How to grow petunia at home. How to sow petunia for seedlings correctly

12.10.202327.05.2017

Petunia has long captivated floriculture lovers and has become No. 1 among the leaders in the number of varieties, in the number of grown specimens, and in use in various compositions. It takes root well in flower beds, ridges, alpine slides, in flowerpots and containers. And he feels great everywhere, adding bright, sunny colors to our world. Let's consider what kind of petunia is needed for growing from seeds and when to plant seedlings.

Advantages of the plant

Why did the plant become so popular in a fairly short time? After all, growing petunia from seeds is not an easy task. But flower growers cope with these problems because they know what the result will be: a chic, bright bush, covered with single or double flowers, with a wonderful aroma. It's worth the effort!

And there are many qualities that distinguish it from other flowers:

cold resistance, which is especially appreciated by residents of the northern regions,
unpretentiousness and ease of cultivation,
you can grow it yourself, rather than buying seedlings at flower centers,
has many shapes and shades,
many varieties are fragrant,
good in both single and group plantings,
blooms throughout the summer.

In addition, hybrids (F1) appeared on sale, completely unique in their survival rate, abundant flowering, and variety of forms. There is plenty to choose from and create a unique flower arrangement.

Seed selection

Breeders offer a huge selection of seeds. This is great, but you need to approach the choice consciously. Remember that hybrids will not give you a flower waterfall next year; such seeds are used once. Look at the expiration date on the package, because the seeds take a long time to “hatch”, and it will be unpleasant if they do not sprout at all.

Choose seeds based on your needs. What compositions do you want to create, what dreams and fantasies do you want to realize? Maybe you need cascading or ampelous petunias. Maybe terry shapes or simple ones are interesting, but so that the aroma surrounds your home.

Be sure to read the description on the back of the package, and you will understand the shape of the plant itself, how much space it will take up, and what diameter the flower will be. Nowadays, all seeds are sold mostly coated, wrapped in a nutritious film. There are few of them in the package. And, as a rule, they are expensive. But spare no expense, because you need a good result. And a beautiful, lush petunia begins with a small seed.

Soil composition and containers for sowing

It is best to use containers with transparent lids (can be heated), in which plastic or peat jars, peat tablets, and egg trays are placed. There are universal containers on sale: with jars inside, with a lid, and heated. All the conditions for growing petunia from seeds at home.

Tip: you can take different containers for planting, but remember that the seeds are very small, so at first you will need to cover the top of the container with glass or transparent material to retain moisture.

The composition of the soil consists of leaf soil, peat, fine sand and humus. That is, the mixture turns out to be light and nutritious at the same time. The mixture should be sifted and be sure to steam for 1 hour (from diseases and weeds). You can pour a layer of fine gravel at the bottom of the container, you can also make a hole (which is best) so that the root system consumes the required amount of water. Petunia, when grown from seeds at home, is sensitive to lack of moisture, so the soil should not dry out.

Pour soil into each container, not reaching 1 cm to the top (for watering), compact it slightly, otherwise the seed may “fall” into the soil. Make a small depression in the center of the jar for planting.

Tip: It is advisable that the container be for one plant, and it can be removed without damaging the roots when you plant it in a permanent place.

Rules for growing petunia seedlings from seeds

The main question that interests gardeners is: “When to plant petunia from seeds and then grow it in open ground?” After all, large seedlings will have difficulty taking root, and small ones will not have time to please us with flowers throughout the summer.

Petunias at home should be sown no earlier than mid-March, when daylight hours will be longer and the seedlings will be of medium size. You can plant seeds in the last days of February, but in this case additional lighting will be required. Seed germination requires high room temperature - +25 degrees.

How to properly grow petunia seedlings? Let's consider several ways:

The seeds are mixed with sand, scattered evenly over the surface of the earthen mixture, sprayed with a spray bottle and covered with foil.
If the seeds are pelleted (covered with a nutrient coating), then you can place each seed separately in a peat tablet, make a small depression in it and cover it with film.
Compact the soil a little, cover it with a small layer of snow 1-1.5 cm on top. Spread the seeds evenly on the snow. It will melt and the seeds will appear on the surface of the soil. Cover the container with glass and place in a warm, well-lit place. You can place a table lamp nearby.
Place a seed in each separate peat pot and cover with film. Place the pots in a tray. This makes it more convenient for you to monitor the seedlings, and excess moisture will collect at the bottom of the pan.

