Planting petunia in open ground 

Dacha is a favorite vacation spot. In addition to growing healthy vegetables, fruits and berries, many summer residents are happy to decorate the plot with flowers. A variety of shapes and colors creates the uniqueness of each flower bed or border. Among the popular and affordable flowers, petunias stand out.

They are grown with pleasure both in an open area and on balconies, in pots and flowerpots. Ampelous or cascading varieties look great, which adorn window and doorways, gazebos, terraces, and all kinds of arches. Petunia is very attractive to gardeners with a long flowering period. If you provide the plant with proper care, then bright flowers will delight you all summer.

Petunia is considered a very unpretentious flower. Minimal care and attention is all that is required for growing petunias in the open field.

Often, gardeners themselves grow petunia seedlings in order to plant their favorite varieties in the ground. After all, petunia from purchased seedlings may differ from the desired parameters.

By 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 when planting a 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 to flower growers, making it easier to spend time. But at the same time, it is imperative to take into account the climatic features of the region in which you are going to grow petunias. Depending on this indicator, the landing 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 bought a regular one, it’s not worth the risk.

Calculate drop off times

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 under the open sky.

In addition to all this, you will need knowledge about the composition of the soil for seedlings, seed preparation and proper care for tender 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, for growing petunias 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 upright. Choose a type of petunia that suits you in all respects. Sowing is appointed in the spring for the second half of February – the beginning of March. If you sow a petunia within these terms, then 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 needs to be prepared:

• seeds of the variety you like;
• soil mixture for seedlings;
• containers with a lid or planting containers;
• small spatula and tweezers;
• spray gun;
• water;
• good optimistic mood (the gardener’s most important tool).

We sow petunias for seedlings

We start sowing petunia seeds for growing in open ground. First, we prepare the soil for seedlings of petunias. The soil mixture should be:

• drained;
• nutritional;
• neutral.

Petunia responds well to a mixture of peat, river sand, soddy soil and qualitatively rotted humus. If you prefer store-bought potting soil, a violet potting mix is ​​a great option. According to the composition of nutritional and mineral components, it is optimally suited for petunias.

Containers with a lid are well suited as containers for sowing. They act as a covering material in the first days after sowing, creating optimal temperature and humidity parameters for 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 stagnant water. Waterlogging 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 earth is quickly saturated with moisture. Otherwise, gardeners have to water petunia seedlings in the early days with a pipette, which is not very convenient.

The container has been prepared, let’s move on to the seeds. Experienced gardeners are advised to purchase 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 differ in excellent germination. Gardeners mix them with river sand to make it easier to sow.

1. We fill the containers with soil and crush it a little. Do not be too zealous – the roots will need a lot of strength to break through a 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 clod of earth, and then the seedlings will not be able to wait.
2. We moisten the soil with a spray bottle.
3. With tweezers, spread the seeds on the surface of the earth, slightly crushing. If you mixed them with sand, then just sow. You can sow different varieties in one container. In this case, be sure to sign the crops.

   

4. 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).
5. Label the sowing date on the containers.
6. We install a container with seeds over the heating battery, having previously covered it. The optimum air temperature for seeds during this period is +24°C.

Taking care of seedlings at home

With strict observance of the sowing technology, the first shoots can be seen already on the fifth day. The shell cracks and small sprouts appear. Until the emergence of shoots, it is better not to remove the shelter. And then it will be possible to start airing the seedlings twice a day.

The following care according to the rules consists of:

• regular ventilation;
• ensuring full daylight hours during the first three days (24 hours);
• removing condensate from the lid of the container, glass or covering film (it is imperative that the seedlings do not get sick with the “black leg”);
• watering by immersing the planting container in water.

When the first 2-3 leaves appear, it is time to pick the petunia seedlings, intended for planting in open ground. The question of the need for picking, each grower decides for himself. Some get out of the situation by simply thinning 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, the plants are compact. Petunia dive into a separate container. To make the operation as economical as possible, take egg containers. Be sure to make a hole in the cells for the outflow of moisture. This applies to any container.

We fill them with soil, moisten them, make holes and carefully transfer the seedlings to a new place of residence.

It is necessary to take care of seedlings during this period with the help of simple measures.

1. The ambient temperature is from 16 to 18 degrees above zero.
2. Watering only when the soil dries up and into the pan.
3. Hardening and ventilation.
4. Rotate the container around the axis so that the seedlings grow evenly.

Many gardeners re-pick to provide plants with more nutrition and space, as well as to create conditions for the development of strong root systems. During this period, seedlings are fed with complex fertilizers for flower seedlings according to the instructions.

We plant a garden beauty in the ground

This stage cannot be called difficult to perform. 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 flowering will continue.

The earth in the flower bed is dug up and loosened. Then humus or peat is added. For acidic soils, lime will need to be added to keep the soil neutral. An excellent addition would be wood ash – a shovel of ash on a bucket of humus.

The planting scheme in the open field is dictated by the selected variety. With large inflorescences in an adult plant, seedlings should be planted at a distance of at least 25 cm from each other. Smaller flowers allow planting seedlings in 15-20 cm. How is planting petunia seedlings in open ground?

1. Hole locations are marked on the site. This is done depending on the selected landing project. If an ordinary garden bed or flower bed is planned, then you can use a cord or pegs. For more complex markings, make a schematic plan, which is then transferred to the open ground.
2. Petunia seedlings are taken out of planting containers very carefully. It is necessary to ensure that the roots are not damaged when transplanted into open ground. To avoid injury to the roots, the seedlings are pre-watered.
3. Petunia seedlings are immediately transferred to prepared holes and buried. Try to hold this event in the evening or on cloudy days. The active sun can dry out the delicate root system of flowers, and the seedlings will not take root well. Therefore, it is necessary to plant a petunia under conditions that are comfortable for seedlings.

Otherwise, be extremely careful when planting an open root system in the holes.

When planting in containers, planters or pots, the distance between petunias can be reduced. The land 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:

1. Spraying. In the hot months, twice a day. This will allow you to achieve lush flowering.
2. Frequent but moderate watering. It is important to water the petunia under the root so that the delicate petals are not damaged by drops of water. During the rainy season, planters and pots are brought under cover or simply covered.
3. Feeding. Regularity is observed once a week, but alternating root and foliar top dressing. Petunia in the open field responds gratefully to organics and compounds with potassium. Feeding continues until the end of flowering.
4. Treatment with stimulating compounds under adverse weather conditions to improve the growth and flowering of petunias in the open field. Suitable “Zircon” or “Epin-Extra”.

We examined the seedling method of growing petunias.

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. Seeds do not bury! Petunia crops in open ground and in seedling containers should not be sprinkled with earth and tamped down. Petunia will bloom, sown immediately in open ground 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 the places of last year’s plantings of petunias. This happens in those areas that are not carefully dug up. But it also proves that it is quite possible to grow a petunia in the open field even with minimal experience and knowledge.