When to plant petunia seedlings outside. When and how to plant a petunia for seedlings: planting, timing, methods of sowing seeds, caring for seedlings and transfer to open ground

Probably, there is not a single garden where petunia does not grow. Bright, fragrant flowers are indispensable inhabitants of flower beds, flower beds and flower beds. From the beginning of summer until the very frosts, petunias of various colors bloom on balconies and in apartments.

Petunia is an annual plant with straight or creeping stems. Flowers of various shades and colors are simple and double. The fruits are bivalve capsules with very small seeds.

The flower loves light and warmth, so open sunny places should be chosen for planting petunias in the ground. Large-flowered petunias are more demanding on heat than small-flowered ones. In rainy, damp weather, they may stop flowering altogether. The soil for petunias is better to choose loamy or sandy loam, although they will grow in any fertile soil. This plant is drought-resistant, but with a long absence of watering it can die. Does not tolerate petunia and stagnant water.

Reproduction of petunias

Petunia reproduces most often, but sometimes cuttings cut from queen cells. You can sow the plant in the ground very early, then it will bloom much earlier. If you have the opportunity to make a backlight for, then the seeds of the plant can be sown as early as February or early March. Since petunia seeds are very small, the soil for growing seedlings must be fertile and loose. Before sowing, the top layer of earth about 1 cm thick must be sifted in order for the seeds to be evenly distributed on the soil. Then the seeds must be mixed with dry sand, pour on properly moistened soil and spray with water, then cover the containers with seeds with glass. At a temperature of about 22 ° in a week, small shoots of petunias should appear. Now they need to be sprayed every day and turned to the sun twice a day. During this period, seedlings need high humidity, but an excess of it can cause disease and death of the plant. The glass can be removed when the petunia has its first true leaves. After about three weeks, petunia seedlings usually dive into pots. If you have a greenhouse, then in April it is better to transfer the petunia seedlings there.

Planting petunias in open ground

Each grower is concerned about the question of when it is better to plant a petunia in open ground. Petunia seedlings are planted in a permanent place only after the spring frosts have passed, and in each region this is its own time. Now hybrid varieties of petunias have been bred that tolerate a decrease in temperature up to short-term frosts. Planting petunias with seeds in the ground is carried out around the end of April or the beginning of May. The plant usually tolerates such a transplant painlessly.

For planting petunias in open ground, it is better to choose a cloudy day, or do it in the evening. Pots with seedlings should be well watered and planted with a clod of earth. In this case, the distance between flowers will depend on the variety of petunia. If this is a large-flowered petunia, then it is planted at a distance of 20-25 cm between plants, multi-flowered - 15-20 cm, and ampelous - 25-30 cm. After planting, the plants must be watered, and the soil should be mulched with humus or peat. Petunia outdoors can feel lack of moisture, and a layer of mulch will protect the soil from rapid drying, and in case of possible return cold weather, it will protect young plants.

If you are late with sowing seeds in early spring, then sowing petunias in open ground can be another option for propagating the plant. Around the end of March, seeds can be sown in the soil (you can directly in the snow). It is not necessary to sprinkle them on top of the earth. Petunias grown in this way bloom a little later than those planted by seedlings.

By observing all the features of growing petunias, you can grow beautiful flowers that will delight you all summer.

Recently, the popularity of petunia is exceptionally high: this flower has become an informal leader among annual flowers, it is planted in almost every area, creating entire flower beds of colorful plants. However, its seedlings are very expensive, because it is very difficult to grow. Small seeds and fragile seedlings require extra careful handling, and the capriciousness of seedlings makes you follow all the rules of growing very, very accurately, especially at home.

Is it necessary to plant a petunia through seedlings

Garden petunias are members of the nightshade family. There are a huge number of species and varieties of petunias, they differ both in the size of plants and in the size and shape of flowers, not to mention their color. Blooming at the very beginning of summer and continuing to bloom until frost arrives, petunia is of great interest in this sense: there are literally a few annuals that bloom for such a long time, and it is also unusually beautiful.