Tip: The seeds of this flower crop are small in size and do not need to be sprinkled with soil. But they need moisture: constant spraying is necessary as well as regular ventilation.

We can conclude that growing petunia from seeds is troublesome, but the result will exceed all your expectations!

Features of caring for flower seedlings

If you do not have specific knowledge of how to grow petunia seedlings, then we will tell you about it step by step:

At home, growing petunia yourself from seeds is not so difficult, because it is constantly under supervision, and if you correctly follow all the rules of care, the seedlings will turn out strong and strong.

Tip: root picking should be done when the plant has already taken shape and has 4-5 leaves, i.e. when the plant is strong enough for such a procedure. Plants contained in peat tablets are not picked.

The work front is large, but now questions about how to grow petunia should not arise, so success in the form of bright, flower beds is guaranteed to you.

09 Feb 2017

Petunia flowers are currently the most popular and fashionable, these annuals cover flower beds, flowerpots, balcony boxes and hanging baskets with a colored carpet. Now stores offer a huge range of petunia seeds of various varieties. Growing petunia from seeds has its own characteristics. Petunia flowers are grown from seedlings so that from the beginning of summer the plants begin to bloom, and with proper care they will decorate the flower beds until the frost. You also need to determine exactly when to sow petunia in order to plant developed seedlings with the first buds when the threat of frost has passed. Different varieties of petunias have their own requirements for growing conditions and care.

Petunia varieties can be divided into the following groups:

Petunia multiflora It is distinguished by long, lush flowering; many funnel-shaped flowers with a diameter of up to 5 cm immediately open on one plant. New buds are constantly formed while it is warm, so petunia blooms profusely until frost. Multi-flowered petunias will create a bright spot of color in a flower garden; they often use several contrasting colors to create a pattern in the flowerbed from the flowers. The main advantage of multi-flowered petunia is its unpretentiousness; these undemanding annual flowers grow quickly, adapt to any conditions, do not suffer in the wind and rain, and are also not afraid of cold weather. With the most minimal care - watering during drought and rare fertilizing - multi-flowered petunia will bloom luxuriantly in any soil. If the plants stretch out in the summer and lose their decorative appearance, you can cut them to a height of 15-20 cm, feed them with watering, and soon numerous new green shoots with buds will appear.

Petunia grandiflora attracts attention with large, showy flowers with a diameter of 7 to 10 cm. Compared to multi-flowered petunia, large-flowered petunia has fewer flowers opening on one plant, and in order for these plants to bloom long and luxuriantly, they need favorable conditions and attentive care. Large-flowered petunia will develop well on fertile, loose soil, with timely watering and regular feeding. Also, large-flowered petunias are more thermophilic, do not tolerate cold weather, and it is recommended to plant them in places protected from wind and rain, otherwise their large delicate flowers will be constantly spoiled by bad weather.

Large-flowered petunias They can be terry and fringed, with different colors, single-colored or bicolor.

Petunias are excellent They are distinguished by especially large flowers up to 12 cm in diameter; their large funnel-shaped flowers are decorated with a pattern of dark veins running from the center of the flower.

Variety of group petunia floribunda combines the best characteristics of multi-flowered petunia - resistance to adverse weather conditions, and from large-flowered petunia the plants received beautiful large flowers of a wide variety of colors. Petunia varieties from this group are often used to decorate flower beds and flower beds.

From previous groups ampelous petunias differ in their growth form, their shoots spread along the ground or will hang from a height, reaching a length of 80-100 cm. Along the entire length, the stems of ampelous petunia bloom luxuriantly, growing, one plant can fill a small flower basket or a void in a flower garden. But for such vigorous growth, ampelous petunias require special conditions - constantly warm weather, sufficient lighting, high-quality soil and careful care.

Of the ampelous petunias, a special hybrid can be distinguished - petunia surfinia (Surfinia). These plants are distinguished by their powerful growth; their shoots can reach a length of two meters, which are completely covered with large bright flowers. Ampelous plants with long hanging shoots are suitable for planting in flowerpots on high stands, hanging baskets and boxes.

