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The dacha is a favorite vacation spot. In addition to growing healthy vegetables, fruits and berries, many summer residents are happy to decorate the plot with flowers. The variety of shapes and colors creates the uniqueness of each flowerbed or border. Among the popular and affordable flowers, petunias stand out.
They are happily grown both in an open area and on balconies, in pots and flowerpots. Ampelous or cascading varieties that adorn window and doorways, gazebos, terraces, all kinds of arches look great. Petunia is very attractive to gardeners for its long flowering period. If you provide the plant with proper care, then bright flowers will delight you all summer.
Petunia is considered a very unpretentious flower. Minimal care and attention is all that is required to grow petunias outdoors.
Often, summer residents themselves grow seedlings of petuniasto plant your favorite varieties in the ground. After all, petunia from purchased seedlings may differ from the desired parameters.
By this criterion, you can determine the desired sowing date so that the seedlings are ready for planting in open ground at the right time. Therefore, it is very important to determine the timing of when to plant petunia in open ground. Of course, it is good to use the recommendations of the lunar sowing calendar. This is a competent and important assistant to florists, making it easier to waste time But at the same time, it is imperative to take into account the climatic features of the region in which you are going to grow petunia. Depending on this indicator, the disembarkation time fluctuates. An indispensable condition is:
- soil warming temperature;
- confidence that there will be no recurrent spring frosts.
In modern flower catalogs, there are varieties of petunias that tolerate frost well. But if you bought a regular one, you shouldn't risk it.
We calculate the dates of disembarkation
To correctly determine the time of planting petunias in open ground, you need to know the timing:
- sowing seeds for seedlings;
- seed germination;
- development and growth of seedlings;
- readiness of petunia seedlings for transplantation under the open sky.
In addition to all this, you will need knowledge about the composition of the soil for seedlings, seed preparation and competent care for delicate seedlings. Experienced gardeners boldly undertake this task, but our article will be a good help for beginners.
Let's start with the stage of sowing seeds for seedlings, for growing petunias in the open field. First, choose the variety you like. Petunia differs not only in the color of the inflorescences, but also in the shape of the stem. It can be creeping or erect. Choose the type of petunia that suits you in all respects. Sowing is prescribed in the spring for the second half of February - early March. If a sow petunia within these terms, it will be ready for landing in open ground in the second half of May. And flowering will continue from June to mid-October.
What needs to be prepared:
- seeds of the variety you like;
- soil mixture for seedlings;
- containers with a lid or landing pots;
- a small spatula and tweezers;
- spray;
- water;
- a good optimistic mood (the most important tool for a gardener).
We sow petunias for seedlings
We start sowing petunia seeds for growing in the open field. First, we prepare the soil for petunia seedlings. The soil mixture should be:
- drained;
- nutritious;
- neutral.
Petunia responds well to a mixture of peat, river sand, sod land and high-quality rotted humus. If you prefer store-bought soil, a violet growing mix is an excellent option. In terms of the composition of nutritional and mineral components, it is optimal for petunias.
Containers with a lid work well as seed containers. They act as a covering material in the first days after sowing, creating optimal temperature and humidity parameters for the seeds. If this is not possible, take any planting container - pots, cassettes, boxes. In the bottom we make a hole for aeration of the soil and the outflow of excess moisture, so as not to create stagnation of water. Waterlogging of the seeds is more likely to lead to decay than to positive results.
The second advantage of such a hole will be the ability to conveniently water the seedlings. The container is placed in a basin of water and the earth is quickly saturated with moisture. Otherwise, gardeners have to water the petunia seedlings in the early days with a pipette, which is not very convenient.
The container has been prepared, let's move on to the seeds. Experienced gardeners advise purchasing seeds marked F1 for open ground. They exhibit excellent varietal characteristics and have good endurance. The seeds of petunia are very small, you need to be very careful when sowing them in the ground. In addition, they do not differ in excellent germination. Gardeners mix them with river sand to make sowing easier.
- We fill the containers with soil and crush it a little. Don't overdo it - the roots will need a lot of strength to break through the dense crust. At the same time, make sure that there are no lumps. Such precautions are necessary. Otherwise, the seeds will fall into a hole or under a clod of earth, and then the seedlings will not work.
- We moisten the soil with a spray bottle.
- Use tweezers to spread the seeds on the surface of the ground, crushing them slightly. If you've mixed them with sand, just sow. You can sow different varieties in the same container. In this case, be sure to sign the crops.
- Moisten the petunia seeds again and cover the crops with a lid (in the case of a container), glass or film (in a regular container).
