Content
Blooming petunia is a very beautiful decorative flower that can grow with equal success both in open ground and in various pots and cache-pots. Adult flowers are quite unpretentious and do not require special attention from the gardener. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about young plants. Petunia seedlings very capricious and without proper care will quickly begin to get sick and die. Below we will talk about the most common causes of death of petunia seedlings.
Causes of death of seedlings
There are quite a few reasons why petunia seedlings fall and die. Most often they are associated with violation of care conditions or with damage to young plants by various fungal diseases. Among all the reasons leading to the death of petunia seedlings, the most basic can be identified:
- low air humidity;
- blackleg lesion;
- chlorosis;
- problems with the root system.
Let's take a closer look at each of these reasons.
Low air humidity
High air humidity is very important for petunia seedlings. Moreover, it is important not only for young seedlings, but also only for planted seeds. If petunia seeds are not provided with high air humidity, they simply will not sprout.
Very often, when sprouts have just hatched, the gardener rushes to remove the film from the planting container, making a huge mistake. As a result of such actions, young seedlings are deprived of a moist environment and become weak and unviable. Often they cannot even free themselves from the seed coat.
There is only one way out of this situation - to increase air humidity. The petunia seedlings must be covered again with film or glass, thus reducing the flow of dry air. At the same time, the container with petunia seedlings must be ventilated once a day.
If the petunia seedlings continue to grow, but do not shed their seed coats, then they will have to be helped. For this you need to use tweezers or a thin needle.
Blackleg lesion
The main reason why petunia seedlings die is a fungal disease known to almost all gardeners as blackleg. At the same time, at first the petunia seedlings look quite healthy and grow well. But then it falls sharply and never rises.
Visually, a blackleg lesion can be identified by the thin base of the stem and its characteristic black color. That is why the disease came to be called blackleg. Blackleg is caused by various types of molds that are found in the upper layers of the soil. They are present in any land, but until a certain point they are dormant. As soon as external conditions become favorable, mold fungi become active and begin to infect any plants within their reach.Activation and further proliferation of fungi that cause blackleg occurs when:
- strong humidity;
- warm earth;
- dense planting of seedlings;
- acidic soil.
It is easy to see that all these points are similar to the conditions necessary for the growth of petunia seedlings. That is why the prevention of blackleg should not be ignored. Preliminary disinfection of the soil and daily ventilation of petunia seedlings will help to avoid blackleg. But if suddenly, despite these actions, the black leg still affects the seedlings, the first thing to do is to remove the affected plants without regret. Then it is recommended to completely replace the soil in which the seedlings grow.
If, after removing all diseased plants and replanting, the blackleg continues to kill the seedlings, then you can resort to chemical control. To do this, you need to prepare a solution that makes the soil unsuitable for mold fungi. Such a solution can be prepared from potassium permanganate or 40% formaldehyde.
Problems with the root system
Problems with the root system can only be suspected when the seedlings first grew normally, and then suddenly stopped growing and began to wither.
Problems with the root system of petunias can arise either as a result of improper watering and inappropriate temperature conditions, or as a result of a simple lack of space for the roots. If, apart from sudden wilting of the seedlings, there are no signs of fungal diseases and the temperature regime is at the recommended values, then it is worth taking the seedling out of the planting container and inspecting its roots.
If the roots have grown greatly, then the petunia seedling needs to choose a container with a large volume. The first few weeks after transplantation, the young plant will adapt to new conditions, so it is better to postpone feeding for this time. But after one to two weeks, it is recommended to feed the transplanted petunia seedling with complex fertilizer, which includes phosphorus and boron. These substances will contribute to the rapid growth of the root system, which has experienced stress from lack of space and subsequent replanting.
Chlorosis
You should talk about chlorosis only when the petunia seeds have sprouted safely, but the new leaves on the seedlings are not green, but yellow.
Chlorosis is a very insidious disease that can occur in both young seedlings and mature seedlings just before planting in the ground. If chlorosis is left unattended, it will inevitably lead to the death of seedlings. The main cause of this disease is iron deficiency in the plant. It can occur due to poor soil composition or due to a weak root system that is unable to absorb iron from the soil.
In the fight against chlorosis, the best remedy is foliar feeding. Thanks to it, iron will immediately reach the leaves of petunia seedlings and be absorbed faster. Among iron-containing preparations, good results are shown by Iron Chelate, Ferovin and Micro Fe. If it is difficult to get them, you can water or spray the petunia seedlings with a light solution of iron sulfate. You can also use conventional complex fertilizers that contain iron.
If flowering petunia seedlings become sick with chlorosis, then the buds must be removed.This measure will allow the plants to retain the internal strength that they would spend on flowering. If timely measures are taken at the initial stage of the disease, chlorosis is cured quite quickly. A longer time will be required when treating advanced chlorosis, but the outcome will also be favorable. Wherein yellowed petunia leaves no need to delete. They can restore their color after two to three weeks.
Conclusion
Petunia seedlings can be compared to a capricious child that needs constant attention and care. To prevent it from dying before planting in open ground, the gardener will have to constantly monitor its condition, noticing even minor changes. After all, it is easiest to cope with any disease at the initial stage, and even better to prevent it altogether.
