Emma Miller
Delicate and graceful petunias will adorn any garden or yard. These flowers look beautiful on the edges of the bed or in the garden. And climbing petunias are planted in pots and decorated walls and balconies with them. This flower is quite demanding to the soil, but unpretentious in care and blooms until the winter frosts.
How to plant petunia from seeds
Petunia seeds are planted in seedlings not before the end of February when the day is already long enough. It is very important for the flower to have good illumination. It is desirable to add peat, sand, and humus to the soil for petunias, and use leaf or turf soil.
Before sowing the petunias, water the soil. Make a small furrow in the moist soil and sow the seeds. Do not cover them with soil. Spray them lightly with water from a sprayer. Cover the seeds with cling film and put them in a warm, sunny place.
Once a day, air the seeds, and after the sprouts appear, remove the foil completely. Water the seedlings once a day and very carefully, from a sprayer or dropper. After the appearance of 4 leaves petunias can be transplanted into a pot or into the ground. Petunia blooms 2-3 months after sowing.
How to plant petunias in pots
Petunias are potted from seedlings. You can buy ready-made seedlings in an agro-store. Plant petunias in pots can be in the middle or end of June. Depending on the variety of flowers choose a pot. Bush types of petunias are planted in small pots of 3 liters. Ampelic (climbing) petunias require a pot of at least 5 liters.
Before transplanting into the pot, the seedlings are watered abundantly. At the bottom of the pot put stones or another drainage, then fill it with non-acidic soil. In the pot make a deepening and plant seedlings. If the container is wide, you can plant 2-3 petunias in it. Leave the pot in a sunny place.
Planting petunias in the open ground
In the open ground petunia was planted in June when all frosts are behind. You can plant both young seedlings and already blooming petunias. The site for petunias should be sunny. Usually, petunias are planted at the edge of the bed, because they are not tall and cannot be seen behind other flowers.
Dig the soil before planting and fertilize with organics. The soil should be light and loose. In the ground, the flower is planted together with soil from the sprouts. The distance between the bushes is 30-40 cm. Water the flowers the day after planting. A week after planting, the bed can be fertilized for lush flowering.
How to take care of petunias
Petunias are watered twice a week and necessarily under the root. Water should not get on the leaves and flowers. During strong heat, the flowers are watered more often, and in rainy weather less often.
On the second week after planting in the ground or pot flowers can be fertilized with nitrogen or phosphorus fertilizer, or any fertilizer for flowers. Mature flowers should only be fed if they are growing in the shade.
For lush petunias to bloom, stick to the following tips.
- Remove dry leaves and buds periodically.
- If there are few flowers but many leaves on the bush, cut the leaves in half and water the petunia with warm water. This encourages flower growth.
- On cloudy days, provide the flowers with artificial light.
- Apply fertilizer if the petunia is developing slowly.
- If one of the stems is noticeably more elongated than the others, it is worth cutting it back.
- On rainy days, it is best to cover the flowers or put them under a roof so that they don’t get hurt by too much moisture.