Petunia seeds.

The first rule of growing flower seedlings is to buy quality seeds from trusted suppliers. Seeds of varietal petunias are not cheap and usually contain 5-10 pieces in one bag. To obtain maximum seed germination and grow healthy flower seedlings, you must follow the basic rules for growing petunia.

Petunia seeds are very small, you can collect them yourself from simple multi-flowered varieties, they ripen in small boxes. Hybrid varietal petunias do not produce seeds, so you have to buy them, but since these plants have more spectacular flowers, there is a great demand for them. Seeds of multi-flowered petunias are not as expensive as hybrid varieties; you can buy a bag of seeds weighing 0.1 grams; there will be more than 100 pieces.

When to sow petunia for seedlings?

Annual petunia flowers are grown through seedlings, since these plants take a long time to develop from sowing to the beginning of flowering. When to sow petunia for seedlings you need to calculate, taking into account the time of planting seedlings in open ground and the varietal characteristics of the plants. Simple multi-flowered petunias bloom within 2-2.5 months after sowing, so they can be sown later, in mid-March, in order to plant seedlings with the first buds and flowers at the end of May. Hybrid large-flowered petunias take longer to develop; from sowing to the appearance of the first buds, it takes about 3-3.5 months, so they are sown for seedlings from mid-February to early March.

Sowing petunias.

Small, dusty petunia seeds are difficult to sow. You cannot sow seeds densely, as the sprouts will stretch out and develop weak. It is easier to sow small dark seeds on a layer of white snow laid out on the ground; the snow will melt and moisten the soil, and the white background will allow you to see how evenly you distribute the seeds when sowing.

The seeds of petunias of hybrid varieties are usually enclosed in a white shell; they are easy to sow individually, distributing them at a distance of 2.5-3.5 cm from each other. The seedlings will develop without interference until picking. In order for the petunia seeds enclosed in the shell to hatch faster, after sowing they must be sprayed frequently and carefully so that the shell on the achenes dissolves.

Having distributed petunia seeds in sowing boxes and bowls, they should not be sprinkled with earth and should not be watered from above, as the water will draw the small achenes deep and they will not germinate. In order for petunia to germinate quickly and easily, the crops are kept moist. To do this, the seeds are sown in well-moistened soil and then carefully sprayed. To maintain moisture, boxes with crops are covered with transparent glass or film. Crops must be regularly ventilated, moistened by spraying, and droplets of condensation removed from the shelter.

Petunia will germinate quickly in bright light for 12-14 hours a day. When sowing petunias in February, it is recommended to install additional lighting above the seedling boxes. With sufficient lighting, petunia seedlings will develop healthy and bloom faster.

The second condition for the rapid germination of petunia seeds is warmth. Petunia will sprout quickly, in 5-7 days at a temperature of +22...+24 degrees. After the emergence of seedlings, the temperature must be reduced to +18...+20 degrees so that the sprouts do not stretch, and after picking, it is recommended to keep the seedlings at a temperature of +16 degrees, then the plants will develop more lateral shoots.

Soil for growing petunias.

Before sowing flower seeds for seedlings, it is necessary to prepare the soil; the development of future plants largely depends on its properties. The soil for growing petunias must be nutritious, loose, moisture-absorbing and breathable. To grow seedlings, fill balcony boxes and flowerpots for planting plants, make up the soil from turf, leaf soil, peat and clean sand or perlite in a ratio of 2:2:1:1.

To sow seeds, prepare the soil lighter by mixing equal parts of garden soil, peat and sand. Before sowing seeds, the soil must be thoroughly sifted so that there are no large lumps and disinfected. Disinfection of the substrate is done by steaming or watering the ground with a solution of potassium permanganate.

Growing petunia seedlings.

After the seedlings grow and the seedlings have a pair of true leaves, they are transplanted into larger boxes, cassettes or cups. The first picking is usually carried out 3-4 weeks after emergence. At first, the above-ground part of petunia seedlings develops very slowly, since all efforts are spent on the formation of roots. Small petunia sprouts are very delicate, they are easily affected by blackleg, can die due to prolonged drying of the substrate or are washed off if watered carelessly.

