Content
- 1 Breeding history
- 2 Description of the variety and characteristics
- 3 Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
- 4 Reproduction of petunia Starry sky
- 5 Growing petunias Starry sky
- 6 Flower care
- 7 Pests and diseases
- 8 Application in landscape design
- 9 Conclusion
- 10 Reviews with a photo about the variety of petunia Starry sky
Petunia Starry Sky is a hybrid plant variety, artificially bred by breeders. The culture owes this name to its unusual coloring. The petunia is deep purple in color with small white blotches that resemble bright stars in the night sky. The hybrid is undemanding to care for, and thanks to the color it always looks spectacular.
Breeding history
The Starry sky variety differs from others in its unusual appearance.
In its natural environment, petunia lives in the tropical regions of Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, as well as North and South America. Thanks to the efforts of breeders, a large number of crop varieties are known today. For the first time they heard about this flower in the 18th century. Since then, it has been actively cultivated and grown as annual balcony and garden ornamental plants.
Petunia Starry Night appeared in 2015 in Germany, with the help of German breeders from the Select Klemm company. This hybrid was nominated for the highest award at the European Ornamental Plants Exhibition.
Description of the variety and characteristics
Vegetative petunia Starry sky is a hybrid variety of herbaceous and shrub perennials. It belongs to the Solanaceae family, it can grow up to 1 m. The culture branches well, grows as a small shrub. Early flowering, and the ability to permanent bud formation is noted. That is why budding is long, continuous, for 2-3 months.
Flower shades depend on many factors: soil nutrition, watering regime, abundance or lack of light. The more sun, the lighter the petals of the bud, diffused light is required. Petunia is a rather compact plant, but the root system is powerful, the stem reaches about a meter in length, forming buds on each shoot.
Petunia leaves are bright green in color, velvety to the touch. There is a lot of green mass on one plant, the flowers look very expressive against this background. The bud is large, each has 5 wide petals. In garden conditions, the plant is annual.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
Like all cultivated plants intended for growing in the garden or in flower beds, these flowers have advantages and some disadvantages. The main advantages of the ampelous petunia Starry sky include:
- unique "space" appearance of the flower;
- ease of care and maintenance;
- early and long flowering period;
- rapid growth and reproduction;
- resistance to weather changes, especially to high temperatures.
The Starry sky hybrid is often grown on terraces and verandas in pots
In addition, many are attracted by the fact that the culture can be planted in pots on terraces and balconies, and in open ground on the site.
Of the possible disadvantages, a tendency to a number of diseases is noted, especially powdery mildew and gray rot, as well as the inability to propagate petunia using seeds. Culture requires vegetative division.
Reproduction of petunia Starry sky
Since Petunia Starry Sky reproduces exclusively by the vegetative method, it is advisable to prepare the cuttings in the correct way. They should be about 10 cm long.They need to be placed in water and after the roots appear, after 10-14 days, the cuttings can be transplanted into a container with a peat substrate. During this period, the plant is fed through the leaf plates, since the root system has not yet been fully formed.
Twice a day, the cutting is recommended to be sprayed with warm water and fed once with Kornevin at the rate of 20 g per 10 liters of water. After another 2 weeks, the root system should be fully formed. The resulting small bush of petunia Starry sky can be transplanted into pots with a volume of up to 2.5-3 liters.
Growing petunias Starry sky
Before you start transplanting a petunia from the Starry Sky series, you need to familiarize yourself with important information about the soil necessary for it. It should consist of the following components:
- sand - 1 part;
- peat - 2 parts;
- humus - 2 parts;
- turf and leaf land - 2 parts each.
With this composition of the soil, petunia will actively grow, develop and bloom luxuriantly. It is advisable to sift and moisten the substrate just before planting, since the soil should be light.
Transplant petunia in cloudy weather or in the late afternoon. A young plant must be placed in a prepared hole along with an earthen clod, so the culture adapts faster in open ground conditions. The holes should be made at intervals of at least 25 cm, and each hole should be 10 * 10 cm in size. It is advisable to mulch the soil so that rooting is faster.
Hybrid Starry sky prefers diffused sunlight
When choosing a place, you need to keep in mind that the hybrid petunia Starry sky (Night Sky) prefers partial shade, that is, the sunlight should be bright, but the direct hit of the rays is excluded. For the correct development of the plant and long-term abundant flowering, the culture requires at least 11-12 hours of daylight hours. If it is not enough, then you need to take care of an additional light source.
Flower care
Growing a petunia Starry sky correctly means observing some norms. These include a competent watering and fertilizing regime, preventive spraying and decorative pruning of the bush. In addition, it is important to monitor the temperature regime.
Fertilization should be combined with watering. The first feeding is carried out exclusively with phosphorus compounds. This is necessary to strengthen the root system. After 2 weeks, complex fertilizers or nitrogen fertilizers will be required. During the ripening of the buds, potassium dressings can be added. Water-soluble fertilizers will be required during flowering.
Pruning is needed to form a beautiful bush. If the branches grow long, then gradually this will lead to their thinning, and the flowers will begin to shrink. In addition, the petals lose their unique brightness.
Watering petunias begins from the moment the plant is transplanted. It is necessary to water at the root, as soon as the soil dries up, approximately 1 time in 3-4 days. During the procedure, you need to ensure that moisture does not get on the flower or bud.
As for the temperature regime, petunia can withstand up to 35 ° C of heat, at night the indicators should not be lower than 10 ° C. For petunia Starry sky, the difference between day and night temperatures of 10-15 ° C is important. This has a positive effect on the formation of white specks on a purple background.
Pests and diseases
Petunia (Petunia Night Sky) is difficult to tolerate the attacks of aphids, spider mites and thrips. In order to prevent the influence of parasites, it is necessary to provide the plant with competent care, namely, it should not be brought to excessive soil moisture and violate the temperature regime. It is important to regularly inspect petunias to prevent their activity in the early stages.
Timely inspection is important for the culture in order not to miss the development of the disease and pest attacks.
Spider mites can be seen on petunia buds. In addition to small insects, dots or white bloom with a thin sticky web are visible. As soon as the first signs of parasites are noticed, you need to remove the affected parts of the plant, and then treat the culture with special preparations.
When aphids appear, you can try to influence it with a solution of tobacco and laundry soap. If the stage of the disease is quite dangerous, then more serious drugs must be used. Thrips appear on both sides of the leaf plate, which causes the leaf to quickly dry out and fall off. The most effective drug is Aktara, Confidor.
As for fungal diseases, it is also better to start treating them in the early stages. They appear on the leaves in the form of plaque, stickiness, spots. Before treatment with drugs, you need to trim the affected areas, and then spray with Ordan or Trichodermil.
Application in landscape design
Ampel varieties of petunias, to which the Starry sky variety belongs, develop well in flower beds, in flowerpots and in vertical planting. Before planting, you should consider different options, including unusual raised, round shapes, as well as a gravel garden, a flower ball.
The most advantageous look is petunia with cereals, hosta, all bulbous crops, marigolds. Experts recommend combining compositions with long-flowering plants that are resistant to hot weather.
Conclusion
Petunia Starry sky is a flower of amazing beauty. It is strikingly different from other varieties in appearance. Its main color is dark purple and white blotches are pronounced against this background. This gives the impression of a night sky with bright stars. In addition, gardeners fell in love with the variety because of its unpretentious care and rapid development.
Reviews with a photo about the variety of petunia Starry sky
