How to plant petunia seedlings correctly

Petunia is a plant that can beautify absolutely any garden. It can be planted both in a flower bed and outdoors. And it will look great in a flower pot. Although it can be planted even in a regular pot. From the moment you sow the seeds until the plant blooms, it takes about three months. So when you plan to grow petunia in your garden, you need to think about it in advance and sow the seeds in time. Our article tells how to plant petunia seedlings correctly.

How to plant petunias for seedlings. When to sow seeds

The time for sowing petunias must be chosen correctly. It needs to be calculated in order to land it in open ground in time. If the seedlings grow too long at home on the windowsill, then they will simply stretch out and after transplanting a beautiful plant it will not work.

But if the seedlings are planted outside too early, then the frost can repeat itself and very much harm the plant. And it is also possible that it will simply die.

First of all, before sowing the seeds of a plant, you need to focus on the local climate. In the Moscow region, it is softer, so the seeds need to be sown there earlier, already at the beginning of February. But in the Urals and Siberia, it is more severe. Therefore, sowing is carried out at the beginning of March.

It is warmer in the Volga region, so sowing seedlings at the end of February will be the best decision. There are varieties of ampelous petunias, it grows a little longer than usual, so it needs to be sown a little earlier than ordinary varieties.

When planting, some gardeners initially look at the lunar calendar and use it to choose the date of planting. This applies to absolutely everything, not just vegetables. It has already been proven by more than one year and more than one generation of gardeners that this calendar is a real thing.

How to properly plant petunia seedlings: preparing the seeds

Petunia seeds can not only be purchased at a gardening store, but also collected by yourself. To do this, you need to leave a few flowers on the petunia bush so that they can fully ripen. After they are ripe, seeds can be harvested from them and stored until spring.

The main thing is that the bush from which you collect the seeds is not a hybrid variety. In principle, hybrid seeds do not produce plants again. But even if it happened by some miracle, the plants can be very different from their relatives.

So, let's start with the fact that you decided to collect the seeds yourself for future plantings. To do this, you need to select low bushes and mark on them those flowers from which you will collect seeds in the future. Mostly gardeners tie bright threads on them. Those flowers that have been marked do not need to be removed from the bush after they have faded.

These flowers should last until they are fully ripe, which is about two months after they have faded. On such flowers, a kind of boxes appear, in which the seeds are located. It is very important not to miss the ripening period, otherwise when the capsules open all the seeds will simply spill out onto the ground. It is best to put a cellophane film under the bush in this place, then after opening the box, the seeds will remain on it.

What should be the soil

You can buy land for sowing seeds in a store, or you can prepare it yourself in the fall. If you have land from your site, then it must necessarily contain: turf, humus, peat, sand.All of the listed ingredients must be in the same proportion. If the soil in your area is acidic, then you need to add simple lime to it.

Absolutely any soil must be disinfected before use. To do this, it can be ignited in the oven, spilled with boiling water, or simply poured with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.

How to properly prepare and plant seeds

Before sowing, the seeds must be prepared. To do this, petunia seeds are mixed with sand, this mixture is poured into a plastic bag and put in the refrigerator for several months.

And before planting, in order for the seeds to sprout faster, they need to be taken out of the refrigerator and soaked overnight in a stimulant such as potassium permanganate or a drug such as Epin.

If you sow plants according to the lunar calendar, on an auspicious day, the seeds should not be planted, but soaked in a solution.

How to plant petunia seedlings at home - different ways

There are several ways to plant the seeds of this beautiful flower.

How to plant petunias for seedlings. Plants can be planted in cassetteswhich can be purchased at any gardening store. And there you can choose the most suitable size for you. The purchased cassettes have already added peat in the required amount. For planting petunias, a cassette with a diameter of 10 cm will be the ideal size.

Landing in cassettes

The seeds can be sown simply in the peat in the cassette. Or you can add earth there, which must be prepared in advance.

How to plant petunias for seedlings. Very often, plant seeds are sown simply into container... Absolutely any containers that you have in stock are also perfect as it. Pour soil into the container, spray it with a spray bottle, sprinkle the seeds on top of the earth and spray again.

Then the container needs to be covered with something, preferably if it is glass. And the covered container must be placed on the window, in the sunlight. The container must be regularly opened, sprayed and ventilated.

How to plant petunias for seedlings. As unusual as it may sound, but petunia seeds can be planted "On the snow"... For this method, soil must be poured into containers or cassettes and a layer of snow is poured on top of it. Moreover, it should be about 5-6 cm. But already on top of the snow you need to sprinkle seeds.

In this case, you can easily see the seeds, because they are intensely black in color and on the white snow you will not in any way confuse them with grains of sand with which the seeds are mixed in preparation for sowing. Considering that the seeds are very small, then when sowing just into the ground, you will definitely sow them densely, and then after the seedlings sprout you will definitely need to thin it out.

But in the case of snow, they are immediately clearly visible and you can "move" them with an ordinary match. And then the plants will grow pointwise, and there will be no need to thin them out. When the snow melts, together with the melted water, the seeds will go to the depth that is comfortable for them.

And in the case of such planting and moisture, the seeds will germinate faster. But even after such a sowing, the container must be covered with glass and put on a window where there will be enough sunlight for it. But if it is not enough, then it will be possible to put additional lighting lamps.

Landing in the snow

How to plant petunias for seedlings. Petunia seeds can be sown with the same success with sand... For this, small seeds of this flower are mixed with sand. This is done for more convenient and rare sowing.

The land before sowing, as in other cases, must be sprayed before sowing seeds. In this case, the seeds will be sown more evenly. After that, the container, as usual, is covered with glass and placed on the windowsill.