The variety of classes, groups, varieties, etc. of this flower is so vast that it is very difficult to understand them. But the agricultural technology of all petunias is almost the same. All of them reproduce by seeds, and flower growers try to grow all petunias through seedlings.

Sometimes in the southern regions, sowing seeds in a garden bed immediately to a permanent place is used. Sowing in mid-spring causes the petunia to bloom in mid-summer. This technique is used for low varieties with small flowers, which are usually used as borders or "cover" plants. Large-flowered varieties are grown only through the seedling stage.

Petunias amaze with a variety of colors, which have earned them popularity among flower growers.

When to plant petunias for seedlings according to the lunar calendar in 2019

The best time for planting petunias in the garden is the beginning of summer. And since seedlings grow slowly and are ready for planting only three months after sowing the seeds, it is necessary to start seedlings with the very arrival of spring. In warm regions, where it is possible to plant flowers in a flower bed earlier, sowing begins no later than February. However, petunia seedlings require good lighting, and additional lighting will be required during winter sowing. If it is difficult to provide it, it is better not to rush with sowing. True, it should not be particularly delayed, otherwise flowering will begin only from mid-summer.

Many gardeners are now tracking planting cases according to the lunar calendar. The need for strict adherence to it seems debatable, especially since in different sources you can find a wide variety of days called as favorable dates for sowing or transplanting garden and garden plants. Therefore, the dates on the calendar must be approached carefully.

In 2019, the following dates are considered favorable for planting petunias:

• January 10, 15 and 16;
• 6–8, 12, 13, 17 February.

Do not plant petunia seedlings on the following days:

• 5, 6, 12, 21 January;
• 3, 4, 20 February.

Preliminary preparation

It is difficult to grow petunias, but fortunately, this does not require unique equipment: the simplest boxes or pots will do. Peat tablets are also used for growing seedlings, but this is not particularly necessary: ​​this flower, after a critical period of growing up, is not at all afraid of transplants. Therefore, initially, the seeds are sown in any containers with a soil thickness of about 6 cm, and as they grow, they dive into suitable pots or cups with a diameter of up to 8 cm. But all planting containers must first be washed and disinfected. But the right choice and preparation of seeds is much more important.

Seed preparation

Petunia seeds are by no means cheap, so it is necessary to approach their purchase and preparation for sowing very responsibly. Seeds remain viable for up to 4 years, so if you get good and reliable ones, you can buy them for future use. When purchasing seeds, it is always necessary in the mind to increase the need for them several times, especially with early sowing. In the case of petunias, there is always a risk that no more than half of the seeds will sprout, although germination is sometimes close to 100%. The seeds are small, therefore, in addition to the usual form, they are also sold in a granulated state. Both of them have their pros and cons.

Petunia seeds are very small, and you can work with them with good eyesight and patience.

Granulated seeds are expensive not only because they are pre-prepared, they are usually hybrid seeds of the most interesting, beautiful petunias. As a result, there are no more than a dozen seeds in a bag, and in order to plant a flower bed, you need to spend a lot. But with granules it is easy to handle, you will not lose them when sowing. They can be easily sown at once, one in each pot, or placed individually in a box at the right distance. They have better germination, but it is necessary to sow just in time: as soon as the “process has started”, you can’t keep it, and all growing conditions must be strictly observed.

In granulation, the seeds are placed in a shell, and they become more convenient to handle.

Seeds sold in bulk are much cheaper, but they are also difficult to sow individually, there will be a lot of waste. Such seeds in a bag are most often a mixture of several varieties, they are more difficult to handle. In principle, they do not require any tricky preparation, such as pickling or soaking, but they must somehow be prepared for sowing so that it can be rationally carried out. The usual methods for sowing small seeds are as follows:

pre-mixing in the right proportion with clean fine sand, taken in a dry form;

accurate sowing on light sand or snow, allowing you to monitor the quality of sowing;

piece-wise unfolding of seeds with a toothpick (an option for the most patient flower growers).