For picking petunias, select cassettes or cups. When growing seedlings of multi-flowered petunias, you can use containers 6-8 cm wide, but for ampelous and large-flowered petunias you need larger cups, about 10 cm in diameter.

It is more convenient to grow petunia seedlings in cups; as the plants grow, they can be spaced further apart. When grown in cassettes, petunia seedlings are usually planted earlier, as the plants begin to interfere with each other, stretch out and weaken.

It is necessary to water petunia seedlings after the top layer of soil has dried. Watering is done depending on the air temperature. On hot sunny days, you will have to water the seedlings in cups or cassettes almost every day, and on cool days, water depending on the humidity of the substrate.

To grow, young plants need feeding once every two to three weeks. Use complex mineral fertilizer, dissolving it in water for irrigation according to the instructions. If the leaves of plants begin to turn yellow, then perhaps they lack iron; to replenish this element, the seedlings are sprayed with an iron chelate solution.

There are probably few people who have never seen a petunia. Growing petunia is no less interesting than watching it bloom. If you want the plant to delight you with its flowers all summer long, or if you decide to grow petunia from seeds at home, we suggest reading today’s article.

When to plant petunia

In order for full-fledged flower seedlings to form by the beginning of June, the seeds must be thrown into the soil in January-February. During these winter months and the first month of spring, it is clear why the plant needs additional lighting. Without it, the seedlings will stretch out greatly and grow weak. Attentive buyers will certainly notice that the bags of different varieties of petunias indicate very different sowing dates. This is explained by the characteristics of each specific variety. Therefore, petunia seedlings should be sown in the months specified by the manufacturer. There are general recommendations for the timing of sowing petunia seeds. Thus, ampelous small-flowered varieties should be sown first. That is, in January. This will allow the plant to form sufficient green mass. But bush dwarf petunias will have to be sown after February 23 and before March 8.

How to choose the right petunia seeds

When purchasing petunia seeds, you need to pay attention to the diameter of the flower, which must be indicated on the packaging, and the height of the plant (stem length). Imagine how this plant will look in your flowerpot or hanging planter. Select petunia varieties with the desired flower color. Petunia is divided according to the length of the stems into bush and ampelous, and depending on the diameter of the flower it is divided into groups: small-flowered, multi-flowered, large-flowered.
Each of the groups of petunias has varieties with single and double flowers, with different stem lengths. There is no clear line between groups.

The most popular among gardeners are two groups of petunias: multi-flowered and large-flowered.
Multi-flowered petunias form a compact bush with a large number of flowers, small in size (5-7 cm).
Large-flowered petunias are less compact and do not bloom as profusely as multi-flowered petunias, but their flowers are larger (10-12 cm).

Choose seeds supplied by well-known foreign manufacturers (German, American, Japanese, Israeli). A beautiful picture of a petunia flower on a packet of seeds is not always a guarantee that you will get the desired bush. A more reliable option is when the photo shows the entire plant. And the most important thing is the quality of the seeds. You can always ask the seller what the germination rate of those on sale is.

Methods for growing petunia from seeds

There are several ways to grow petunia from seeds. Each of them has its own advantages and is good in its own way. It is worth considering the two most popular options. The first of these is to grow seeds in seedling containers. The second method involves planting them in peat tablets.

When growing seeds in containers for seedlings, you can use any boxes with soil. The need for constant light should be taken into account, so there is no need to bury the seedlings. They should simply be covered with glass or film. With this method of growing, it is necessary to maintain a warm temperature in the room at all times.
When sowing seeds in special peat tablets, you can save time, because in this case, it may not be necessary to dive further. Ready seedlings are usually planted directly into flower beds.

Materials needed for planting petunia seeds

So, we show you what is needed to plant petunia seeds at home:

soil (neutral),
spray,
the seeds themselves and the cups where we will sow petunias in the old-fashioned way (now there are many options in which to grow seedlings - peat pots or tablets, for example).

Pour soil into cups and sow petunia seeds. Petunia seeds should be sown superficially ONLY! Don't cover them with soil at all! Otherwise, they simply will not sprout, because the seeds react to sunlight. Sprinkling water on the seeds from above or simply watering the soil is necessary in any case - there is a shell or not. If the seed is in a colored (or white) shell, then the shell needs to be dissolved by spraying more onto it from a spray bottle. It should soften, it may not completely dissolve.

