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Petunia cascade is an ornamental plant, characterized by unpretentiousness and rapid development. Before planting a crop, it is worth studying its main varieties and care requirements.
Characteristic and description
Cascading petunia is a kind of ampelous plant, but it has an original shoot structure. The stems of the culture first develop in an upward direction, 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 the 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, deep green. On the surface of the plates there is a slight pubescence.
During the decorative period, the cascading petunia blooms with large flowers of white, blue, lilac or purple. Both on the main shoot and on the lateral stems, the buds have the same color.
Cascading petunia buds usually reach 5-7 cm in diameter
Cascading petunia is most often a perennial plant. However, in Our Country it is usually bred as an annual, as the culture 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 still dry out during the winter.
In general, cascading petunia is considered an unpretentious crop with good endurance performance. The flower requires elementary 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
Cascading petunia has many advantages. In particular, the strengths of culture include:
- unpretentiousness – the bushes need mainly regular watering and simple top dressing;
- endurance – culture easily takes root in adverse conditions;
- lush flowering – the plant produces a large number of large buds;
- long decorative effect – with proper care, the cascading petunia retains its attractiveness from the beginning of summer until the first cold weather.
Despite the numerous advantages, the plant has its drawbacks. The disadvantages of culture are:
- moisture-loving – even a short drought leads to the fact that the plant drops buds;
- low resistance to fungal diseases – the culture often suffers from infections if its shoots fall directly to the ground.
When planting a plant, it must be borne in mind 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 a lush cascading petunia can successfully decorate a large empty space.
The best varieties of cascading petunias
Before growing a cascading petunia from seeds, it is necessary to study the popular varieties of the crop. Gardeners speak well of several varieties.
Ramblin Amethyst
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, develops quickly in lighted areas.
Flowering Ramblin Amethyst begins at the end of May
Pink Soft
An annual petunia from the Waterfall series brings large terry buds of soft pink color. It is resistant to heat and prolonged rains, does not require complex care. Flowers in diameter can reach 11 cm. It is recommended to plant a plant on light fertile soil in well-lit areas with protection from the wind. The decorative period of the variety lasts from June until frost.
Cascading petunia Pink Soft rises up to 45 cm in height
Snow White
The domestic variety of cascading petunias from Aelita agricultural firm reaches 40 cm in height. It brings large white buds up to 10 cm in diameter, the flowers are densely double in structure. Well suited for planting in open ground and planters or flowerpots. Withstands adverse weather, does not interrupt flowering during a short drought or during the rainy season.
Variety Snow White blooms throughout the summer
Gioconda Pastel Pink (Gioconda Pastel Pink)
A hybrid variety of cascading petunia is a low plant with numerous shoots. At the beginning of summer it is covered with abundant buds of deep pink color with a lighter eye. Retains decorativeness until late autumn, fades only before the first frost.
Gioconda Pastel Pink flowers reach 6 cm wide
Rim Magenta (Rim Magenta)
A very beautiful cascading petunia blooms with dark cherry buds with a white border around the edge of the petals. The eye of the flowers is almost black. The shoots of the plant reach 60 cm in length, grow widely in all directions. The variety is highly resistant to rain and wind, continues to bloom under adverse 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 a cascading petunia at home
To properly plant a cascading petunia, you need to study the basic requirements of the culture. Attention should be paid to the timing of sowing, as well as the selection of soil and containers.
When to sow cascading petunias for seedlings
It is recommended to sow cascading petunias for seedlings at standard times 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 – transferred to the middle of winter.
Requirements for the pot
Seeds are sown for seedlings, usually 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 picks.
Drainage holes must be provided 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, with neutral indicators of acidity. It can be prepared from soddy land, humus, peat and leaf soil, taken in a ratio of 2: 1: 1: 2. Before use, the substrate is shed with a solution of potassium permanganate or Fitosporin to eliminate possible microorganisms.
If desired, for planting seedlings, it is allowed to use ready-made soil from a gardening store. But it will need to be diluted with sand or perlite to increase friability.
Best of all, cascading petunia develops when planted on sandy or loamy soil.
Rules of landing
To properly sow cascading petunias for seedlings, you must use a simple algorithm. It looks like this:
- The prepared container is filled with a substrate with an indent of about 1,5 cm from the edge.
