Content
Cascade petunia is an ornamental plant characterized by its unpretentiousness and rapid growth rate. Before planting a crop, it is worth studying its main varieties and care requirements.
Characteristics and description
Cascade petunia is a type of hanging plant, but has an original shoot structure. The stems of the crop first develop upward and then begin to fall down. During the flowering period, the plant acquires a spherical shape due to the large number of buds.
Photos of petunia cascade show that the culture has powerful and thick, but flexible shoots up to 1.5 m long. The leaves are oval, with pointed tips, and deep green. There is slight pubescence on the surface of the plates.
During the decorative period, cascading petunia blooms with large flowers of white, blue, lilac or purple. The buds on both the main shoot and the side stems are the same color.
Cascade petunia buds usually reach 5-7 cm in diameter
Cascade petunia is most often a perennial plant. However, in Russia it is usually bred as an annual plant, since the crop reacts poorly to cold. If you wish, you can try to bring the plant into the house in the fall, but most likely the bushes will dry out during the winter.
In general, cascade petunia is considered an unpretentious crop with good hardiness. The flower requires basic care; in favorable conditions it is rarely affected by diseases and pests. You can grow bushes both in open ground and in closed containers.
Advantages and disadvantages
Cascade petunia has numerous advantages. In particular, the strengths of culture include:
- unpretentiousness - bushes require mainly regular watering and simple fertilizing;
- endurance - the culture easily takes root in unfavorable conditions;
- lush flowering - the plant produces a large number of large buds;
- long-lasting decorative effect - with proper care, cascading petunia remains attractive from the beginning of summer until the first cold weather.
Despite its many advantages, the plant has its disadvantages. The disadvantages of culture are:
- moisture-loving - even a short drought causes the plant to drop its buds;
- low resistance to fungal diseases - the crop often suffers from infections if its shoots fall directly to the ground.
When planting a plant, you need to take into account that it will take up more space than bush varieties. But this feature is not always a disadvantage. In many cases, just a few bushes of lush cascading petunias can successfully decorate a large empty space.
The best varieties of cascade petunia
Before growing cascade petunia from seeds, you need to study popular varieties of the crop. Gardeners speak well of several varieties.
Ramblin Ametist
The cascade variety rises up to 35 cm above ground level, while spreading up to 1 m in diameter. It blooms with soft lilac buds with a dark eye in the core. Prefers light and well-drained soil with neutral acidity, grows quickly in illuminated areas.
Ramblin Amethyst blooms at the end of May
Pink Soft
Annual petunia from the Waterfall series bears large double buds of soft pink color. It is resistant to heat and prolonged rains and does not require complex care. Flowers can reach 11 cm in diameter. It is recommended to plant the plant on light, fertile soil in well-lit areas protected from the wind. The decorative period of the variety lasts from June until frost.
Cascade petunia Pink Soft grows up to 45 cm in height
Snow White
The domestic variety of cascade petunia from the agricultural company Aelita reaches 40 cm in height. It bears large white buds up to 10 cm in diameter; the structure of the flowers is densely double. Well suited for planting in open ground and in flowerpots or flowerpots.Withstands unfavorable weather, does not interrupt flowering during a short drought or during rainy periods.
The Snow White variety blooms throughout the summer
Gioconda Pastel Pink
The hybrid variety of cascade petunia is a low plant with numerous shoots. At the beginning of summer it is covered with abundant buds of a rich pink color with a lighter eye. It remains decorative until late autumn and fades only before the first frost.
Flowers of the Gioconda Pastel Pink variety reach 6 cm in width
Rome Magenta
A very beautiful cascading petunia blooms with dark cherry buds with a white border along the edge of the petals. The eye of the flowers is almost black. The shoots of the plant reach 60 cm in length and grow widely in all directions. The variety is highly resistant to rain and wind and continues to bloom in unfavorable weather conditions. The buds remain on the shoots from late spring until October.
Rome Magenta can grow not only in the sun, but also in partial shade
How to grow cascade petunia at home
To properly plant cascading petunia, you need to study the basic requirements of the crop. Attention should be paid to the timing of sowing, as well as the selection of soil and containers.
When to sow cascading petunia for seedlings
It is recommended to sow cascade petunia for seedlings at the standard time in early spring. In the central regions of the country, the procedure is carried out at the end of February or in March. In Siberia and the Urals, planting can be postponed until the first days of April, and in the southern regions it can be postponed until mid-winter.
Potty requirements
Seeds are usually sown for seedlings in a wide but shallow container made of wood or plastic. You can also use peat cups or tablets - this will allow you to do without subsequent picking.
It is imperative to provide drainage holes at the bottom of the containers. In addition, before sowing seeds, plastic or wooden containers are scalded with boiling water to disinfect. Peat containers do not need to be disinfected.
Soil preparation
The soil for seedlings needs fertile, neutral acidity. It can be prepared from turf soil, humus, peat and leaf soil, taken in a ratio of 2:1:1:2. Before use, the substrate is spilled with a solution of potassium permanganate or Fitosporin to eliminate possible microorganisms.
