Petunia is one of the most beautiful and most"joyful" summer flowers of our garden. And it pleases us not only with bright colors, but also with lush long flowering, as well as relative unpretentiousness. There is one small, but annoying trouble with this wonderful plant petunia - growing seedlings. However, many, many gardeners, not trusting planting seeds in the ground, each season try to get healthy and strong plants by growing seedlings directly on the windowsill. And, I must say, they are quite successful in this. Considering that ready-made planting material is still expensive, and the choice of seeds is very large, let's try to grow petunia seedlings ourselves. Moreover, February and March are the most suitable time for this. It is at the end of winter that seeds are planted for seedlings not only of vegetable crops (cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers), but also of annual flowers (tagetes, purslane, petunia). So, let's choose the seeds and begin this truly magical act.
Seed sowing
If you sow the seeds of these flowers in February, thenOur petunias will bloom very early, and already in April-May they will please us with their first buds. But if this is not possible, then planting can be postponed until March. It will not be worse. Considering that seedlings need a lot of sunlight (and in February it is not enough), March seedlings not only catch up with February seedlings, but often overtake them. For sowing seeds, you can use small bowls with drainage holes, seedling boxes or now popular peat tablets. If you plant seeds in plastic containers, then they must be treated with antiseptics (for example, potassium permanganate), and a layer of thick paper should be placed on the bottom of wooden boxes. Seeds should be sown in nutritious and loose soil, the layer of which should be at least six centimeters. Various soil mixtures are suitable for growing petunia seedlings, the main thing is that they are not alkaline and slightly acidic. The soil is poured into the planting container almost to the top, leaving the sides open at one and a half or two and a half centimeters. Before planting the seeds, the soil is thoroughly sifted and moistened. Petunia seeds are light-germinating (they need light to germinate), so they are not buried in the soil or even sprinkled, but only lightly pressed for better contact with the soil. Since the seeds of this plant are very (even "too much") small, they are mixed with dry sand for even distribution over the moist soil. When planting seeds in peat tablets, one grain is carefully placed in a special depression on each disk with tweezers. After this, the planted seeds must be covered with paper or glass, creating a greenhouse effect (a fairly high temperature is needed for seed germination). Some gardeners recommend using non-woven material (agrotex, geosad) for covering, believing that such protection creates a more favorable climate for germination. They explain this by the fact that this way the necessary humidity is maintained, and petunia has the opportunity to "breathe". The most optimal temperature regime for seed germination is from twenty to twenty-four degrees. Petunia of well-known old varieties can be quite content with a lower temperature (but not lower than seventeen degrees). However, modern complex hybrids require a constant high temperature, sufficient humidity and lighting. At low temperatures, they simply will not germinate, and at higher temperatures, the seedlings will be too elongated and susceptible to diseases. In no case should you water the planted seeds - they will go into the ground with the water. To maintain constant humidity, they need to be sprayed several times a day, by the way, it is a good idea to add potassium permanganate to the water for spraying. In such "correct" conditions, petunia will definitely germinate, and this will happen on the fifth, seventh day after sowing.
Seed care
Immediately after germination of seedlings, non-woventhe material is removed. If glass or transparent plastic is used for covering, it is removed gradually. First, the lid is removed once a day, leaving the seedlings without cover for about five or ten minutes, and then the intervals are increased each week until the first true leaves appear on the seedlings. Only after this is the cover removed completely. This way the seedlings will be able to adapt to indoor conditions and will not fall, which, unfortunately, often happens. After the first true leaves appear, the petunia seedlings are pricked out, planting them in individual containers (peat or disposable cups). The picking can also be done in a common, but larger container. However, in order for the plant to develop freely and be healthy, individual containers are preferable. And when transplanting into open ground, this eliminates many problems. In order for the seedling to form good roots, it is advisable to deepen it a little during picking (up to a couple of true leaves). Experienced gardeners note that with this method of picking, transplanted shoots do not lodge and do not get sick with "black leg". For successful cultivation of petunia seedlings, careful watering is necessary - timely and moderate. If you let the soil dry out, the seedlings will die, and over-moistening the soil will provide "black leg", because of which small seedlings will begin to rot and fall. Petunia seedlings also need hardening. To do this, you can lower the room temperature by opening the window for ten minutes. When accustoming plants to lower temperatures, you need to protect them from direct streams of cold air. Remember that only the room temperature should decrease, but not the seedlings and the ground. The first month, petunia seedlings grow slowly. But this should not scare you - young petunia is building up a root system. In about a month and a half, the above-ground part of the seedlings will begin to actively grow and develop.
Seed dressing
The key to abundant flowering of petunias is rich andcompetent feeding. Florists say that petunia is surprisingly "gluttonous", so feeding begins a couple of weeks after picking. Fertilize the seedlings under the root, and also do foliar feeding on the leaves. You need to start with foliar feeding as soon as the seedling produces three or four true leaves. Petunia is sprayed every two or three days, alternately changing fertilizers and growth stimulants. For this, you can use any water-soluble complex mineral fertilizer (for example, nitroammophoska), but in a lower concentration. The main thing is that the fertilizers contain nitrogen, which is responsible for the growth of seedlings.
Helpful Tips
Of course, growing seedlings is a troublesome business.Many will prefer to buy ready-made seedlings or risk sowing seeds directly into open ground (maybe they will sprout!). But, you must agree that flowers grown independently from a tiny seed will become the pride of any gardener. And if we are talking about the beautiful petunia, then, as they say, "the game is worth the candle." And the reason for the experiment is the extravaganza of colors and the riot of color that petunia will provide in the summer garden. We recommend reading:
