Secrets of growing petunia from "A" to "Z". Petunia in winter as a uterine and flowering indoor plant

I asked myself this question for two summers in a row. I managed to grow petunias only in the third year. I honestly read the whole topic about petunias, but nothing worked for me. I'll tell you about common mistakes beginner petunia breeder.

How to choose seeds for a beginner?

The most important thing is to buy a package of fresh packaging. In the third year, the seeds may not sprout at all. Expired, and these are most often on sale - even more so.
It is also important to choose a product from a trusted manufacturer. On the forum, Biotekhnika is most praised, for me it gave 90% germination. A little less, 80% was the germination rate of "Aelita" and "Prestige", 55-75% I had "Gavrish" and "Euro-seeds".
It is necessary to tell in more detail about which varieties and species are best to buy for growing for the first time.

Varietal or hybrid seeds?

Buying exclusively varietal or only hybrid (F1) seeds is a master's business. Equally well sprout and grow both of them. Varietal ones are cheaper, a lot of seeds are poured into a pack, which, in general, is very profitable. Hybrid ones are many times more expensive, they are packaged in only 5-10 seeds, enclosed in granules. But hybrid ones are easier to sow, and they give the most unusual and varied colors.

Rice. 1. Modest varietal petunias "Profusely flowering mixture of colors" and "Multi-flowered white glaze" of the "Leader" series from "Aelita", photo in early July.

Rice. 2. Hybrid petunias come in all colors of the rainbow. Photo taken in early August.

Which petunias are easier to grow - compact bushes or spreading ampels?

It is equally easy to grow both. But for the first experiment, I would rather choose those that recover better after heavy rains, do not suffer from winds and do not require plucking flowers after flowering. This is a series giants Typhoon and Tornado, as well as ampel Velvets.
Sometimes on packs with other varieties they also write about the unpretentiousness of plants, but I would not say that about other varieties. The most important thing is that for all the rest, except for the above species, it is necessary to remove faded inflorescences, and this is labor-intensive. In order not to be disappointed in petunias and fall in love with them at first sight, or rather, from the first season, I advise you to choose powerful Tornadoes, Typhoons or Velvets.

What are petunias according to the length of the branches?

Bush petunias are classified as low (25-40 cm). They will look good in small pots of 2-3 liters, both in the country house and on the southern or eastern windowsill. Bush varieties or not - usually indicated on the pack.

Rice. 3. "Pepermint F1 terry" in mid-July.

Rice. 4. "Dolce trio F1" at the end of June.

Sprawling types of petunias, for example, ampelous ones, look more spectacular, especially if you have something to attach to the site hanging planters. On the packaging, they are indicated by the word Pendula.
Of the voluminous long-braided varieties, there are also cascading ones (lashes are more durable than those of ampels), including ramblines and opera.

Rice. 5. Ampel "Velvet F1" in mid-July. Velvets are best grown in a volume of about 10 liters.

Rice. 7. "Ramblin Peach Glo F1" in early August. For ramblins, you need to find a volume of at least 8-10 liters.

Rice. 8. Ramblins of two types look good in one box (15 l).

Rice. 9. Operas bloom more magnificently than ramblins. In the photo, "Supreme White F1" in early July in a 10-liter tank.

Separately, I would single out ampelous avalanches - the bushes are even more upright than those of the cascading ones.

Rice. 10. "Avalanche Yellow Star F1" and "Ramblin Nu Blue F1", early September, for an avalanche you need 15 liters. per 2-3 plants.

But the most luxurious look surfinias, tornadoes, typhoons and explorers. True, for them it is necessary to have containers of at least 15 - 20 liters, except for surfinia - 5-8 liters are enough for them. Of the voluminous ones, there are also Shock Waves, Fresh Waves and Easy Waves, fortunes and tumbelins, but I have not grown such ones yet, this year there will be a debut.

Rice. 11. "Typhoon F1 Silver": two pieces in a barrel of about 30-40 liters, late July.

Rice. 12. Surfinia "Parple Velvet F1", grown from seeds, in the same barrel in July (also 2 pieces).

What are petunias in terms of size and number of flowers?

To get acquainted with petunias, I would advise you to choose any of Grandiflora or Multiflora, but not terry, although they look more attractive on packs. Multifloras have smaller flowers, but there are many of them, and grandifloras give little flowering, but the inflorescences are large, expressive and no less beautiful than terry ones.

