Seedling Of Petunias At Home: When To Plant In According To The Lunar Calendar, Methods Of Growing, Rules Of Care

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 12:53

Seedling of petunia at home: difficulties in growing and ways to overcome them

Recently, the popularity of petunias is extremely high: this flower has become the informal leader among annual flowers, it is planted on almost every site, creating whole flower beds of colorful plants. However, its seedlings are very expensive as they are very difficult to grow. Small seeds and fragile seedlings require ultra-careful handling, and the capriciousness of seedlings forces you to follow all the rules of growing very, very accurately, especially at home.

Content

• 1 Is it necessary to plant petunia through seedlings
• 2 When to plant petunias for seedlings according to the lunar calendar in 2019

• 3 Preliminary preparation

  • 3.1 Seed preparation
  • 3.2 Soil preparation

• 4 How to grow good petunia seedlings at home: planting and care tricks

  • 4.1 Video: sowing petunia seeds for seedlings
  • 4.2 Growing on a windowsill
  • 4.3 How to properly grow in a greenhouse
  • 4.4 Video: useful tips for flower growers
  • 4.5 Sowing in snow
  • 4.6 Sowing in peat tablets
  • 4.7 Using the snail option
  • 4.8 Growing in toilet paper
  • 4.9 Are picking and pinching required
  • 4.10 Video: how to gently water young seedlings of petunia

• 5 Features of planting and care in different regions

  5.1 Video: sowing seeds for seedlings in winter

Is it necessary to plant petunia through seedlings

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

Sometimes in the southern regions, sowing seeds in a garden bed is used immediately to a permanent place. Sowing in mid-spring causes the petunia to bloom in mid-summer. This technique is used for small 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 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 early summer. And since the 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 to sowing. True, you should not delay too much, otherwise flowering will begin only in mid-summer.

Many gardeners are now tracking planting activities according to the lunar calendar. The need for strict adherence to it seems controversial, especially since in different sources one can find a wide variety of days, called as favorable dates for sowing or transplanting garden and garden plants. Therefore, the dates in 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:

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

Preliminary preparation

Growing petunias is difficult, but fortunately, this does not require unique equipment: the simplest boxes or pots will do. Peat tablets are also used for growing seedlings, but there is no special need for this: this flower, after the 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 up to 8 cm in diameter. But all planting containers must be rinsed and disinfected first. But the right choice and preparation of seeds is much more important.

Seed preparation

Petunia seeds are by no means cheap, so you have to be very responsible when buying them and preparing for sowing. Seeds remain viable for up to 4 years, so if good and reliable ones are found, you can buy them for future use. When purchasing seeds, you should always mentally 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 close to 100%. The seeds are small, therefore, in addition to the usual look, they are also sold in a granular state. Both have their pros and cons.

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

Granular 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 the granules are easy to handle, they will not be lost during sowing. They can be easily sown one at a time in each pot, or they can be placed individually in a box at the desired distance. They have better germination, but sowing must be done on time: as soon as the “process has started,” you can’t hold it back, and all growing conditions must be strictly observed.

When granulating, the seeds are placed in a shell, and they become more convenient to handle

Seeds sold in bulk are much cheaper, but they are difficult to sow individually, there will be a lot of waste. These seeds in a bag are often a mixture of several varieties and are more difficult to handle. In principle, they do not require any cunning preparation like dressing or soaking, but they must be somehow prepared for sowing so that it can be carried out rationally. Common techniques for sowing small seeds are as follows:

premixing in the right proportion with clean fine sand, taken in dry form;

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

single-piece spreading of seeds with a toothpick (option for the most patient gardeners).

When should you do this? 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 by the May holidays one can expect powerful flowering.

Soil preparation

Growing petunia seedlings does not require some kind of daunting and scarce soil, although it imposes certain requirements on the soil. The soil should be light, loose, breathable, moisture-absorbing and nutritious. In terms of acidity, it is slightly acidic or close to neutral (pH from 5.5 to 7.0). You can buy it in the store or prepare it yourself. 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 specifically for flower seedlings. Soil from well-known manufacturers does not need to be prepared in advance, it can be used immediately.

Nowadays, you can find everything in the store: there would be money

When preparing the potting mix on your own, you must use the optimal proportions of the ingredients. It is best to take equal parts of humus, turf soil, peat and add a little river sand. Peat, if there is a choice, should not be taken from horse peat (it is too sour). The sand is white or grayish, 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 different ways: from roasting in the oven to treatment with fungicides. But in most cases, a good pouring of 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, sowing seeds in a common box is convenient. Only when growing a dozen plants, it makes no sense to engage in subsequent transplantation: in this case, it is better to immediately sow the flowers in peat tablets. Drainage should be poured on the bottom of the box (you can just use coarse sand or what was 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, without haste, spread the seeds over it in even rows. A distance of 4–5 cm is left between the rows, and sowing in the rows depends on the type of seeds:

the pelleted seeds are laid out at a distance 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 a second one shakes it off onto the soil). If the option is not suitable, 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 light of petunias is needed already for the seeds to hatch.

