various colors. The lashes of this variety of petunia grow up to 70 cm. Most often, this petunia is grown in hanging pots.

• Petunia Daddy is a bush petunia. The Daddy variety is distinguished by large flowers and a small bush height of about 25 cm. The plant loves bright sun and tolerates drought, rainy weather and wind. Most often, this petunia is used to decorate flower beds and ridges.

• Among the popular varieties The Pikoti variety also applies. This variety has large flowers of various shades. There is a white border along the edge of the petals of this variety of petunia, which allows you to immediately distinguish the Pikoti variety from others. This plant tolerates rainy weather well. Flowering continues almost all summer and ends only with the arrival of frost.

• Among the vegetative varieties is the Cardinal variety. It has purple flowers with slightly ruffled petal edges. The flowering period is long - from early summer to mid-autumn. The plant tolerates unfavorable conditions well.

Planting petunias

In our climate, petunias are sown as seedlings in the last ten days of February. Since the seeds of this plant have a low germination rate due to the short daylight hours, it is better to sow them with a reserve. If possible, try to provide the seedlings with additional lighting.

The soil for this plant should be light and loose. Perfect fit soil, prepared from leaf soil, turf, and humus. Additionally, peat and sand are added. The day before the date of sowing the seeds, the soil must be well watered. For planting, petunia seeds need to be mixed with sand and leveled over the soil. Then the seeds should be sprayed with water on top and the container should be covered with cling film or ordinary glass. In the room where germination occurs, maintain a temperature of +23 degrees.

Condensation may collect under the glass, which must be wiped off regularly to avoid infecting the plants with blackleg. In about a week the first shoots will appear. When the first leaf appears, the film must be removed and the soil sprinkled with sand.

At the stage of 3-4 leaves, seedlings need to be planted in separate containers. These can be special peat pots or just yogurt cups. 7 days after diving, the seedlings can be fertilized. Do this once a week, alternating spraying and watering with complex fertilizers.

When the seedlings have grown enough and there is stable warm weather outside, the petunia can be transplanted to a permanent place. This must be done in cloudy weather or in the evening, when there is no direct sunlight. When choosing the distance between individual specimens, focus on the plant variety. For large petunias, maintain a distance of 25 cm between individual bushes. Petunias with small flowers will feel good with a distance between them of up to 20 cm. Ampelous varieties are planted with a gap of 30 cm.

If you plan to grow petunia in a pot or hanging planter, be careful when choosing a container. The pot should be spacious enough so that the plant does not wither. There must be a drainage hole. Don’t forget to put a layer of drainage at the bottom of the pot, and only then fill it with soil. This can be a ready-made soil mixture for flowering plants or prepared independently.

Make a hole in the soil with a depth and diameter of 10 cm and transfer the seedling into it along with a lump of earth. Then the plant needs to be watered. To make the rooting process faster, the planting site can be mulched with peat or humus. This allows you to retain moisture longer and protects the plant if frost hits.

Caring for petunias

For petunia it is very important to produce on time feeding. It is best to use ready-made fertilizer complexes that are commercially available. Two weeks after planting, the plants must be fed with nitrogen fertilizers. Later, it is better to switch to fertilizers containing mostly phosphorus and potassium. To ensure that the plant blooms magnificently, follow the fertilizer regime. During the active growth phase, fertilize every week.

Water the plants so that moisture does not get on the leaves and flowers. If you notice yellowing foliage, it means the plant is not getting enough moisture. Remove faded flowers and dried leaves. This way you will direct the plant’s forces to flowering and growth. If you want to form a more lush bush, then pinch its top at the level of 5 leaves.

Photos of petunias