If desired, you can use ready-made soil from a gardening store for planting seedlings. But it will need to be diluted with sand or perlite to increase friability.
Cascade petunia develops best when planted on sandy or loamy soil.
Landing rules
To properly sow cascading petunia for seedlings, you need to use a simple algorithm. It looks like this:
- The prepared container is filled with substrate with an indentation of about 1.5 cm from the edge.
- The seeds are laid out on the surface of the soil at small intervals.
- The grains are lightly pressed with your fingers, but not deepened too much.
- Spray the substrate with lukewarm water from a spray bottle.
- Cover the container with plastic wrap.
There is no need to cover the petunia seeds with soil on top - this will only make it more difficult for the material to germinate.
If we are talking about planting purchased grains, then they are not subjected to pre-treatment before sowing.Seeds collected independently must first be disinfected in a light solution of potassium permanganate and soaked in a growth stimulator for a day.
Further care
The features of growing cascade petunia are quite simple. At first, the container with the seeds is only ventilated, and after seedlings form, the film is removed from the box and transferred to a lighted windowsill. The seedlings are moderately moistened and shaded from the hot sun; when 5-6 true leaves appear, they are planted in individual pots.
Large containers for growing petunias can be used either plastic or ceramic. If the crop is to be replanted into the soil in the future, it is better to choose a pot with a volume of no more than 500 ml. For permanent flower growing, containers of 5-15 liters are used, depending on how many plants will be in one container.
The decorative crop is transferred to the air from mid-May to early June. It is necessary to wait until the end of the night frosts, otherwise the petunia may suffer. On the crop site, choose an open and well-lit place with protection from strong winds.
Caring for a plant when grown in the garden comes down to several activities:
- Watering. Cascade petunia needs a lot of moisture. In hot weather, it is recommended to water the plant at least twice a week. Lukewarm water is poured into the pots in large quantities until it begins to flow out of the holes in the bottom.
- Feeding. Fertilizers for petunias need to be applied twice a month.It is allowed to use complex minerals containing potassium, magnesium and phosphorus, as well as organic solutions of mullein and bird droppings.
- Loosening. After each watering, the soil at the roots of the cascade petunia is carefully turned to improve oxygen access.
When growing crops in a flowerbed, it is necessary to regularly remove weeds from the soil. They take away water and nutrients from the petunia and slow down its growth.
Do I need to pinch cascading petunia?
In order for cascading petunia to grow more magnificently and abundantly, it is recommended to pinch the shoots when they stretch to 5-7 cm. The stems are cut off above the fifth leaf. After the procedure, the crop should produce lateral shoots in large quantities. In the future, pinching should be done monthly.
During the flowering period, it is recommended to promptly remove fading buds of cascading petunia
Reproduction methods
Cascade petunia is mainly grown using the seedling method. The annual plant quickly sprouts from seeds if basic care rules are followed.
But if desired, the crop can also be propagated vegetatively by cuttings. The diagram looks like this:
- From an adult petunia, cut sections of stems up to 10 cm long.
- Remove all leaves except a couple of top plates.
- Place the cuttings in a solution of a growth stimulator for a day.
- The shoots are planted in damp sand and covered with a cut bottle.
After new leaves begin to develop on the cuttings, it can be transferred to a regular pot with substrate. Transplantation is carried out carefully, trying not to injure the young roots.
Protection from diseases and pests
With proper care, cascade petunia does not suffer from diseases and insects. But if the cultivation rules are violated, the crop can be harmed by:
- aphids - small green, black or brown insects densely cling to the leaves on the underside and suck the juice out of them;
Under the influence of aphids, petunia leaves curl and acquire an unnatural shine.
- powdery mildew - dry white spots appear on the plates of the crop, over time they darken, and the plant withers;
Powdery mildew usually develops when there is excessive soil moisture.
- spider mite - a pest that settles on the underside of leaves and entangles the shoots of cascading petunia with a web.
Spider mites are especially dangerous for flowers in dry and hot weather
Compliance with the rules of agricultural technology helps protect the plant from fungal diseases and parasites. It is necessary to control the volume of watering, not to overfeed the petunia with minerals and organic matter, and also to regularly loosen the soil and pinch it.
If alarming symptoms have already appeared, you need to spray the plant. For fungi, cascade petunia is treated with copper sulfate, and for insects - with pepper infusion, soapy water or insecticidal preparations Iskra and Aktara.
Seed collection
It is necessary to harvest cascade petunia seeds for subsequent planting from the beginning of summer until the end of the flowering period. On an adult healthy plant, select the largest and most beautiful buds, wait for the formation of bivalve boxes with grains and tie them with gauze.
After the flower fades, the fruits can be carefully cut from the shoots. At home, the boxes are dried in a warm room for another couple of days, and then they are opened and the planting material is removed. Seeds should be stored in a paper bag in a cool, dark place.
Conclusion
Petunia cascade is an unpretentious ornamental plant with abundant flowering. It germinates easily from seeds when planted in a timely manner, develops quickly, and requires minimal care.