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, as, for example, cabbage seedlings. The room temperature should be 20-23 degrees. But good lighting is needed, so a window sill on the south side is best suited. Otherwise, additional illumination with fluorescent lamps or diode lamps is required: incandescent lamps heat the air too much.

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 have not appeared in 2 weeks, they will no longer be there. 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 window sill: for the first few days, the temperature should be 18 ° C, which prevents the seedlings from pulling out, then the temperature must be returned to the original values. But daylight hours must last at least 12 hours.

Petunia shoots are miniature, and at first they grow very tightly

All the time until the appearance of real leaves, the seedlings should be in a greenhouse state: the glass cannot be removed from the box, but the soil must be wet, but the condensation from the glass must be periodically removed. Watering is carried out only by spraying from a spray bottle, during watering it is also necessary to air it, leaving the seedlings without glass for 10-15 minutes. Gradually, this gap should be increased. You can remove the lid only after a couple of real leaves appear.

As the petunia grows from irrigation by spraying, you can switch to drip irrigation from a medical syringe or pipette at the root, and only for solid plants it will be possible to use the usual technique: from a kettle or ladle. Stagnation of water is categorically unacceptable, as well as drying out 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 pears, but very carefully

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

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

You should start feeding the seedlings 10-15 days after the pick. 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 just use a solution of agave juice). Subsequently, you can switch to watering with fertilizer solutions at 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 daytime absence of a working person at home can sometimes lead to an irreparable outcome. Therefore, if the seedlings are prepared for personal use, and not for sale, it is better to do this in the apartment.

How to grow properly 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 sorted out in separate pots. Therefore, you must first plant at home anyway, unless constant supervision is impossible for the greenhouse. After picking, after 2-3 weeks, the seedlings of petunias are already so strong that caring for them is not much different from caring for, for example, tomato seedlings.

Adult seedlings no longer need tropical conditions, mature plants grow normally at 16-18 ^o C. A periodic drop in temperature even to 10 ^o C does not harm seedlings, but in colder conditions, growth almost stops, and flowering is significantly delayed.

Caring for grown seedlings in a greenhouse is no different from caring at home, but supervision should be constant. The soil must be kept moist, periodically applied, and the greenhouse must be ventilated daily to exclude abundant condensation on windows and other surfaces: excess moisture quickly causes black leg disease.

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

Greenhouse cultivation is, of course, suitable for 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 a windowsill in a city apartment.

Video: useful tips for flower growers

Sowing in the snow

When petunia seeds are sown for seedlings, there is still snow outside the window, and it is this snow that can help in the difficult matter of sowing small seeds of this flower. At the same time, it serves as a white screen, allowing you to see small black seeds, and as a substance that, when melted, will pull the seeds into the soil as required for perfect germination.

As usual, the prepared soil is poured into the box, but it is tamped a little harder. For this, it is convenient to use a small board. On top, clean snow is laid out 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 spread or scattered over the snow, but not as carefully as over the soil. In the snow, they are very clearly visible, and with a little skill, using a pair of toothpicks or small tweezers, the seeds can be shifted to the right place. The snow will begin to melt and will drag the seeds along with it exactly to the depth required for successful sprouting of the seedlings; on dry or wet soil this is impossible. There is no need to water. It is imperative to close the box with glass or foil and proceed as usual.

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

The use of snow allows more rational use of expensive seed material, does not require watering the crops, which usually leads to the shift of seeds from the 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 micronutrient fertilizers and growth stimulants, so they rarely require additional feeding. The 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, closed box) and gradually poured with water until they swell completely. Moreover, they increase in height several times. The excess water is drained. A recess is made in the tablet from one of the ends for sowing seeds.

In the presence of peat tablets, you can do without boxes and picks, sow seeds directly 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 a lot of money. It is especially convenient to sow granular seeds into tablets, but there are not very many common problems either, you just need to arm yourself with toothpicks and, possibly, glasses or a magnifying glass.

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

Wet pills make the perfect individual seedling dwelling

If a large plastic food container is found as a container for pills, this is the most suitable option. It is closed with a lid and transferred to a warm place (20-25 ^o C). Most likely, you will not have to water at first. In general, tablets are usually poured "through the bottom": the water poured into the bottom of the container is itself absorbed into the peat in the required quantities.

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

Thus, the use of pills has only one drawback: extra money spending, but in the case of growing a small amount of petunias, all the conveniences are more than overlap.