Rice. 13. A trio of lobelias and bush petunias: multiflora "Merlin Red Picoti F1" and grandiflora "Prisma mix F1", "Falcon F1" and "Sophistika Shining Sapphire F1". End of June.

Terry varieties are more capricious, although they look impressive. They need to be protected from the rain, and if the summer is too rainy, the pots will definitely have to be taken under a canopy. These petunias will not "tolerate" dampness, like the two previous species, and will submit only to experienced flower growers, to whom I am still far away.

Rice. 14. Makhrushki "Pikoti Pirouette F1", "Valentina F1" and the most beautiful of all white petunias "Sonata F1". July.

floribundas- this is a variety between grandiflora and multiflora, but I have never seen them for sale.

My mistakes when sowing seeds

In the first year, my seeds did not sprout at all, and in the second, out of six dozen seeds, only 4 sprouts grew, which gave weak flowering. Here's what I was doing wrong:

1. In the first year, I pressed the seeds into the ground so that they almost went underground. And you just need to spread the seeds superficially.
2. Sowed in the "tight" dense earth. And the earth should be loose, breathable. It is better to sow in general in tablets, you can 2-3 seeds in one.

Rice. 15. In tablets with toothpick flags - hybrid petunias, with a flag in a glass - varietal. In the rest of the tablets -.

1. Did not destroy the shell of the granule. It must be gently touched with a toothpick, and it will fall apart if the tablet is moistened enough.
2. I put the crops in loosely closed containers, where there was a draft. Sometimes the tablets dried up, and this should not be allowed, tender shoots quickly die.

Rice. 16. Even special greenhouses must be wrapped with a film so that there are no gaps, and ideal wet conditions are maintained inside.

1. I didn’t ventilate every day, and the shoots began to rot.

Rice. 17. In order not to suffer with winding and unwinding the film with each airing, I came up with this one.

Rice. 18. Or you can put the tablets in an Ikea container and cover with glass.

1. Even before the appearance of sprouts, it is necessary to illuminate the petunias! I somehow thought of putting petunias in the country on the northwestern windowsill without a single ray of sunshine. Of course, they didn’t bloom well there, although the bush was very lush and green. If you sow ampels in early to mid-February, you need to highlight at least from 7 am to 10 pm. Bush should be sown in March and illuminated in the same mode at least until May.

Rice. 19. I light up ordinary lamp daylight. Under the light they usually germinate in 5-7 days. Without light, they may not ascend at all.

Mistakes when growing seedlings of petunias

1. As soon as shoots have appeared, we put them in more cool place to be around 20 degrees. Airing should be more frequent. But do not repeat my mistake, do not remove petunias from the "greenhouse" until the first true leaves appear! After 2-3 days, you can reduce the daytime temperature to 15-18 degrees, and make the night temperature even less. Petunias need those temperature drops!
2. Be sure to add vermiculite to the soil or ready-made purchased soil and mix well.

Rice. 20. This is how the pickled seedlings of ampels in the soil with vermiculite look like at the end of February.

Rice. 21. And so - in the 20th of March. Large ones are ampels, smaller ones are bush ones.

1. From the beginning of April, as soon as it becomes about 10-15 degrees on a closed loggia or balcony, it is necessary to take out the seedlings for hardening. It is necessary to accustom to the bright sun gradually.

1. Be sure to sign! I also mark if it is a bush petunia or not. Because there is no way to grow lush bushes without pinching. They will be like a single flowering stick. As soon as the second pair of leaves has grown at the bush, we pinch or cut off manicure scissors the very tip of the stem. And we repeat this procedure once or twice a month, until mid-May.

Rice. 23. On the left - ampels that we do not pinch. On the right - pinched at one time bush. They will bloom later, but a bush will form.

1. The first buds take away the strength of the plant, it is better to pluck them.

1. Be sure to feed the petunias. If you cannot remember the recommendations of professionals, which microelement to use in which period of growth - phosphorus, boron or other elements of the periodic table, then at least use Fertika once a week. I alternate it with another mineral fertilizer, for example, with Biomaster - Seedlings. I start feeding 10-14 days after picking, combining it with preliminary weak watering. That is, it is impossible to pour fertilizer on very dry soil - neither in the seedling stage, nor in an adult plant.
2. Don't get carried away with acidifying the soil. I managed to avoid this mistake, despite the fact that many advise watering with acidified water or planting in special soil with an acidic environment, for example, as for begonias. Therefore, my petunias have never had such a common disease as chlorosis. It is easy to recognize chlorosis - the leaves begin to turn white, and dry out along the edge with a thin border. Then they start to fall off. The top is twisted. To get rid of chlorosis, you can spray the leaves with chelated iron, for example, Ferovit or Antichlorosis.
3. Don't flood seedlings! Petunias, like tomatoes, love the alternation of drought (but not critical) and complete soaking of the soil. Every day we will water petunias only when they grow in the country or on a sunny balcony. If the petunia began to lie down from the black leg, treat it with Fitosporin.
4. Any foliar top dressing do it in cloudy weather, do not put the plants directly under the lamp, let the spray soak into the leaves. I once almost burned all the seedlings with vitamin B6, all the foliage went stained from burns.