Sand landing

How to plant petunias for seedlings. Way "Into the snail"... This method requires a soft substrate approximately one meter long and at least 10 cm wide.A layer of earth of no more than three cm should be poured onto the substrate and carefully rolled into a roll. After that, the edge of the roll needs to be fixed with something so that it does not turn around and put it in some kind of container. After the earth in this roll settles, it needs to be filled up and watered.

Then sprinkle seeds on the ground and cover with a plastic bag. After that, the container with the roll can be placed on the windowsill. But don't forget about airing and spraying. This method is considered excellent due to the fact that the plants do not stretch up, but throw all their strength into the development of the root system.

And in this case, it is convenient to dive the plants, because for this you just need to unfold the roll and take the seedlings along with the ground. In this case, the roots of the plant will not be affected at all. It is necessary to water the seedlings planted in a snail no more than once a week, since it dries out in it for a very long time.

There is also such a method as planting into boiling water... In this case, the seeds will germinate much faster than in the others. For this method, you need to pour soil into the container and pour boiling water over it, and immediately after that you should sow the seeds.

After sowing, the container must be covered with glass, and put on a hot battery for about an hour, after which it can be rearranged on the windowsill. Do not forget about spraying and airing.

Petunia can be planted on plain toilet paper, and there are two completely different methods for this.

• In the first case, you need to take a bag, and put toilet paper folded in several layers on it. It must be white and without perfume. Wet the paper and spread the seeds on it. After the seeds are laid, another layer of paper is laid on top of them, it also needs to be wetted and wrapped in a roll. After twisting, the roll must be rolled up and secured at the end. Then you need to take a container, preferably round, pour water into it and lower this bundle. But there should be enough water so that the seeds do not get into the water at all. If you plant several different varieties, then there should be several rolls. After the procedure, the container must be placed in a plastic bag and tied tightly. After the first shoots sprout, the bag must be regularly untied and ventilated. And twice a week, change the water that remains in the container. When the roots of the plants are long enough and can reach the water, then it can be, and even need to be topped up. By the way, the container should stand on the windowsill and receive the amount of light necessary for the plants.
• There is also a second way to plant petunias using toilet paper. These are seedlings in a bottle. To do this, you need to cut the bottles lengthwise into equal parts. It should turn out to be such a kind of greenhouse. Toilet paper should be cut into narrow strips, put in a bottle and soaked well. Sprinkle seeds on wet paper and cover with the second part of the bottle. The bottle must be put in a bag and put on the windowsill, and, accordingly, wait until the seedlings sprout.

How to properly care for seedlings

After the gathering, the seedlings need to be well and properly looked after.

First of all, you need it regularly. to wateras soon as the ground dries up from above. This is best done by spraying the plants with a spray bottle. Well, or pour water into the pan, which is under the container. The earth itself will be able to nourish the roots of the plant through the holes in the bottom of the container.

Please note that watering the seedlings should be done very carefully, because in no case should moisture get on the leaves of delicate plants. Otherwise, they will simply die.

Water for irrigation must be of settling water and room temperature. When watering with cold water, the borings will experience very strong stress and die almost instantly. Petunia does not like drought or waterlogging. This plant can just start to hurt.

Also, this flower, like other plants, needs timely top dressing. This can be started immediately after the first shoots have appeared. Initially, nitrogen-containing preparations must be added to the ground. This is necessary so that the greens on the seedling appear faster.

And after a while, phosphorus is added to the seedlings. After all, it depends on him how the root system of the plant will develop. And in order for the bushes to have a large number of flowers, you need to make preparations that contain potassium.

But all fertilizers must be applied strictly at the rate. After all, the plant will only suffer from their overabundance.

Picking plants should be carried out at a time when the seedlings are already getting cramped in one container. If this is not done, then due to tightness, instead of developing a full-fledged root system, the plants will spend a lot of energy trying to stretch upwards.

That is why you need to carry out a transplant. Moreover, the distance between the seedlings should be about 10 cm. The most excellent option would be if the plants are transplanted into separate cups for stasis and do not carry out a second pick.

But you always need to remember that the transplant must be carried out very carefully so that the delicate roots of the plant are not damaged.

Plants can also take root more easily if the soil is not tamped too tightly. After picking, the seedlings must be carefully watered.

When to transplant seedlings

It is necessary to transplant petunia seedlings onto the street when the earth is already warming up well and there will definitely be no spring frosts. Basically, the second half of May is suitable for this.

Initially, you need to choose the right area for this beautiful flower to grow. The soil on it should be light, loosened and necessarily fertilized in advance. Before planting, the seedlings must be hardened gradually over two weeks.

You need to carry out a transplant in the evening, when the sun does not shine so brightly. And it's better if it doesn't exist at all. This is necessary so that the plant does not experience even more stress. After all, it is already not easy for them during the transplant.

If you listen to all the advice and carry out care strictly according to the rules, then there will be absolutely no problems in growing this flower.

But with improper watering, plants can get sick with fungal diseases. They can be hit by insects. Plants may grow slower due to the large amount of peat in the ground. And if there is too little light for the seedlings, then it can simply stretch upward.

Experienced gardeners always recommend: add a preparation such as a hydrogel to the ground before transplanting plants. It will help regulate humidity.

The land must be disinfected before sowing seeds and picking. And it does not matter at all whether the land is purchased or prepared independently.

A flower like petunia needs a lot of light and high-quality feeding.

It only initially seems that this flower is difficult to grow, although this is absolutely not the case. The main thing is to comply with all the rules for care. And then these wonderful flowers will delight you with their amazing beauty and will bloom for a long time decorating any, even the gloomiest corner of your site.