- Sign the sowing date on the containers.
- We install a container with seeds over the heating battery, having previously covered it. The optimum air temperature for seeds during this period is + 24 ° C.
We take care of seedlings at home
With strict adherence to the sowing technology, the first shoots can be seen already on the fifth day. The shell cracks and small sprouts appear. Until the emergence of shoots, it is better not to remove the shelter. And then it will be possible to start airing the seedlings twice a day.
The next care according to the rules is:
- regular ventilation;
- ensuring full light time during the first three days (24 hours);
- removing condensation from the container lid, glass or covering film (be sure to do so that the seedlings do not get sick with the "black leg");
- watering by immersing the planting container in water.
When the first 2-3 leaves appear, it is time to pick petunia seedlings intended for planting in open ground. Each florist decides on the need for picking for himself. Some get out of the situation simply by thinning the seedlings. But, for elite varieties or in case of a shortage of seeds, picking is necessary. With its help, the root system is strengthened, the plants are compact. Petunia dive into a separate container. To make the operation as economical as possible, use egg containers. Be sure to make a hole in the cells to drain moisture. This applies to any containers.
We fill them with soil, moisten them, make holes and carefully transfer the seedlings to a new place of residence.
During this period, you need to take care of the seedlings with the help of simple measures.
- Ambient air temperature - from 16 to 18 degrees above zero.
- Watering only as the soil dries up and into the pan.
- Hardening and airing.
- Rotating the container around the axis so that the seedlings grow evenly.
Many gardeners re-pick to provide plants with more food and space, and to create conditions for the development of a strong root system. During this period, seedlings are fed with complex fertilizers for flower seedlings according to the instructions.
We plant a garden beauty in the ground
This stage cannot be called difficult to complete. First, the soil in the selected area is fertilized. Petunia is demanding on soil fertility. The more nutrients it contains, the fuller and longer the flowering will last.
The soil in the flowerbed is dug up and loosened. Then humus or peat is introduced. For acidic soil, you will need to add lime to ensure that the soil is neutral. An excellent addition would be wood ash - an ash shovel on a bucket of humus.
The planting scheme in the open field is dictated by the selected variety. With large inflorescences in an adult plant, seedlings should be planted at a distance of at least 25 cm from each other. Smaller flowers allow planting seedlings in 15-20 cm. How is the planting of petunia seedlings in the open field?
- Places of holes are marked on the site. This is done depending on the selected planting project. If you are planning a regular bed or flower bed, then you can use a cord or pegs. For more complex layouts, make a schematic plan, which then transfer to the open ground.
- Petunia seedlings are taken out of the planting containers very carefully. Care must be taken to ensure that the roots are not damaged when transplanted into open ground. To avoid injury to the roots, the seedlings are pre-watered.
- Petunia seedlings are immediately transferred to the prepared holes and buried. Try to hold this event in the evening or in cloudy weather. Active sun can dry out the delicate root system of flowers, and the seedlings will not take root well. Therefore, it is necessary to plant petunia when conditions are comfortable for seedlings.
Otherwise, be extremely careful when planting an open root system in holes.
When planting in containers, planters or pots, the distance between the petunias can be reduced. The land around the planted plant is watered and mulched. It is good to use humus or peat for these purposes.
Care after planting petunias in open ground will consist in:
- Spraying. In hot months, twice a day. This will allow for lush flowering.
- Frequent but moderate watering. It is important to water the petunia at the root so that the delicate petals are not damaged by drops of water. During the rainy season, pots and pots are brought under a shelter or simply covered.
- Feeding. Regularity is observed once a week, but alternating root and foliar feeding. Petunia in the open field responds gratefully to organics and compounds with potassium. Feeding continues until the end of flowering.
- Treatment with stimulating compounds in adverse weather conditions to improve the growth and flowering of petunias in the open field. "Zircon" or "Epin-Extra" will do.
We examined the seedling method of growing petunias.
But many gardeners immediately sow petunia seeds in open ground and achieve excellent flowering of their favorites.
This procedure is carried out at the end of May. The soil is fertilized in advance, dug up and loosened. The seeds are not buried! It is absolutely impossible to sprinkle the crops of petunias in open ground and in seedling containers with earth and tamp them. Petunia will bloom, sown directly in open ground a couple of weeks later. At the end of June, the flower beds will already be festive.
Many summer residents note that new plants grow in the places of last year's petunia plantings. This happens in areas that are not carefully dug up. But it also proves that it is quite possible to grow petunia outdoors even with minimal experience and knowledge.