Mistakes in garden care

It would seem that they grew seedlings, brought them on time, transplanted them to the required volume after 100% cancellation of the threat of return frosts - and wait ... But still, petunias do not give lush flowering. I had this because I neglected the following rules:

1. I forgot to feed on time. Petunias are very "gluttonous"! The most important thing is regularity! Weekly "Fertika" or "Akverin" for flowers, but at least "Ideal". Nothing without this. Petunias do not like organics, only mineral fertilizers. Therefore, the soil for flowerpots should be mixed with ready-made humus or sand for better breathability, but not with immature compost.
2. I put the pots in partial shade or in the shade. Petunias will only bloom in full sun!
3. No need to tie branches. I don’t know why, but my petunias then simply stopped growing.

Rice. 26. Even if it seems that the petunias are about to break, do not pick them up with a garter. The wind will whip and break.

1. Insufficient height of the flowerpot. Petunia builds up a large mass of roots pointing down. In a container with a height of less than 20 cm, the petunia will develop until the end of June, and then it will wither.

Rice. 27. There is no way to buy flowerpots - plant petunias in homemade boxes, even a 10-year-old boy can put them together. This box is made from an old picket fence.

1. Another one of my "favorite" mistakes is to set the petunias in the flowerpot so that they are too low from the planting hole, and new side shoots stuck under it, not getting out up into the light.

Growing petunia hybrid, or garden. The first variety appeared in 1839. In 1855 the first terry varieties petunias, and in 1881 appeared large-flowered. In the sixties of the last century, as a result of cell hybridization, ampelous petunias.

By flower size Petunias are divided into two large groups:

1. large-flowered, with a flower diameter of 7 to 13 cm;
2. many-flowered- with flowers from 5 to 8 cm.

AT last years a group of varieties with small flowers with a diameter of 2 to 4 cm, which received the name, naturally, has become very popular. small-flowered.

Corolla shape petunias is diverse, especially in large-flowered varieties. For example, in the Fimbriata variety, the edge of the petal is fringed; the variety type Superbissima has a wide mouth and a fringed edge. Not deprived of attention and terry petunias. Coloring many: there are all shades of red, white, pink, purple and blue. Currently, only bright yellow and orange are missing.

You can admire beautiful petunias by looking at the publications:

How to propagate petunias

Everyone loves petunias, but how to decorate your flower beds with these beautiful plants? You can, of course, buy ready seedlings . Can i grow planting material by ourselves.

Almost all hybrids and varieties reproduce seeds. In addition, petunias reproduce very well. cuttings- it is only necessary to save mother plants. Plants from cuttings grow and bloom faster. But plants from seeds are more hardy and bloom more profusely.

Sowing petunia

Seeds Recommended sow from February to April, depending on the time of disembarkation in open ground. At home, it is better to sow at the end of March, when there is enough light. Then the seedlings can dive on a warm balcony or in a film. With this sowing time, expect blooms in June.

Petunia seeds are very small, almost without reserve nutrients. Therefore, for the normal growth of seedlings the soil must be:

• loose,
• light in mechanical composition,
• nutritional,
• neutral in acidity.

For sowing it is better to take shallow bowl With drainage hole. Fill the container with the substrate, leaving a rim of about 1 cm. Small petunia seeds are better mix with dry sifted sand so that they are more evenly distributed along the line. Sown seeds for fast germination desirable sprinkle generously water. Then the crops without covering with earth must be covered with glass, or plastic wrap, or lutrasil, or thick paper. And keep the temperature not lower than + 20 ° C.

Recently, petunia seeds have been on sale in the form granules having a special shell of nutrients and preparations that protect seedlings from diseases. Granules significantly larger than seeds, and they are easier to spread over the surface. Abroad, such seeds are called pili, and in our country they are called pelleted or granulated.