Cover the cups with film or glass and wait about a week until the first shoots hatch. For successful germination, you need to place containers with seedlings in a warm and bright place with a temperature of +22 to +25 °C.

When the first shoots hatch, it is necessary to ventilate periodically. You should regularly spray the soil or add water to the pan, preventing the soil from drying out. It is necessary to ventilate and turn the other side of the bag or glass at least twice a day. If all conditions are met, you can expect the first shoots in 5 or 7 days. There is also a technology where small holes are pierced in the film that covers the plants and the holes need to be enlarged day after day. This will also provide ventilation and prevent blackleg.

Here comes the most crucial moment of growing petunias. The following conditions must be observed:

Light. There must be a lot of it, otherwise the seedlings will stretch out, will not be able to grow foliage and will be very weak.
Watering. Seedlings need to be moistened very sparingly, because... overwatering will lead to rot or fungi. Between waterings, you can slightly dry the soil, preventing the plants from wilting. This will promote root development.

When to pick petunia

Picking petunia is necessary in order to give the plant more area for nutrition and growth. The plants are transplanted into separate containers, while the main root is pinched. This way the root system will be better formed. Petunia is picked in two stages:

The first picking is carried out after three weeks, when the seedlings have 2-3 true leaves, keeping a distance of about 2 cm between plants;
Petunia is picked a second time a month later, when the seedlings become crowded.

Some gardeners believe that it is better not to pick petunia at all, so as not to injure its root system. However, this opinion is not correct. Picking is still necessary, since with an increase in the area occupied by the plant, it will receive more nutrients. Then the bushes will grow faster and become stronger. In this case, the root system not only will not suffer, but will become even stronger.

How to pick a petunia

In order to start picking plants, you need to prepare a large number of disposable cups or peat pots. You will also need a sprayer and a spatula for replanting. The dive occurs as follows:

Fill the containers with soil and moisten it well with water.
Make holes about 1.5 cm deep and 2 cm in diameter.
The petunia seedling is pryed with a spatula five millimeters from the stem and to a depth of 1.5 cm.
Grab a seedling with soil and pull out the resulting lump of earth with roots.
A seedling is placed in a prepared hole in a cup, covered with soil on top, and compacted with a finger on all sides.
The ground is carefully sprayed with water.

The picking process is completed. All that remains is to regularly moisten the soil and care for the seedlings.

How to feed petunia after picking

After 4 leaves appear on each sprout, you can start feeding the plants. It is more convenient to add fertilizers to the water during watering. Nitrogen, potassium, calcium are used separately and then in combination as fertilizing. In this case, there should be more potassium than nitrogen. Plants need to be fed every ten days.

Growing petunia from seeds at home

In our country, petunia is grown as an annual ornamental plant. While this representative of the nightshade family is a perennial. But due to the harsh climate in most of our Fatherland, no one thinks about preserving petunias for the winter. This is a troublesome and unpopular matter among Russian flower growers. Meanwhile, breeders have long developed hybrid varieties of petunias that can bloom profusely several times a year.

Description of petunias flowers

The flower came to Europe from South America. In their homeland, Brazil and Paraguay, petunias grow up to a meter in height. Petunias used in cultivated floriculture are plants that have the shape of a small bush.

Its height depends on the type and variety. Low-growing petunias grow up to 20-30 cm, larger ones form a bush up to 60 cm. Petunias also differ in the location of the stem:

erect;
creeping.

Breeders are constantly expanding the range of these many-sided decorations for any garden or flower bed. Most often, petunia is divided into two large groups:

Bush.
Ampelous petunias.

The latter type of variety is well suited for planting in hanging pots, because due to its flexible short shoots and a large number of small flowers, a bright “ball” is formed, visible from afar.

Based on flower size, petunias are divided into large-flowered and multi-flowered. The first group is distinguished by flowers larger than 10 cm. They decorate strong branches with single funnels. These petunias look very elegant.

Plants of the second group have much smaller flowers, a little larger than a five-ruble coin, but there are a lot of them. The bushes look elegant and even fun.

Petunia is extremely popular among flower growers around the world for its variety of colors, long and abundant flowering with proper care. Many people try to grow petunia seedlings with their own hands at home.