- Seeds are laid out on the surface of the soil at small intervals.
- The grains are lightly pressed down with your fingers, but do not deepen too much.
- Spray the substrate with tepid water from a spray bottle.
- Cover the container with plastic wrap.
It is not necessary to cover the petunia seeds with soil from above – this will only make it 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 on their own must first be disinfected in a light solution of potassium permanganate and soaked in a growth stimulator for a day.
Further Care
Features of growing cascading petunias are quite simple. At first, the seed container is only ventilated, and after germination, the film is removed from the box and transferred to a lighted window sill. Seedlings are moderately moistened and shaded from the hot sun, when 5-6 true leaves appear, they dive into individual pots.
Large containers for growing petunias can be used both plastic and ceramic. If the culture is to be transplanted into the soil in the future, it is better to choose a pot with a volume of no more than 500 ml. For the constant cultivation of a flower, containers of 5-15 liters are used – depending on how many plants will be in one container.
The ornamental culture is transferred to the air from mid-May to early June. It is necessary to wait until the end of night frosts, otherwise the petunia may suffer. On the site for culture, an open and well-lit place is chosen with protection from strong winds.
Caring for a plant when grown in a garden comes down to several activities:
- Watering. Cascading petunia needs a lot of moisture. In hot weather, it is recommended to water the plant at least twice a week. Warm water is poured into the pots in large quantities until it starts to flow out of the holes at the bottom.
- Top dressing. Fertilizers for petunias should 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 cascading petunia is gently stirred to improve oxygen access.
When growing a crop in a flower bed, weeds must be regularly removed from the soil. They take away water and nutrients from the petunia and slow down its growth.
Do I need to pinch a cascading petunia
In order for the cascading petunia to grow more magnificent and more abundant, it is recommended to pinch the shoots when they stretch to 5-7 cm. The stems are cut over the fifth leaf. After the procedure, the culture should release side shoots in large numbers. In the future, pinching should be carried out monthly.
During the flowering period, it is recommended to remove the fading buds of the cascade petunia in time
Methods of reproduction
Basically, cascading petunias are grown by seedlings. An annual plant sprouts quickly from seed, subject to basic care rules.
But if desired, the culture can also be propagated vegetatively by cuttings. The schema looks like this:
- From an adult petunia, sections of stems up to 10 cm long are cut.
- Remove all leaves except for a pair of upper plates.
- Put the cuttings in a growth stimulator solution for a day.
- Shoots are planted in wet sand and covered with a cut bottle on top.
After new leaves begin to develop on the handle, it can be transferred to a regular pot with a substrate. The transplant is carried out carefully, trying not to injure the young roots.
Protection against diseases and pests
With proper care, the cascade petunia does not suffer from diseases and insects. But if the rules of cultivation are violated, the culture can be harmed by:
- aphids – small green, black or brown insects densely stick to the leaves from the underside and suck the juice out of them;
Under the influence of aphids, petunia leaves curl and acquire an unnatural sheen
- powdery mildew – dry white spots appear on the culture plates, they darken over time, and the plant fades;
Powdery mildew usually develops with excessive soil moisture.
- spider mite – the pest settles on the wrong side of the leaves, entangles the shoots of the cascading petunia with cobwebs.
Spider mite is especially dangerous for flowers in dry and hot weather.
Compliance with the rules of agricultural technology helps to protect the plant from fungal diseases and parasites. It is necessary to control the volume of watering, do not overfeed the petunia with minerals and organics, and regularly loosen the soil and pinch it.
If alarming symptoms have already appeared, you need to spray the plant. From fungi, cascade petunia is treated with copper sulfate, and from insects – with pepper infusion, soapy water or insecticidal preparations Iskra and Aktara.
Seed collection
It is necessary to harvest cascading petunia seeds for subsequent planting from the beginning of summer until the end of the flowering period. On an adult healthy plant, the largest and most beautiful buds are selected, they 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 a couple more days, and then the planting material is opened and removed. Store seeds in a paper bag in a dark, cool place.
Conclusion
Petunia cascade is an unpretentious ornamental plant with abundant flowering. Easily germinates from seeds with timely planting, develops quickly, requires minimal care.
