Petunia is a perennial from the nightshade family. The natural habitat is South. America. However, it is often planted in Russian gardens. For better flowering, plant seeds are recommended to germinate for seedlings.
Dates of planting petunias for seedlings
Sowing is carried out in mid-January. Young shoots need a lot of light. It can be provided with phytolamps. In the absence of the necessary lighting, the bushes will be thin and weak, they will not be able to withstand various diseases.
If it is not possible to install lighting fixtures, wait until the daylight hours are long enough (March-April). It is important not to tighten with it so that the appearance of flowers is not too late. Petunia will begin to form buds after 2.5-3 months.
Selection of Petunia Seeds for Germination
Choose only high-quality seed. Then preliminary processing will not be necessary. You can not buy seeds from little-known sellers.
Seeds are sold in two forms: as usual and in granules. In the first case, they are very small, and in the second they may not germinate due to the dense shell (this usually occurs with weak watering).
Necessary soil for petunia seedlings
Low pH or neutral land is required. The substrate to choose loose, nutritious, well-retaining water.
Soil mix can be purchased at the store. For example, universal soil Stender. Before planting, it is necessary to add to the purchased substrate (dosage per half a bucket of land):
- 500 g of ash;
- 250 g perlite;
- 1 tbsp potassium sulfate.
Soil mix is made independently. The following are mixed in a proportion of 2: 2: 1: 2:
- humus;
- turf;
- sand;
- peat.
You can use sand, garden soil, peat substrate (1: 1: 2).
After preparing the soil, it must be passed through a sieve 2 times (first through large, then through fine). Before sowing, pour Previkur or potassium permanganate for disinfection.
The choice of capacity for sowing petunias
It is necessary to use not deep, wide containers. Possible options:
- Peat tablets are convenient and practical. Their cost is quite high, but they are worth it.
- Cassettes - not inferior in advantages to the first option. There are different sizes, for petunias a diameter of 10 cm is recommended.
- Plastic containers are an affordable and popular container.
Mr. Dachnik advises: tricky ways to germinate petunia seeds
The seeds are small, so gardeners have come up with various ways to simplify sowing. The first trick:
- Pour soil mixture into the container, departing from the top of 0.5 cm.
- Fill the remaining space with snow.
- Spread the seed in rows, observing a distance of 2 cm.
- Cover with plastic wrap.
- After biting seedlings, remove the shelter.
The second way (to the snail):
- Buy a thin substrate for a laminate (2 mm) in any hardware store.
- Lay seeds on it in rows, backing off a distance of 2 cm.
- Cover with toilet paper and spray from a spray bottle with a fine nozzle.
- Twist into a roll, dress with a thread.
- Place in a warm, well-lit room.
- When seedlings appear, loosen the cochlea and pour earth into it.
- After a week, transplant into boxes, leaving a distance of 7 cm.
This method allows you to save space and get strong seedlings.
Petunia seedling care
Sprouts can be observed after 5-6 days. Pellets sprout 1-2 days earlier. The first time the shoots need careful care, because they are thin and weak.
Optimal conditions for growing
If you follow the recommendations below, growing seedlings will not be a problem:
| Factor | Conditions |
| Lighting | The first 5-6 days - around the clock. Then enough 11-12 hours. If the room is dark, you can use lighting fixtures. They need to be installed 20 cm above the shoots. Sun rays can burn greens. Therefore, at noon, shrubs shade or remove from the windowsill. |
| Temperature | When sowing, the optimum is + 22 ... +25 ° C. With its decrease, seedlings may not rise, with an increase they will begin to hurt. After biting the sprouts, reduce to + 18 ... +20 ° C (during the day), + 14 ... +16 ° C (at night) for hardening. This can be done by moving the pots away from the working thermal appliances, ventilating the room. When opening the windows or windows, the petunia must be taken out to another room. |
| Watering | 7 days to spray with a weak solution of potassium permanganate (1-2 r. / Day.). Sprouts that appear are watered daily. It is impossible to overmoisten seedlings, this increases the risk of developing a black leg. Lack of moisture will dry out the bushes. Water should be soft, settled, without bleach, warm (preferably thawed). It is advisable to use lower watering. It can be poured over the walls of the pot or injected with a syringe under the roots. Daytime hydration can harm young bushes. Therefore, in the rain they need to be watered before dinner, and in the heat after. |
| Fertilizer | If the seedlings are too weak, sprinkle with Epin, Heteroauxin and other growth accelerators a couple of times before diving. After 6-7 days after biting the shoots, make mineral mixtures. Repeat feeding after 1.5 weeks. |
Picking seedlings of petunia
At home, seedlings contain a couple of months. During this period, the rhizome grows strongly, plants need to be dived into glasses of 200-250 mg. Drain holes are required at the bottom.
The pick is made after the formation of 2-3 pairs of leaves:
- Move bushes by transshipment. With the roots you need to be extremely careful, they can not be disturbed.
- Fill the voids with earth and moisten.
- When the soil settles, add more substrate.
- Shade from UV rays.
- During the week, keep at a temperature of + 18 ... +21 ° C.
When sown in peat tablets, the shoots are transplanted into individual containers with them. Sometimes the bushes grow very quickly, and they dive twice.
Pinch seedlings of petunia
Necessary for branching. Pinch over 4 or 5 sheets. You also need to break the top of the stem with a growth point. Thanks to such manipulations, a new branch will begin to grow from the sinuses of greenery, flowering will be plentiful.
Branching in ampel species is weak. A pinch will not help to make them more magnificent, therefore it is not necessary.
Diseases and pests of seedlings
As a rule, diseases and insects infect petunia seedlings only with errors in care:
| Problem | Causes | Remedial measures |
| Chlorosis |
|
|
| Spider mite |
|
|
| Blackleg |
|
|
Preparing seedlings for transplanting in open ground
After a dive, the bushes need hardening. First take out a quarter of an hour, increase the time daily. Leave in the open air all night before landing. Hardening should be continued for a couple of weeks. Landing in open ground should be done in late spring or early summer (when the probability of frost returning disappears).
