How to grow petunia seedlings at home

Among annual flowers, one of the first places is deservedly occupied by petunias. They have an incredible palette of shades, they are unpretentious, and their scope is so wide that, even without a dacha, you can enjoy the luxury of these plants.

The only difficulty is that petunias need to be grown through seedlings, and not everyone succeeds in it. However, if you know some tricks and follow the elementary rules of agricultural technology, everything will work out.

Seeding for seedlings

Petunia seeds are sown for seedlings in March, and the specific dates depend on the variety:

• ampelous – from March 1 to March 10;
• large-flowered – from March 10 to March 20;  
• small-flowered – from March 20 to 30.

It is best to sow them in shallow plastic containers with a lid. The bottom needs to be pierced in several places with an awl so that excess moisture flows through these holes – petunias do not like stagnant water.

Any soil is suitable for seedlings. You can use your own land from the garden if you stocked it up in the fall. Or buy any universal soil for seedlings in the garden center. But remember: such soils are made on the basis of peat, and it dries out very quickly, so you will have to water it often. It is useful to add ash to the soil – it will protect seedlings from diseases and hydrogel – it helps to retain moisture in the soil.

The containers must be filled with soil so that 2 cm is left to the edges. The top layer, about 1 cm, must be sifted through a sieve – it is important that it be homogeneous, because the petunia seeds are very small, they will not break through the clods of earth.

The filled container must be thoroughly watered and left for a day so that the soil is completely saturated with moisture.

After that, the seeds can be sown. And here the summer residents have difficulties. Petunia seeds are more like dust, it is almost impossible to distribute them evenly over the surface. But there is a trick – they need to be mixed with sand, and then take this mixture in a pinch and sow, as if you were salting the soil.

After sowing, the container must be closed with a lid and removed in a bright place. Please note: in no case should the seeds be covered with earth – they germinate on the surface, they need light!

Petunia sprouts about 2 weeks. Sometimes a little longer. But if 3 weeks have passed, and there are still no shoots, it no longer makes sense to wait for them – even if single sprouts appear, they will be frail, and good flowering cannot be achieved from them. Better to reseed.

Rules for the care of seedlings of petunias

Seeded containers should be removed in a warm place – the temperature should be about 25 ° C. As soon as shoots appear, the temperature should be lowered to 18 ° C. This is important, because in a too warm room, the sprouts are strongly stretched and lie down.

Water the crops carefully so as not to wash off the tender shoots. A watering can is not suitable here – it is better to moisten the ground with a spray bottle or with a teaspoon. And whenever the seedlings are small, cover the container with a lid after watering – they need high humidity. But at the same time, it is important that water does not stagnate in the crops, so they need to be ventilated twice a day – this will help to avoid the development of diseases.

It is best to feed petunia seedlings with liquid complex fertilizer – strictly according to the instructions. The first dressing is given when 2 true leaves appear. And then 1 time in 2 weeks.

As soon as the plants have 3 true leaves, they need to be seated in separate cups. And immediately pinch the top – after that the petunia will be more magnificent, side shoots will begin to actively grow in it. The first week after transplanting, seedlings should be kept warm – at a temperature of about 20 ° C. And then move to a cooler place, where it will be 18 ° C during the day and 15 ° C at night.

Petunia seedlings are planted in open ground in May – early June (1), when the threat of frost has passed. Petunias bloom 55-95 days after germination, depending on the variety (2).

Petunia seedling diseases

Petunia seedlings have one main problem – crops lie down. And this is very dangerous, because the cause is root rot. And it is able to quickly spread to all plants, while they are in the same container.

If you notice a problem, you must immediately remove all wilted shoots along with a clod of earth. Pour a mixture of calcined sand and ash (1: 1) into the formed hole and sprinkle the entire surface of the soil with the same mixture.

After that, the seedlings need to be watered with any biological product from fungal diseases. Suitable Fitosporin-M, Skor, Gamair or Alirin-B (3).

And a week before planting in open ground, seedlings must be treated again with one of these preparations.

Petunias in garden design

Petunias are easy to care for, but finding the right place for them in the garden is not an easy task. They are very diverse in color, often the flowers have several shades, and if you plant them in flower beds haphazardly, you get a clumsy motley heap that will irritate.

If the flower garden is small, it is better to plant varieties of the same shade that are different in height. In the center – high, along the edges – low. In this case, you get a volumetric composition. Another option is varieties that contrast in color, for example, yellow with purple, orange with blue, white with black.

You can plant petunias in an area with bulbous spring flowers – tulips, daffodils, crocuses and hyacinths. At first, they will complement the bright flowers of primroses with juicy greenery, and then, when the bulbous flowers fade and dry, they will hide unsightly bald spots.

If you like prefabricated compositions, with many species, then plant petunias in the company of calendula, marigolds, levkoy, verbena, snapdragons, pelargoniums or coleus. They look good in the company of cereals. And, of course, the classic version is petunias with silver cineraria.

Ampelous petunias will be appropriate in flowerpots – they can be placed on the porch, near the gazebo, bench or patio. They look great in hanging planters, which can also decorate a gazebo or veranda.

Don’t have a cottage? This is not a reason to refuse petunias – they grow well on the balcony in boxes or the same hanging planters.

But keep in mind one thing: the soil dries out very quickly in the pots. If you constantly live in the country (or it is a country house) – this is not a problem, the plants can be watered at any time. Weekend gardeners always have a problem with watering, so add more hydrogel to the potting soil – it retains moisture in the soil for a long time.

And try to hang flower pots with petunias in a quiet place – the wind can beat them very much, the plants will lose their decorative effect.

Popular questions and answers

We talked about growing petunias with agronomist-breeder Svetlana Mikhailova.

Sources of

1. Tavlinova G.K. Flowers in the room and on the balcony (2nd ed., revised and additional) // L .: Agropromizdat, Leningrad branch, 1985 – 272 p.

2. Kudryavets D.B., Petrenko N.A. How to grow flowers. A book for students // M .: Education, 1993 – 176 p.

3. State catalog of pesticides and agrochemicals permitted for use on the territory of the Federation as of July 6, 2021 // Ministry of Agriculture of the Federation

https://mcx.gov.ru/ministry/departments/departament-rastenievodstva-mekhanizatsii-khimizatsii-i-zashchity-rasteniy/industry-information/info-gosudarstvennaya-usluga-po-gosudarstvennoy-registratsii-pestitsidov-i-agrokhimikatov/