When should this be done? For petunias, very early sowing dates are traditionally used, since flower growers want to get elegant flower beds at the very beginning of summer. In the middle lane and northern regions, sowing is carried out in mid-March, but many try to do it even earlier, sometimes for a month or more, then powerful flowering can be expected by the May holidays.

Soil preparation

For growing seedlings of petunia, some kind of archaic and scarce soil is not required, although it imposes certain requirements on the soil. The soil should be light, loose, breathable, moisture-absorbing and nutritious. By acidity - slightly acidic or close to neutral (pH from 5.5 to 7.0). You can buy it at the store or make your own. For sowing seeds and diving seedlings use the same soil.

Purchased mixtures are most often reliable (if purchased in a specialized store and not the cheapest), clean, without pathogens and foreign objects. As a rule, they have a homogeneous and fractional composition, which is important for sowing small seeds. It is better that this is the soil for flower seedlings. Soil from well-known manufacturers does not need to be pre-prepared, it can be used immediately.

Nowadays, you can find everything in the store: if only there was money

With self-preparation of the soil mixture, it is necessary to use the optimal proportions of the components. It is best to take equally humus, soddy soil, peat and add a little river sand. Peat, if there is a choice, it is necessary to take not riding (it is too sour). The sand is white or greyish, but not yellow or orange. All components must first be sieved to remove large inclusions.

Disinfection of self-prepared soil for petunias is absolutely mandatory. This can be done in many ways: from calcining in the oven to treating with fungicides. But in most cases, a good drenching with boiling water a few days before use is sufficient.

How to grow good petunia seedlings at home: planting and care tips

When sowing petunias at home, you can immediately use individual pots or cups, but to save space, at least for the first time, it is convenient to sow seeds in a common box. Only when growing a dozen plants does it make no sense to engage in a subsequent transplant: in this case, it is better to immediately sow flowers in peat tablets. Drainage should be poured at the bottom of the box (you can just coarse sand or what is left when sifting the soil), and on top - the soil itself, with a layer of 5–6 cm.

The soil must be well moistened, and then carefully, slowly, spread the seeds over it in even rows. A distance of 4-5 cm is left between rows, and sowing in rows depends on the type of seed:

coated seeds are laid out at distances of 2.5–3 cm from each other and slightly pressed into the soil;

simple seeds, if vision is good, are laid out in the same way with the help of two toothpicks, but they are not pressed into the ground (a seed is “glued” onto a wet toothpick, and with the help of the second one shake it off onto the soil). If the option is not suitable, the seeds mixed with sand seem to “salt” the intended rows.

The sown seeds are sprayed with water from a spray bottle, the box is covered with glass and placed on a lighted windowsill. Unlike many other crops, a good petunia light is needed already for spitting seeds.

Video: sowing petunia seeds for seedlings

Growing on a windowsill

It is very convenient to grow petunia seedlings in a city apartment: it does not need a low temperature, like, for example, cabbage seedlings. The air temperature in the room should be 20-23 degrees. But you need good lighting, so a window sill on the south side is best suited. Otherwise, additional lighting with fluorescent lamps or diode lamps is required: incandescent lamps heat the air too much.

The best option for highlighting seedlings is special fitolamps.

It is especially difficult for seedlings before the first true leaves appear. Petunia shoots are very tiny and capricious.

It takes 5-7 days for seedlings to appear: if they do not appear after 2 weeks, they will no longer be. When the first sprouts appear on the surface (at first not even sprouts, but the so-called loops), the box must be placed on a colder windowsill: for the first few days the temperature should be 18 ° C, which prevents the seedlings from stretching, then the temperature must be returned to the original values. But daylight hours should last at least 12 hours.

Petunia seedlings are miniature, and at first they grow very tight.

All the time until the appearance of true leaves, the seedlings should be in a greenhouse state: the glass cannot be removed from the box, but the soil must be moist, but the condensate from the glass must be periodically removed. Watering is carried out only by spraying from a spray bottle; during irrigation, airing should also be carried out, leaving seedlings without glass for 10–15 minutes. Gradually, this interval should be increased. You can remove the lid only after the appearance of a pair of true leaves.

