Most summer residents decorate their front gardens with annuals. Such flowers are easy to care for, multiply easily, bloom magnificently and for a long time, and also have many colors. Most often, petunias are grown - small bushes that delight with their beauty from the beginning of summer until the onset of frost.
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The choice of variety and date of planting petunias
When choosing a type of flower, you should focus on objective factors:
- breeding site - bush varieties are intended for flower beds, and cascading and ampelous varieties are intended for a loggia;
- the desired external effect - for the hat at the bottom of the flower garden, prefer multiflora, to make the front garden unusual - large-flowered terry varieties or superbissima;
- the desired color - you can choose any, based on personal preferences or general composition.
It is advisable to buy varieties that are resistant to diseases and bad weather conditions. Hybrids deserve special attention. Their seedlings are not used for seedlings. Such seeds do not inherit maternal properties. It is recommended that you choose common varieties to harvest and plant your seedlings yourself.
It is best to sow petunias in mid-March, since it takes about 12 weeks to form healthy seedlings. The thermophilic annual can be transplanted into the ground only in the 2nd decade of June. For earlier flowering, start sowing at the end of February.
Soil preparation and planting
Reproduction of annuals involves planting seedlings in open ground or growing seedlings. It is bred on windowsills using pots or boxes. You can sow petunia directly into the soil. However, small flowers are not covered with earth. On the street they are blown away by the wind or they dry out in the sun.
The seedless method is not well suited for the Russian climate. Sprouts will appear for a very long time, and flowering will be delayed indefinitely. Petunia shoots are rather thin and fragile. It is difficult to save them outdoors. Therefore, the flower is usually grown in seedlings.
Sowing petunia seeds for seedlings requires knowledge of some agrotechnical subtleties. They will help you achieve good results. The plant loves light, loose and fertile soil. Water and air should flow well into it, since the roots of the petunia are relatively poorly developed.
It is better to make the substrate for planting yourself. There may be pests and pathogens in the store. All components of the soil mixture should be taken in equal quantities: peat, sand and sod. They improve the quality and structure of the earth.
If the soil is depleted, various means can be used. For example, "Epin" or "Powder". They are effective growth promoters. Any earth should be ignited in a microwave oven at a temperature of at least + 100ºC or sprinkled with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
Due to the small size of the seedlings, planting is noticeably difficult. It is advisable to purchase seeds in the form of granules or dragees. They need to be buried a little in moist soil. Mix small seedlings with sand to increase germination. Some summer residents use ordinary tweezers. After such a planting, water the soil abundantly.
Do you grow petunia? Do you know the timing of planting this plant?
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Read about pinching petunia in the following article:How to pinch a petunia to make it lush