Using the snail variant

With a lack of space in the apartment, flower growers, and indeed gardeners in general, often go to various tricks. One of them is the use of the so-called snail for growing seedlings. In some cases, seedlings in a snail can be brought up to planting in open ground. Such a number will not work with petunias, but until the dive, the snail can be used instead of a box with earth. Proceed as follows:

A tape about 15 cm wide and 1 meter long is cut out of polyethylene or, better, more durable plastic.

Lay out the tape on the table, on top of it unfold ordinary toilet paper in one layer.

Spray the paper with water from a spray bottle.

At a distance of 1 cm from the edge of the strip, place petunia seeds every 4–5 cm.

Cover with another layer of toilet paper, sprinkle it with water and put another strip of the same film.

Gently roll the structure into a roll.

Tie the roll with twine or elastic, put it in a glass or jar with a layer of seeds on top.

Pour water into a glass with a layer of 4–5 cm, cover it with a plastic bag.

However, in this version, the seedlings barely reach the time of picking into pots: after all, they also need nutrients, therefore, often an additional centimeter layer of soil prepared as usual is applied to the surface of toilet paper. But even with the ground, the snail takes up little space.

The snail is a temporary shelter for seedlings

A big plus of this technique is that the roots of neighboring plants hardly intertwine. It is also convenient to take out seedlings for picking: you just need to unwind the roll. The disadvantage is that, due to dense planting, the seedlings are poorly lit, as a result, the root system does not develop well.

Growing in toilet paper

Another use for toilet paper is to germinate seeds on it without creating a snail. The option is very simple in execution and also allows you to save space for some time and do without land. You need a regular plastic bottle of any size (depending on the number of seeds):

In the bottle, on one side, an oval cut is made almost over the entire area (sometimes it is simply cut in half).

On the second side (it will be the bottom) several layers of toilet paper are laid.

Spray the paper with water from a spray bottle.

With the help of a toothpick, the seeds are laid out, as well as on the soil surface.

They place the bottle in a plastic bag, tie it almost tightly and put it in a warm, bright place.

Then there may be options:

emerging seedlings at the age of several days can be transplanted into peat tablets, but then the advantages of the approach are doubtful;

try to bring the seedlings out of the bottle in the "greenhouse" to the point of diving: it is much easier to dive with toilet paper than from a box, it does not need to be torn off from the roots. However, the petunia may not have enough nutrition for the appearance of several true leaves;

as the seedlings grow, gradually pour soil into the bottle; by the time of picking we will have almost a box with seedlings.

Apparently, in addition to temporarily saving space and ease of extracting seedlings for picking, there are no other significant advantages.

Is picking and pinching required

There is debate about the need to pick petunias, and there is no definite answer to this question: after all, seedlings grow well in peat tablets without picking! But usually, nevertheless, pinching the root leads to a more powerful root system, so most gardeners agree that picking is very desirable. Only it is impossible to carry it out ahead of time: until the plants reach a height of 4–5 cm, they are still very weak. Only a pick from toilet paper is carried out at a younger age, but in this case, the roots are just trying not to injure, replanting the seedlings along with pieces of paper.

In ordinary boxes, the seedlings are ready for picking at about one month of age. An earlier pick is used only when a black leg is suspected, in an attempt to save the bulk of the plants. When diving, the petunia is buried, but the cotyledon leaves must remain above the ground surface. For the first few days, you need to slightly increase the temperature and shade the seedlings, then everything is returned to the original situation.

By the time of the pick, the seedlings should already be very strong plants.

In addition to pinching the root when diving, in petunias, the aerial part is also periodically pinched, which causes additional density of bushes. 10-15 days after the pick (or rather, after the appearance of the third pair of true leaves), the top of the central shoot is carefully broken off or cut off. This causes lateral shoots to appear above the existing leaves. The operation can be repeated after 2-3 weeks.

Video: how to gently water young seedlings of petunias

Features of planting and care in different regions

General approaches to growing petunia seedlings do not depend on the region, but, naturally, the timing of sowing seeds and planting plants in open ground is somewhat different. It is necessary to navigate the timing, knowing the approximate dates of the last spring frosts. Although, of course, there is no year after year, and in 2008, even in Saratov, in the gardens, everything froze on June 10! But this is rather from the area of exclusion.

In order to get the first flowers by the end of spring, in central Russia and, in particular, in the Moscow region, sowing begins in mid-February. For the Ural region and Siberia, respectively, these dates are shifted to March. Earlier dates threaten the outgrowth of seedlings in pots, and this entails additional problems. Well, in the south, January sowings of petunias for growing seedlings are also frequent.

Video: sowing seeds for seedlings in winter

It is not easy to grow petunia seedlings, although this refers rather to the first month of her life, the further process does not present any particular difficulties. Industrial cultivation, which has already turned into a good business, is carried out in a greenhouse, it is more convenient for oneself to grow seedlings in an apartment, on a windowsill. If you have some skill in floriculture, success is bound to come.