Small plants are prone to warping, so they need to be turned towards the light source several times a day to keep them growing evenly (unless the lamp is placed over a box).

As petunias grow from irrigation by spraying, you can switch to drip irrigation from a medical syringe or pipette under the root, and only for solid plants can you use the usual technique: from a kettle or a ladle. Stagnation of water is categorically unacceptable, as well as the drying of the surface layer of the soil. You can periodically add a pink solution of potassium permanganate to the water for irrigation.

You can also water young seedlings from a pear, but very carefully

It is necessary to dive a petunia at a seedling height of 4–5 cm. For a new place of residence, individual containers of sufficient size are needed (diameter and depth of about 8 cm). The picking is carried out approximately as in the case of tomato seedlings: with pinching the central root by a third and deepening the seedlings in pots into the soil to the cotyledon leaves. By this time, the plants are already quite viable and the pick is easily tolerated.

Watering in pots can be carried out more boldly, but in no case should it be overfilled: the risk of black leg disease persists all the time the seedlings are at home.

Petunias are one of the most prone to blackleg annuals. To reduce the risk of disease, a layer of dry, clean sand should be carefully sprinkled on the seedlings.

Feeding seedlings should begin 10-15 days after picking. At first, foliar top dressing should be carried out: spraying twice a week on the leaves from a spray bottle with weak solutions of complex fertilizers and growth stimulants (you can simply use a solution of agave juice). Subsequently, you can switch to watering with fertilizer solutions under the root. But the concentration of solutions in comparison with the recommended instructions on the package cannot be exceeded.

Growing on a windowsill is more convenient than a greenhouse one, since petunia seedlings need constant care, even a daily absence of a working person at home can sometimes lead to an irreparable outcome. Therefore, if seedlings are prepared for personal use, and not for sale, it is better to do this in an apartment.

How to grow in a greenhouse

It is not difficult to grow a petunia in a greenhouse, but this only applies to the period of time when the plants are already strong, have 4–6 true leaves and are picked in separate pots. Therefore, you must first plant it at home anyway, unless constant supervision is not possible for the greenhouse. After picking, after 2–3 weeks, petunia seedlings become so strong that caring for it differs little from caring for, for example, tomato seedlings.

Adult seedlings no longer need tropical conditions, mature plants grow normally even at 16–18 ° C. Periodic temperature drops even to 10 ° C do not harm seedlings, but in colder conditions, growth almost stops, and flowering is significantly postponed.

Care for grown seedlings in a greenhouse is no different from care at home, but monitoring should be constant. The soil must be kept moist, fertilized periodically, and the greenhouse ventilated daily to prevent heavy condensation on windows and other surfaces: excess moisture quickly causes blackleg disease.

Two weeks before planting in open ground, seedlings should be accustomed to fresh air by opening the windows and doors of the greenhouse for an increasingly long time, and periodically allowing the soil to dry slightly.

Greenhouse cultivation is suitable, of course, for the mass production of seedlings

Growing seedlings in a greenhouse is mainly carried out for commercial purposes: due to the extraordinary popularity of the flower and its high cost, this activity has recently turned into a very profitable business. The advantages of a greenhouse are revealed only in this case: when growing a small amount of seedlings for your summer cottage, it is easier to carry out the whole process on the windowsill in a city apartment.

Seeding in the snow

When petunia seeds are sown for seedlings, there is still snow outside the window, and it is he who can help in the difficult task of sowing small seeds of this flower. It simultaneously serves as a white screen that allows you to see small black seeds, and the substance that, when melted, will draw the seeds into the soil in the way that is required for ideal germination.

Prepared soil is poured into the box, as usual, but it is rammed a little harder. To do this, it is convenient to use a small board. Pure snow is laid out on top as evenly as possible with a layer of 1–1.5 cm and also slightly compacted. And now - rather, it will quickly melt!

