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Duration of flowering, bright colors, unpretentious care, lush bushiness - all this petunia attracts flower growers. It is difficult to grow seedlings of this flower, but it is possible, adhering to some rules and recommendations.
Petunia - growing for seedlings
A flower lover will have to comply with the correct deadlines, choose a suitable place and soil, decide on a variety, plant seeds in a suitable container, and then buy or prepare the necessary fertilizers.
The timing of planting petunias for seedlings
Experienced flower growers, before planting and growing petunias, check with the lunar calendar. The full moon and new moon are not good times to plant seeds.
Petunia
An important condition in calculating the correct landing time is the region. You should focus on the last spring frosts, weather conditions, warming up of the earth. In regions with a harsh climate, they do not start planting earlier than the first days of spring; in areas with cool weather conditions, planting begins in the last days of winter; for a temperate climate, planting should be completed by mid-February.
On average, petunias begin to bloom after 3 months after planting. Therefore, you can calculate the sowing period yourself, starting from the preferred flowering time.
Growing seedlings in peat tablets
Peat tablets with a diameter of 3.5–4.5 cm are an excellent solution for planting pelleted seeds.
The step-by-step instruction looks like this:
- Soak a peat tablet for growing petunias in water.
- Remove excess liquid.
- Place in a container with high sides.
- Gently put one petunia seed in each tablet. For convenience, you can use matches or toothpicks.
- Moisten the seeds with drip irrigation using a pipette or syringe. The moisture will help get rid of the shell on the seed, which will allow the seedling to germinate faster.
- Cover the container on top with glass or transparent film and leave it in a well-lit, warm place (a window sill will do, where the window will give access to sunlight).
Peat tablets
This completes the procedure for planting petunia seeds.
Suitable soil for home petunias
Properly selected soil is an important link when planting petunia seeds. A slightly acidic or neutral soil is suitable. It must have the following characteristics:
- Soft and loose.
- Breathable.
- It retains moisture well, but does not get too wet.
- Rich in useful microelements.
You can find an appropriate earth mix at your specialty store. But she also needs additional feeding. For 5 kg of such a mixture, add perlite (250 g), wood ash (500 g) and potassium sulfate (1 tablespoon). Potassium sulfate can be replaced with Kemir fertilizer or the like.
You can make a suitable earthen mixture with your own hands. For 1 substrate option, you will need the following ingredients:
- humus (500 g);
- sod soil (500g);
- yellow or gray sand (250 g);
- decomposed peat (500g).
For option 2 you need:
- land from the garden (500 g);
- peat (1 kg);
- sand (500g).
Petunia
After mixing all the components, you need to carefully sift the resulting composition. Disinfect it with boiling water, or heat it in the oven to get rid of pathogens and fungal organisms. To stimulate growth, treat with a concentrated solution of potassium permanganate or Previkur.
Tips for planting petunia seeds for seedlings
The seeds of the petunia are quite small, so most gardeners prefer the coated versions. But when choosing seeds in a shell, there is a possibility that the top layer will not dissolve when watering, which will interfere with the emergence of sprouts.
The prepared container should be disinfected with an antiseptic (Biotex, Biosept).
In order to avoid decay of the root system, you need to pour expanded clay on the bottom of the container.
Petunia seeds
One of the answers to the question of why petunia seedlings stretch out is a lack of light and excessive heat. Seedling boxes do not need to be picked up with high sides. Containers should be placed on those windowsills (or in such places) where there is enough sunlight throughout the day.
Favorable growing conditions
To grow petunias at home, it is necessary to create optimal conditions: the appropriate temperature, proper watering and timely feeding.
Temperature regime
Hybrids are very finicky about heat. The best temperature is 24-25 ° C. At low temperatures, seedlings will not sprout. The temperature raised above the norm is the answer to the question: why does the petunia stretch, and not bush. In addition, under these conditions, plants are prone to disease.
Seedling petunia
At optimal temperature conditions, the first shoots will delight in a week. Then you should give fresh air to the flowers 2 times a day, removing the cover. The first open pot should stand no more than 20 minutes, the next times 40 minutes. At the same time, the temperature should be reduced. During the day, it should reach 20 ° С, at night - up to 16 ° С.
At first, the seedling is pulled up very slowly. But this does not mean that development has stopped. The reason is that the root system is actively developing at first.
Watering
Surely inexperienced flower growers wondered: "What to do if petunia grows poorly?" This may be due to illiterate watering.
It is important to use warm, soft, non-chlorinated water. Before watering, let the liquid stand for at least a day and add a few drops of ripe lemon juice to it.
Watering should be done in the evenings, when the plant is growing rapidly.
When irrigating flowers, use a syringe or pipette. In the absence of these tools, pour a small amount of water along the side of the container. Or leave a small amount of water in the pan.
Top dressing
How to grow healthy petunia seedlings? Within two weeks after the emergence of shoots, it is necessary to often spray them with a solution of potassium permanganate of low concentration, or Pervikur.
Feeding petunias
When several leaves appear on the seedlings of petunia flowers, it is necessary to fertilize the substrate. You should use the complex fertilizer Crystal "yellow" (0.5 tablespoons per 5 liters of water). Uniflora micro and Kristalon are suitable for foliar feeding.
The grown petunia bush is fertilized 3 times a week, alternating the foliar and root methods.
Alternatively, you can spray on a product that will stimulate root growth. This should be done two weeks after the pick has taken place. Suitable formulations: Kemira, Aquarin, Solution. Use all products according to the instructions.
Caring for young seedlings at home
If it was decided to sow the seeds of bushy flowers in one container, then after 2-3 leaves appear on the plant, it is necessary to transplant home seedlings. Competent picking will help solve the question of how to grow petunia correctly.
Petunia seedlings
For transplanting, it is necessary to prepare elongated cups with a volume of at least 200 g. In which the seedlings with an earthen clod should be transferred, without touching the root system. Then the empty space is covered with an earthen mixture and watered. After the land has settled down, the missing amount of land is filled up.
What to do to keep the petunia from stretching? For a week after the pick, keep the temperature at 15-17 ° C.
You can pinch the plant when 5-6 true leaves have appeared on it.
[alert color = "green" icon = "chevron-down"]Important! A container in which it is convenient to grow petunia should be turned around with different sides to the light a couple of times a day, monitor the humidity in it, and avoid stagnation of water, as this will greatly damage the plant. [/ Alert]
A home flower is transplanted to a flower bed or outdoor flowerpots with the onset of May, when the temperature regime becomes stable. The plant will quickly take over, stretch and branch. If the deadline has not yet come, and the container is too small for the petunia sprouts, it should be dived into a pot that is more suitable in size.
Growing petunia at home is not as difficult as it seems at first glance. Of course, novice flower lovers will have to read a lot of information. But all efforts will be more than rewarded.
