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The dacha is a favorite vacation spot. In addition to growing healthy vegetables, fruits and berries, many summer residents enjoy decorating their plots with flowers. The variety of shapes and colors creates uniqueness for each flowerbed or border. Among the popular and affordable flowers, petunias stand out.
They are happily grown both in open areas and on balconies, in pots and flowerpots. Ampel or cascade varieties that decorate window and door openings, gazebos, terraces, and all kinds of arches look great. Petunia is very attractive to gardeners due to its long flowering period. If you provide the plant with proper care, the 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 petunia outdoors.
Often, summer residents themselves growing petunia seedlingsto plant your favorite varieties in the ground. After all, petunia from purchased seedlings may differ from the desired parameters.
Using 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 for flower growers, making it easier to waste time. But at the same time, it is necessary to take into account the climatic characteristics of the region in which you are going to grow petunia. Depending on this indicator, the disembarkation time varies. An indispensable condition is:
- soil heating temperature;
- confidence that there will be no return spring frosts.
In modern flower catalogs there are varieties of petunias that tolerate frost well. But if you purchased a regular one, don’t take the risk.
Calculating the time of disembarkation
To correctly determine the time for 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 transplanting outdoors.
In addition to all this, you will need knowledge about the composition of soil for seedlings, seed preparation and proper care of delicate seedlings. Experienced gardeners boldly take on this task, but for beginners our article will be a good help.
Let's start with the stage of sowing seeds for seedlings to grow petunia in open ground. 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 a type of petunia that suits you in all respects. Sowing is scheduled in the spring for the second half of February - early March. If sow petunia within this time frame, it will be ready for planting in open ground in the second half of May. And flowering will continue from June to mid-October.
What you need to prepare:
- seeds of your favorite variety;
- soil mixture for seedlings;
- containers with lids or planting containers;
- small spatula and tweezers;
- spray;
- water;
- a good optimistic mood (the most important tool for a gardener).
We sow petunias for seedlings
Let's start sowing petunia seeds for growing in open ground. 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, turf soil and high-quality rotted humus. If you prefer purchased soil, then a mixture for growing violets is an excellent option. In terms of the composition of nutritional and mineral components, it is optimally suited for petunias.
Containers with a lid work well as containers for sowing. 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. We make a hole in the bottom to aerate the soil and drain excess moisture, so as not to create stagnation of water. Over-watering the seeds is more likely to lead to rotting than to positive results.
The second advantage of such a hole will be the possibility of convenient watering of seedlings. The container is placed in a basin of water and the ground is quickly saturated with moisture. Otherwise, gardeners have to water petunia seedlings in the first days using a pipette, which is not very convenient.
The container is 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.Petunia seeds are very small, you need to be very careful when sowing them in the ground. In addition, they do not have excellent germination. Gardeners mix them with river sand to make sowing more convenient.
- Fill the containers with soil and press it down a little. Don't try too hard - 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 lump of earth, and then the seedlings will not be able to wait.
- We moisten the soil with a spray bottle.
- Using tweezers, place the seeds on the surface of the ground, pressing lightly. If you mixed them with sand, then just sow. You can sow different varieties in one container. In this case, be sure to label 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).
- Label the sowing date on the containers.
- We place the container with the seeds above the heating radiator, having previously covered it. The optimal air temperature for seeds during this period is +24°C.
We take care of seedlings at home
If the sowing technology is strictly followed, the first shoots can be noticed already on the fifth day. The shell cracks and small sprouts appear. It is better not to remove the cover until the shoots appear. And then it will be possible to start ventilating the seedlings twice a day.
The following rules of care include:
- regular ventilation;
- ensuring full daylight hours during the first three days (24 hours);
- removing condensation from the container lid, glass or covering film (this must be done so that the seedlings do not get sick with “black leg”);
- watering by immersing the planting containers in water.
When the first 2-3 leaves appear, it is time to pick petunia seedlings intended for planting in open ground. Each gardener decides for himself whether picking is necessary. Some people get out of the situation by simply thinning out 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 and the plants are compact. Dive petunia into a separate container. To carry out the operation as economically as possible, take egg containers. Be sure to make a hole in the cells for moisture drainage. This applies to any containers.
We fill them with soil, moisten them, make holes and carefully transfer the seedlings to their new place of residence.
During this period, seedlings need to be cared for using simple measures.
- The ambient temperature is from 16 to 18 degrees above zero.
- Water only when the soil dries and into the pan.
- Hardening and ventilation.
- Rotate the container around its axis so that the seedlings grow evenly.
Many gardeners re-pick to provide plants with more nutrition and space and to create conditions for the development of strong root systems. During this period, the seedlings are fed with complex fertilizers for flower seedlings according to the instructions.
Planting 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 more magnificent and longer the flowering will continue.
The soil in the flower bed is dug up and loosened. Then humus or peat is added. For acidic soil, you will need to add lime to ensure the soil is neutral. Wood ash would be an excellent addition - add a shovel of ash to a bucket of humus.
The planting pattern in open ground is dictated by the selected variety. For large inflorescences on an adult plant, seedlings should be planted at a distance of at least 25 cm from each other. Smaller flowers allow seedlings to be planted after 15-20 cm. How is petunia seedlings planted in open ground?
- Hole locations are marked on the site. This is done depending on the chosen planting project. If you plan to have a regular bed or flowerbed, you can use a cord or pegs. For more complex markings, make a schematic plan, which you then transfer to open ground.
- Petunia seedlings are taken out of the planting containers very carefully. It is necessary to ensure that the roots are not damaged when transplanting into open ground. To avoid injury to the roots, the seedlings are pre-watered.
- Petunia seedlings are immediately transferred to 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 take root poorly. Therefore, petunia needs to be planted under conditions that are comfortable for the seedlings.
Otherwise, be extremely careful when planting exposed root systems into holes.
When planting in containers, flowerpots or pots, the distance between petunias can be reduced. The ground 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 of:
- Spraying. In hot months, twice a day. This will allow you to achieve 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, flowerpots and pots are brought under cover or simply covered.
- Feeding. Regularity is observed once a week, but alternating root and foliar feeding. Petunia in open ground responds gratefully to organic matter and potassium compounds. Feeding continues until the end of flowering.
- Treatment with stimulating compounds under unfavorable weather conditions to improve the growth and flowering of petunia in open ground. Zircon or Epin-Extra will do.
We looked at the seedling method of growing petunia.
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! Petunia crops in open ground and in seedling containers should not be sprinkled with earth and compacted. Petunia sown directly in open ground will bloom 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 places where petunias were planted last year. This happens in areas that are not carefully dug up.But it also proves that growing petunia in open ground is quite possible even with minimal experience and knowledge.