Small seeds are laid out or scattered over the snow, but not as carefully as over the soil. They are very visible in the snow, and with a little dexterity, with a pair of toothpicks or small tweezers, the seeds can be shifted to the right place. The snow will begin to melt and drag the seeds behind it exactly to the depth required for the successful pecking of seedlings; on dry or wet soil, this cannot be done. It does not need to be watered. Be sure to close the box with glass or film and proceed as usual.

In the snow, every grain is perfectly visible, you just have to be in time until it melts.

The use of snow makes it possible to use expensive seed material more rationally, does not require irrigation of crops, which usually leads to a shift in seeds from their original place, but still requires maximum concentration and speed when sowing.

Sowing in peat tablets

Peat tablets are a very successful invention that makes it very easy to grow seedlings of many types of vegetable or flower crops. They can be made from various peat by pressing it with the addition of microfertilizers and growth stimulants, so they rarely require additional feeding. Tablets are released packed in a light mesh that prevents the destruction of the material. Before use, the tablets are placed in a tray (or better - in a transparent lockable box) and gradually poured with water until completely swollen. At the same time, they increase in height several times. Excess water is drained. One of the ends of the tablet has a recess for sowing seeds.

Tablets are available in various sizes; for seedlings of petunias, those with a diameter of 40 mm or more are suitable.

In the presence of peat tablets, you can do without boxes and picks, sow the seeds immediately into tablets. But, of course, this is possible when growing only a small amount of seedlings: they take up a lot of space and cost decent money. It is especially convenient to sow granular seeds in tablets, but there are not very many problems with the usual problems, you just need to arm yourself with toothpicks and, possibly, glasses or a magnifying glass.

One seed is placed in the recess of each soaked tablet, after which it is moistened with water from a spray bottle or eye dropper. If these were coated seeds, their shell will soak after a few minutes, and it can be spread a little on peat. Ordinary seeds of a drop of water from a pipette are simply slightly pulled into peat to the desired shallow depth.

Soaked tablets are an excellent individual seedling habitat.

If a large plastic food container is found as a vessel for tablets, this is the most suitable option. It is closed with a lid and transferred to a warm place (20-25 o C). You probably won't need to water at first. In general, tablets are usually poured “through the bottom”: water poured onto the bottom of the container itself is absorbed into the peat in the right quantities.

Further care is normal. When shoots appear for several days, the temperature is lowered by 3–4 degrees, then it is returned to the desired values. They monitor the humidity by periodically adding water and airing the plantings. Dive is not required: the seedlings are transferred to the garden by the summer along with the tablet, however, the mesh is usually removed from it. However, if the tablets were small and the roots sprouted through the peat ahead of time, you will have to transplant the tablet, as it is, into a larger pot with soil mixture. In a pot, you may need to feed.

Thus, the use of tablets has only one drawback: extra cash, but in the case of growing a small number of petunias, all the conveniences more than cover it.

Svetlana Shcherbak from Krasnoyarsk shares her personal experience of growing petunias in Siberia:

What minus temperature can a petunia withstand in the open field?

It is believed that petunia, as a typical representative of the nightshade, does not tolerate frost. Authoritative experts and experienced flower growers on the Internet report that modern petunia hybrids, in exceptional cases, can withstand short-term temperature drops to -2 degrees, and after -4, they turn black and lose flowers. It is noted that those specimens that are planted in open ground are more susceptible to frost damage. And for petunias that are hung in flowerpots or located on the balcony, light frosts are not so terrible.

Frosts and my petunia: Personal experience

I have not come across the spring freezing of petunias, which I have been growing for a very long time.

• Firstly, I never rush to move seedlings to a permanent place. I do this not earlier than the first, or even the second week of June.
• Secondly, my seedlings are perfectly hardened: starting from the second half of April, the night temperature in the greenhouse regularly drops to 4-5 (sometimes up to 1-2) degrees.
• And thirdly, I follow the forecasts of meteorologists and take the necessary measures.