When using granulated seeds, it must be remembered that the main thing is not to overdry them, and then there will be no shoots. Therefore, before spreading the pelleted seeds, it is necessary to wet the soil well and keep it moist until sprouts appear. In this case, it is better to water from a pallet through a hole in a bowl or spray crops from a spray bottle.

Seedling care

From simple seeds seedlings appear on the 4-6th day, and from the coated ones - 2 days later. After germination, seedlings need plenty of light and moderate soil moisture. With a lack of light, the seedlings are drawn out, and if high humidity is added, then death from is possible. To avoid high humidity, crops need to be slightly opened, and when the cotyledons open, the film is removed.

From simple seeds, seedlings appear on the 4-6th day, and from coated seeds - 2 days later

Since the seedlings grow very slowly at first, they can be kept in the same vessel for about a month. Then, when 3-4 true leaves appear, they dive into. A week after picking, seedlings must feed. If the plants are not stretched out and have dark green leaves, then top dressing with easily soluble complex is necessary. If the plants are weak, with dark leaves, then it is better to feed only. Usually, after picking, top dressing is given after 7 days, preferably by complex fertilizers. This will provide and good growth, and abundant flowering.

petunias easy tolerate a very tight fit, therefore, 2-3 plants can be planted in a small basket or planter with a diameter of about 15 cm. When there is no need to immediately get a profusely flowering composition, it is better to plant seedlings less often so that the plants do not touch each other. Ampelous petunias in a container where the plants are arranged in several rows, they are planted with an inclination to the edge of the container. Step by step master class will tell you how you can arrange the planting of these flowers, and the video will help you see everything with your own eyes.

Caring for container petunias includes olive and regular top dressing. Until the plants have grown, you can feed them with solutions of complex fertilizers. Heavily overgrown petunias are best sprayed on the leaves with a solution of fertilizers. With a dense planting or strong growth, weak, decaying shoots should be regularly removed, if necessary, thinned out. Ampel petunias need to be pinched several times after planting.

Do you plant petunias?

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Salmon backbone baked in Provence herbs is a “supplier” of delicious pieces of fish pulp for a light salad with fresh wild garlic leaves. Mushrooms are lightly fried in olive oil, and then poured with apple cider vinegar. Such mushrooms are tastier than ordinary pickled ones, and they are better suited for baked fish. Ramson and fresh dill coexist perfectly in one salad, emphasizing the flavor of each other. Garlic sharpness of wild garlic will saturate both salmon flesh and mushroom pieces.

Conifer tree or a shrub on the site is always great, and a lot of conifers is even better. Emerald needles of various shades decorate the garden at any time of the year, and phytoncides and essential oils, secreted by plants, not only flavor, but also make the air cleaner. Generally, most zoned adults coniferous plants, are considered very unpretentious trees and shrubs. But young seedlings are much more capricious and require competent care and attention.

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Self-growing petunias from seeds at home is difficult for many summer residents. Lack of knowledge and fear of experimenting make the family budget spend on buying ready-made planting material. Having familiarized yourself with the basic rules and agricultural practices, you will gain invaluable experience in obtaining strong seedlings. And bright flower beds with multi-colored petunias will decorate garden plot and home area.

When and how to collect seeds?

Experienced gardeners start harvesting petunia seeds for the subsequent cultivation of seedlings during the period of active flowering of the plant. Before this, strong plants are selected and marked with beautiful flowers the desired color and wait for the appearance of fruit boxes in their place. Let them mature. After that, they begin to collect the seed material in the boxes. The whole cycle, from the formation of buds to the ripening of seeds, takes about 2 months.

Traditionally, to prolong the flowering period of petunias, wilted buds with ovaries are cut off without waiting for the seed boxes to appear. To harvest planting material, leave the ovaries on the lower tiers of the plant. Here they mature faster.

The formation of flowers in the plant occurs within a week. A week after pollination, ovaries appear. Over the next 30 days, boxes with seeds are formed on the petunias, which, after ripening, are harvested for further cultivation at home. The total waiting time is approximately 45…60 days. You can collect seed material during the whole summer period and early autumn.

A sure sign that the time has come to collect the seeds is the drying of the boxes and their cracking. Each such container contains up to 100 glossy black grains, 0.5 mm in size.

Before collecting petunia seeds for growing, prepare envelopes or paper bags. Wait for stable clear weather. After you make sure that the fruit boxes are dry, proceed to the collection. Spread the prepared material on paper and place in a dry place for ripening. For storage, the seeds are removed and laid out in bags or envelopes. Be sure to label the petunia variety.