How and at what time to start this important task? How to grow petunia seedlings at home? At the first stage, it is necessary to purchase high-quality seed material.

Rules for growing petunias from seeds

Sowing is carried out at the end of February, beginning of March. Although you can start growing seedlings at a later date, in this case you run the risk of not seeing flowering.

Keep in mind that it will be at least 10 weeks before this beauty will delight you with her colorful outfits. Petunia produces very small seeds, smaller than a poppy seed.

However, you can see them on the shelves of flower shops granular form. They are much larger and more expensive than regular ones. The whole trick is in the special nutritional and protective shell surrounding the grain of the plant.

Sometimes granules are sold individually. It is impossible to determine the appearance of the seeds in the package, because they are sold in opaque bags. All you have to do is trust the information on the packaging. Study it carefully. The label must indicate:

Seed producer.
Best before date.
Variety name.
Flowering time.
The height of the bush in adulthood.

Keep in mind that seeds in paper packaging remain viable for up to a year. Packaging ensures longer shelf life made of foil or polyethylene- up to two years. How to grow petunia from seeds?

How to choose containers for seedlings

For a homemade “greenhouse” in which seeds will germinate and young seedlings will gather their first leaves, containers for cookies, biscuits, and ice cream will do. Can be purchased plastic containers at a hardware store.

A budget-friendly and convenient option is to use an empty five-liter water bottle. Using a sharp knife, make an incision along the long side on three sides and slightly bend the plastic upward, you get a “greenhouse” with a lid, light and convenient.

Whatever you choose to grow petunias from seeds at home, do not forget to make a hole in the bottom of the container using a heated nail. drainage holes. Then the water will not stagnate in the soil and the roots will not be affected by rot.

Soil preparation

You can buy a ready-made mixture at a flower shop. Such compositions are produced based on peat. There are even special soils for petunias. High-quality substrate is industrially disinfected from pests.

But you can prepare the necessary soil composition yourself if you have the necessary ingredients, time and desire for this.

Take in equal proportions (2 parts each):

peat;
garden land;
humus;
add 1 part of sand to this set.

Mix everything, the necessary nutritional base for seed germination is ready. Place a layer of expanded clay or small river pebbles at the bottom of the container. Place soil on top of this drainage pad, with a layer thickness of about 3-5 cm.

Some gardeners advise adding potassium permanganate crystals to the water to create a solution rich in color. In this case, hang the container with soil over a basin where the water will drain. After the soil has cooled after disinfection, moisturize it well using a sprayer and start sowing.

Sowing petunia seeds

Petunia is a plant that loves light and warmth. For successful germination (assuming you are lucky with the source material), these conditions must be created. Therefore the seeds are only lay it out on the surface moistened soil, but do not cover it with soil.

To make the operation easier, moisten a match or toothpick with water and pick up each seed with it. The intervals between them should be the same, at least 10-15 cm.

After you finish, press the seeds to the ground, to improve grip. Close the homemade greenhouse with a lid, glass, plastic film and place it in a warm place, the simplest one is near a room radiator.

Additional lighting is not required at this stage, but warmth for the appearance of sprouts is vital. Petunia seeds must germinate at a temperature of +25 degrees.

Once a day, open the lid of the container for ventilation. Shoots will appear on the third or fourth day. However, if the seeds are expired, they will take longer to germinate, about ten days.

Caring for seedlings: lighting and watering

To obtain healthy and strong seedlings at home, consider some features of the development of petunias. If the sprouts do not have enough light, they will reach for the sun and turn out tall, but weak.

Therefore, after the seeds germinate, move the boxes away from the radiator, but closer to the window. At this stage, the main role is played by the second factor - light. Without relying on window lighting, resort to additional lighting.

For these purposes they use fluorescent lamps or lamps for seedlings. Turn on additional lighting as soon as the seeds hatch. The lamps must burn over the seedlings for at least 12 hours. In the future, this will facilitate the formation of flower buds more quickly. The temperature in the place where you have boxes with sprouts should be +18−20 degrees.

It is extremely important at this stage, when the seedlings are fragile and can easily die, carry out proper watering. Experienced gardeners advise doing this in the evening, when more intensive plant growth occurs.