I plant petunias in 10-liter flowerpots, one or two roots each. The petunia garden is covered from the prevailing northwest winds by a gazebo and a greenhouse.

I set the pots on elevations (bench, hemp, coasters). Thus, my petunki are on a slight elevation.

In Siberia, return frosts are not uncommon in Siberia. If the temperature dropped to -1 or -2 degrees for a couple of hours, there were no consequences for already planted crops.

But when it suddenly got colder to -4, it happened that astilba, annual dahlias, uncovered tomatoes (I didn’t encounter freezing of eggplant and peppers - they are always covered), even young zucchini froze. And although at this moment you look more at who is frozen-turned black, petunias have never failed, withstood steadfast attention to themselves (by blackening) they did not pay. Perhaps the frost went in a "stripe", or was short-lived.

How to revive a frozen petunia

If the petunias are still frozen, and the damage is not total, you need to try to save the raspberry:

• bring the sufferer to a comfortable place;
• cut off the affected leaves, you may have to sacrifice twigs;
• the main thing is that the trunk and two or three sinuses remain healthy, new branches will quickly grow from them, and the petunia will definitely turn into a beauty.

How to protect tender petunias from frost

Experts strongly recommend hardening seedlings before planting in the ground. I fully support! My seedlings have been growing in Spartan conditions since the first days. In April, the high sun warms up the greenhouse under polycarbonate to serious 30-40, ventilation can not cope with cooling. And at night 4-5 degrees is a common thing, since the second decade of May I don’t even close the doors at night.

After planting in permanent pots and placing in the garden, every day I am interested in the weather forecast, not only for "today", but also for the next 3-4 days. If there is a threat of freezing, I do not rely on hardening, I try to cover everything that I can. In this matter, I prefer to play it safe.

There are also such signs: in the evening the sky is clear, without clouds, and on a thermometer below 5 - there will definitely be frost; if dense clouds have run up or the rain is drizzling, you can not be afraid of frost.

If the frost is expected to be weak, a container of a suitable size turned over over the raspberry is enough: a plastic glass or bucket, a cardboard box, an old pan, just a bag will do. Usually this is enough.

A lifesaver in many cases is a garden non-woven covering material.

In the greenhouse, you can arrange containers (buckets, tanks) with hot water, turn on an electric heater.

It is known from grandmothers that the garden can be protected by smoke, for this they make fires and throw dry mullein, raw logs or grass, peat.

Bonfires are kindled in the open air, they are contraindicated in the greenhouse! If electricity is not supplied, it is better to get by with pots of water, or arrange a stove with a chimney.

Flower beds can be covered with spruce branches or a thin layer of branches, for example, willow.

What varieties of petunias are not afraid of frost?

I think that no petunia will survive serious frosts, yet it is a heat-loving flower, and even a nightshade. But I wouldn't call him a sissy either.

I noticed that, as manufacturers promise, modern hybrids are endowed with resistance to extreme conditions. They quickly recover from strong winds, drought and rain; in my opinion, they tolerate heat worse.

I plant many varieties, I am satisfied with all (in terms of durability). Here are just a few favorite hybrid groups:

• terry bush and cascade (Duo, Pan-Velvet and others series);
• ampel and cascade (Ramblin, Opera, Imperial, Gioconda, Avalanche, Baby Duck series);
• multi-flowered and large-flowered (Picobella, Eagle, Shock Wave, Pikoti, Grandiflora Aladdin);
• fringed large-flowered and frillitunia.

Everyone is recovering quickly after a squally wind and a heavy downpour. If they are thirsty and have already lowered the “ears”, they almost instantly restore a peppy appearance after watering. And calmly withstand transient mild frosts, both spring and early autumn.

I appreciate petunias not only because they decorate even a modest garden all summer, they are unique, so different. The main thing for me is that they do not require much trouble and tolerate our unkind Siberian climate very well.”

Svetlana Shcherbak, Krasnoyarsk Territory