Petunias are herbaceous (or semi-shrub) perennial plants belonging to the Solanaceae family. Flowers are very demanding for care and growing conditions.
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If petunia seeds sprout slowly or poorly, young seedlings lag behind in development and growth, it is urgent to take measures, providing plants with additional care - lighting and feeding, as well as optimizing temperature conditions. How to do this correctly will be discussed in this article.
The reasons why petunias are stunted
Let us analyze the main reasons for the lagging of young plants in development:
- Sowing errors. Due to the fact that petunia seeds are small in size, there is a high probability of thickening of the plantings. As a result, the root system of the seedlings, intertwining, will interfere with the correct development of each other. Excessive deepening of seeds also adversely affects the germination of seedlings. It will be correct not to bury the seed in the ground, but to scatter the seeds into shallow grooves, sprinkling with sand on top.
- Violation of growing conditions. Young plants lag behind in development due to insufficient or excessive watering. Heavy, depleted soil composition, dry indoor air, temperature drops also negatively affect the growth of petunias.
- The harmful effects of insect pests and pathogens. Young seedlings are often susceptible to the negative effects of insects that live on indoor plants. One of the most common insects that suck juice from a flower is the spider mite. Excessive watering of petunias can lead to powdery mildew, and initially infected soil leads to the death of young shoots from a black leg.
- Dive errors. During transplantation of seedlings into separate containers and pots, rootlets are likely to be damaged, as well as excessive deepening of seedlings into the ground, which causes rotting of the stems and even the death of plants.
What to do if the seedlings have stopped growing
Upon detection of the first signs of lagging seedlings in growth, it is necessary to immediately take rehabilitation measures. The containers with plants should be moved closer to the light source. In this case, the optimal room temperature is considered to be about +20 ° C. You should also protect flowers from drafts and exposure to direct bright rays of the sun.
In warm, clear weather, take the seedling boxes out into the open air.
If during planting you made mistakes, and the planting of petunias is thickened, you should thin them out by cutting off the weakest, less viable shoots with sharp scissors. The shoots remaining after thinning must be fed with solutions of complex mineral fertilizers or growth stimulants.
Further care for petunias involves periodically spraying the foliage with warm, settled water from a spray bottle. Between waterings, the ground is carefully loosened to ensure air exchange, trying not to hurt the root system.
With poor crop growth, attention should be paid to the composition of the soil substrate. If the soil is heavy, it is necessary to transplant the petunia into a large container with a nutritious light substrate.
A soil consisting of a mixture of earth, peat and sand is considered ideal for growing petunias.
What to do if the seedlings are too stretched
Young petunias are particularly beautiful - lush, compact bushes with harmoniously developed shoots are pleasing to the eye. As they grow, such specimens will become even more beautiful and elegant due to the large number of colorful buds.
But often inexperienced growers are faced with the opposite phenomenon - petunias over time stretch unnecessarily. In this case, the stems of the plant become thinner and weaker, and the leaves become smaller and lose their color saturation.
The main problem of pulling the stems of young petunias is the lack of lighting. Flowers thrive thanks to being grown in sufficient light, and a south-facing windowsill is the ideal place for them.
In cloudy weather, light up the seedlings. Place a lamp over a container with a room culture, thus providing the plant with a long day of light.
Follow the basic rules and conditions when growing petunia seedlings: water properly, feed, provide good lighting, and you will be able to grow beautiful lush flowering plants.
Do you know how to grow petunia from seeds?
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