On one's own harvested seeds retain their viability for 4 years. When growing hybrid varieties petunias, remember that seeds collected at home partially do not retain maternal characteristics. As a result of pollination, new interesting colors can be obtained. Re-collection seed collected from bushes of hybrid varieties and its cultivation will not allow to preserve the color and structure of the flower.

Sowing dates

The timing of sowing petunia seeds when growing seedlings at home is largely determined by the combination of two factors:

1. daylight hours;
2. Species and varietal characteristics of the plant.

Too early dates, as well as the wrong choice of variety, are fraught with the fact that the lack of lighting will contribute to the elongation of seedlings. Elongated seedlings develop slowly, become frail and susceptible to diseases.

Varietal characteristics of a flower culture should also be considered when trying to grow from seeds. If you pay attention to bags of seed sold in garden centers, you can see that petunias of different varieties and species have their own sowing dates. This is due to the growing season of a particular group:

• Cascading;
• Ampel small-flowered;
• Bush;
• Large-flowered.

As a rule, manufacturers indicate information on when to plant a petunia for seedlings on the back of the package.

Depending on the specified group, seeds are planted for home growing petunias in different dates. Ampelous petunias should build up a large vegetative mass, so they are planted the earliest - in early January. Bush varieties should be planted in late February, early March.

The timing of planting seed material of all types of petunias must be correlated with lighting conditions.

• With the possibility of additional lighting, sowing is carried out during February.
• If the windows of the apartment are directed to the south, you can sow in the first decade of March.
• With a northerly orientation of the windows, sowing is best postponed until the third decade of March or early April.

Attempts to grow light-loving petunias early, without additional illumination, will not allow you to get strong, beautiful planting material.

Seed preparation

The germination of seeds of a given flower crop depends on factors such as humidity, heat and lighting. Even taking the most popular varieties of petunias for cottage cultivation, you can only get 50% germination. In order for the seeds to germinate and give life to beautiful flowers, they must be prepared before planting. Seed preparation consists of several stages:

1. Stratification;
2. Disinfection;
3. Seedling stimulation.

The stratification of petunia seeds begins long before the start of growing seedlings. Usually, 7-8 weeks before sowing, the grains are mixed with fine river sand. Then the mixture is poured into shallow containers and placed in a refrigerator for 2 months. In order to further separate the seeds, take sand in small quantities and the smallest fraction. Spread the mixture into the trays in a thin layer.

For grown flower seedlings, petunia seeds are subjected to disinfection. The procedure is carried out in a light pink solution of potassium permanganate. To prepare the solution you will need:

• Boiled water;
• 200 gram glass;
• 0.5 liter jar;
• Potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate);
• Clean rag.

A stock solution is prepared in a beaker of water. It should be dark pink. Then at 0.5 liter jar pour water and gradually add the contents of the glass until a light pink hue is obtained. After that, the seeds collected from the petunias grown on the site are wrapped in rags and dipped for 20 minutes in the prepared solution.

The next stage of preparation increases the germination of seed and the survival rate of seedlings grown seedlings. The day before planting, the seeds are soaked in water with the addition of a few drops of a growth stimulator. Experienced flower growers for stimulation use "Epin". 0.5 liters will require 3-4 drops of the drug.

How to prepare the soil?

The success of growing petunias at home depends not only on the preparation of the seeds, but also on the preparation of the soil. Because the flower culture capricious, sowing will require fertile loose soil that can retain moisture. The soil can be purchased at specialized garden centers or prepared independently. Experienced flower growers most often choose the second option.

The nutrient soil in which it is planned to grow petunia seedlings is prepared from the following components:

• Lowland peat - 1 part;
• Sod land - 1 part;
• Humus - 1 part;
• River sand - 1/2 part.

Combine all components and mix until a homogeneous mass is obtained. Sift the resulting composition through a sieve with a large mesh, and then with a small cell. As a result, the nutrient soil will be loose and airy.

If the process of preparing the soil is difficult for you, then you can grow petunias from seeds on purchased soil. To improve the properties of the purchased substrate, add the following components, based on 10 kg:

• 500 grams wood ash for fertilizer;
• 500 grams of perlite;
• A tablespoon of potassium fertilizer.

These elements will improve the composition of the purchased soil.

So that the seedlings do not get sick, spill the soil with a solution of potassium permanganate before sowing.

3 ways to sow seeds

After preparatory work you can start sowing seeds for seedlings. Experienced flower growers in their practice use 3 main methods of sowing seeds:

1. In trays with nutrient substrate;
2. Planting a petunia in the snow.
3. In peat tablets;

methods are good for uniform distribution do-it-yourself grains, or purchased coated material. Since the seeds are small, it is not worth burying them in nutrient soil. The best option- sprinkle with a layer of substrate in 1 ... 2 mm.

Seeding in trays

The prepared substrate is filled into trays or containers with the addition of hydrogel. Then the soil is abundantly moistened. Subsequently, the hydrogel will retain moisture in the soil, which is necessary for the successful germination of petunia seeds. Growing a crop is best done not in rows, but in squares. In the future, this method will simplify the process of picking grown plants.

Divide the soil in the container into squares and distribute the grains in the center of these zones. For convenience, use toothpicks. With a tip dipped in water, it is convenient to cling and carry grains. After distribution, the seed material is lightly sprinkled with finely sifted soil (no more than 2 mm). Spray plantings with water from a spray bottle.

After seeding, place the containers in plastic bags or cover them with transparent lids. Petunia trays are best placed in a warm place with diffused lighting. After an ode ... two weeks shoots will appear.

Snow Landing

The method allows in the process of growing petunia flowers to combine the stage of seed stratification. To implement it, you will need:

• suitable container;
• Priming;
• seed material;
• Snow;
• Trowel;
• glass or plastic bag.

At the first stage, fill the container with soil, leaving 2 ... 3 cm from the edges free space. To prevent various diseases, spill the substrate with a fungicide solution. A day after the disinfection treatment, lay a small layer (1 ... 1.5 cm) of snow on top and compact it a little.

In the second stage of growing seedlings, fold White list paper in half. A groove should form in the center of the unfolded parchment. Throw in the petunia seeds. Then, gently shaking off, distribute them over the snow. Evenly distribute places with dense crops with a match or toothpick.

At the final stage, cover the container with glass, a lid or a plastic bag and place it in a warm, lit place. After the snow melts and moisture is absorbed into the soil, the grains will slightly go into the soil. With the emergence of seedlings (after 1 ... 1.5 weeks), air the mini greenhouse with petunias twice a day for 15 ... 20 minutes. Remove condensation from the tray cover.

Growing in peat tablets

It will allow to reduce the loss of seedlings and protect seedlings from various diseases. Often this method flower growers use when sowing expensive varietal hybrids. It is best to sow petunias in tablets with a diameter of 2.5 ... 3 cm. It does not make sense to use large cylinders, since a lot of space will be required with a large number of plants.

It is easy to prepare a pressed nutrient substrate from peat:

1. Take a tall container that will hold all the tablets;
2. Lay the discs carefully with the holes up;
3. Pour warm water over the top edge and cover the container with a lid;
4. Wait for the peat tablets to take their shape;

ATTENTION! Keep the cylinders moist during the swelling process. If necessary, add a little more water so that the substrate is saturated with moisture.

After preparing the tablets, drain the excess water and place them in containers. Lay the petunia seeds on a white sheet of paper and with a carefully moistened toothpick or match, place the seeds in the holes of the peat cylinders. If you are sowing pelleted seeds, drop a few drops from a pipette onto the balls to speed up germination. warm water and after a few minutes, smear the shell in the recess of the tablet.

After sowing the petunias into peat tablets, cover the container and place it in a warm place. Provide temperature regime within 24…25°С. With more low temperatures, grown from petunia seeds may not sprout. During the germination process, make sure that the substrate is kept moist.

seedling care

In the first period after planting seeds, petunia requires special care. These flowers love heat, so the temperature in the room should not be below 24 ° C. When the temperature drops by 3-5°C, the growth of seedlings slows down, or stops altogether. It is best to spray the plants with a spray bottle so as not to bury the seeds.

As soon as the first shoots begin to hatch, the growing method needs to be slightly changed. Take the lid off the containers for a few minutes every day. After a week, the trays can be slightly opened for a longer period. So, after a while, the seedlings will get used to room conditions.

With the advent of the first true leaves on the seedlings, proceed to picking. For petunias grown in peat tablets, picking is not required. But if you used nutrient soil, this procedure is necessary. It is advisable, after picking, to plant the sprouts in separate pots, deepening them along the first leaves.

The peculiarity of petunias is that their cultivation from seeds is very slow. Do not think that you did something wrong, did not water or feed the seedlings. Just young plants develop for a very long time root system. Be patient, and after 2-3 months you will get beautiful bright bushes.