You just can’t grow a petunia, you have to sweat.
Stage 1. How to choose quality petunia seeds.
Buy quality seeds from proven producers. It is better to take coated seeds, it is convenient to sow, and together with fertilizing for better plant germination.
Stage 2. Choose the right planting time.
After 10-12 weeks after sowing petunia seeds, the first flowers should appear. You can sow petunia for seedlings at any time, the main thing is to have additional lighting for the full development of plants.
The 3rd stage. Pre-sowing preparation.
For this, choose a balanced and nutritious soil. Take wooden or plastic boxes for sowing and treat them with a disinfectant solution. Put expanded clay on the bottom to drain excess water, and pour soil on top.
Several options when choosing soil:
- Ready bought in a special store;
- Make a mixture yourself, for this, take humus, sod, lowland peat and sand in proportions of 2:2:2:1.
Stage 4. Preparation for sowing.
Before sowing, pour boiling water or a weak solution of potassium permanganate over the soil. Spread petunia seeds on moist soil. Additional sprinkle from the sprayer on top. Cover with film or glass to create a greenhouse effect. Regularly clean the drops on the glass and regularly air the young plants. If the seeds are fresh, the first sprouts should appear in 3-4 days. The boxes should be in a well-lit place.
Stage 5. Plant care.
The first steps are very tiny, so in the first days you need to illuminate the plants around the clock, and then 11-12 hours will be enough. The temperature for plant germination is 22-25 degrees, when sprouts appear, reduce the temperature to 18-20 during the day and 14-16 at night. When small leaves appear, you can remove the film or glass. Petunia seedlings should be watered every day, the water should be settled or melted, at room temperature. In the first days, spray from a sprayer 1-2 times a day with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. Next, water in a tray or with a pipette at the root of the plant. Water petunias in cloudy weather – in the morning, and in sunny weather – in the evening. It is necessary to feed the seedlings 1-2 times during the entire period. Once with a growth stimulator, and after 10 days, feed with mineral fertilizers.
Stage 6. Seedling grading.
After 3-4 weeks, seedlings need to be dived, but on the condition that the plant will have 2-3 leaves. For picking, take ready-made forms with a large number of cells with a diameter of 7 cm. Fill the cells with fresh soil, carefully lifting the plant with a spoon, transplant it into the cell with a lump of earth and shake the sides with earth. Next, watering, hardening, temperature regime, fertilizing with organic fertilizer every 14 days.
The 7th stage. Caring for petunias, pinching.
When the plant becomes an adult, it is necessary to pinch for better growth and density of the bush. To do this, at the stage of the appearance of 3-4 pairs of leaves, pinch off the top of the plant at the so-called growth point. Additional shoots will soon appear from the sinuses between the calves. Pinch off the next twigs again after two weeks, the bushes will become even more lush.
8th stage. Transplantation to a flower bed.
Regularly bring the seedlings to the open air for hardening. Prepare a flower bed for transplanting petunia seedlings. To do this, add fertilizer, humus to the ground and dig well. Transplant plants in the evening or in cloudy weather. Plant at a depth of 10 cm and at a distance of 20-30 cm from each other.