There must be water soft, chlorine-free and warm. To do this, let the tap water sit for at least a day on a windowsill or other warm place. Before watering, squeeze a few drops of lemon juice into it.

From the very first day the sprouts appear, ventilate the greenhouse", sliding the lid. Start with two to three minutes, increasing the aeration time from time to time. This simple method will help maintain moisture in the right amount and protect the seedlings from a disease called “blackleg”.

Diving - how to do it correctly

There comes a time when the seedlings become cramped in the box and each sprout already requires separate space. For this purpose, a transplant is performed. So that you don’t get confused, let’s figure out what kind of leaves are on plants.

When the seed germinates, it produces two cotyledons. They have an elongated shape and are much larger than the leaves that appear later. The cotyledons are a kind of bottle of milk from which the sprout feeds. But then he and his fellow crates grew up, and like kids in kindergarten, they began to push and get in each other’s way.

So it's time to dive. This operation includes transplanting and pinching the root. Each sprout is placed in a separate transparent glass. We deepen the sprout in the soil to the cotyledon leaves.

While the plants are very fragile, the root system has not formed and consists of only one hair-thick root. To avoid damage, take the sprout along with a lump of earth and placed in a new place of residence. The soil is sterilized, as before sowing seeds - with boiling water or by calcining it in the oven.

After the first transplant of petunia seedlings, if you did everything correctly, the plant begins to develop more actively, growing its root system. About a month and a half after sowing, will need a second transplant, into larger pots. Here the petunia is left until it is planted in open ground in the garden or in an outdoor flowerpot.

Strictly speaking, the picking procedure also includes shortening the root. This is done so that lateral roots begin to develop and the entire system becomes more powerful and branched. Then the plant will receive more nutrients from the soil.

But recently, flower growers have moved away from this practice, considering it too risky. Some experts in growing seedlings at home do not do a second transplant.

They choose a container for diving with a reserve, “for growth.” Explaining this by saying that there is no point in injuring the plants again. You can choose the best method based on your own experience.

Temperature and feeding

Having received a separate living space after the dive, the seedlings begin to grow vigorously. Now, for their own benefit, begin to accustom young petunias to low temperatures, up to +10°. Florists use the term “hardening” in this case.

Cups with seedlings taken out onto a glassed-in balcony or open a window in the room. Start with 15 minutes, gradually increasing the time.

After a couple of weeks of such repetitions and provided that the air temperature outside does not drop below normal, the seedlings can be left in a cool place until they are transplanted to a permanent place.

It is impossible to grow good seedlings without care, and also timely and regular feeding. Start applying fertilizer two weeks after the seedlings are first transplanted. In the future, do this for adult plants, once every two weeks.

Specialized stores offer flower growers complex fertilizers containing a lot of potassium. Liquid concentrated nutritional mixtures, which must be diluted with water at home, are also good.

After the second transplant and in the future, do not forget about loosening the soil. The roots need oxygen. Petunias will respond to such care with prolonged flowering until late autumn.

Pinching seedlings

Looking at a bright, dense “ball” of multi-colored petunias makes your heart happy. How to achieve perfect shape at home? The secret is simple. It's all about pinching the top of the plant.

Start this procedure as soon as four or five leaves appear on the sprout, not counting the two that grow from the hatched seed (cotyledon). It turns out that you will do the first pinching when the petunia has seven leaves.

By limiting upward growth, you will force side shoots to develop. This is how it will be formed rounded bush shape. But keep in mind that pinching delays the onset of flowering. Therefore, leave the plant alone a couple of weeks before.

Growing seedlings in peat tablets

In addition to the method of growing seedlings described above, there is another, more time-saving method. Industry produces peat tablets, which are perfect for obtaining strong seedlings at home.

They are placed in a deep plastic bowl and fill with water. Within 10 minutes, swelling, the tablets increase in volume several times. Drain off excess water and use a match or toothpick to make a small indentation in the top of the peat column.

Place a petunia seed there. Sowing is completed. In the future, care for the seedlings as described above. The convenience is that in the case of peat tablets, diving is not required.

The grown seedlings are planted immediately in open ground, along with the tablet. In the ground it will disintegrate without your intervention. It’s also good that peat gives necessary nutritional supplements developing petunia roots.

From everything described above, we can conclude that even a beginner can grow petunia seedlings at home.