Petunia: planting and care in the photo for beginners, how to properly form a perennial flower at home if it grows in a pot on the balcony or in the garden?

Petunia is a universal flower. Many shapes, colors, varieties. It looks great both on its own and in composition with other plants.

And while she is completely unpretentious. The flower is easy to care for and even a beginner grower can cope with it at home.

In this article we will tell you all about the nuances of growing petunias! Also watch a useful video on this topic.

What it is?

Petunia is a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Solanaceaegrowing in the tropical zone. Homeland petunias Latin America. Sometimes this plant is found in North America.

ATTENTION: Modern flower growers grow petunia as a decorative annual in gardens, on balconies and terraces. Petunia goes well with other ornamental plants and looks harmonious in various compositions. But most importantly, its advantage is its unpretentiousness.

Growing Features

An important condition for the successful growth of petunias in a pot is its size.. Petunia loves space. So, for one bush or terry individual, at least 3 liters of substrate are required. Based on this, you can easily calculate how much pot your pets will need.

As for cascading and ampelous varieties, here the requirements for displacement are even greater. For one ampelous or cascading petunia, at least 5 liters of soil are needed.

If you violate these conditions the plants will be closely, they can get sick, will be weak. At the same time, flowering may not occur (what to do if petunia does not bloom, this article says).

The soil for the petunia is prepared in a certain way:

Sod land.
Sheet earth.
Peat.
Sand.

Sometimes perlite is added for looseness.

When preparing the ground, remember the following:

It should not be too wet. Petunia does not like waterlogging, since with excess moisture, the roots cease to function properly.
Petunia photophilous and thermophilic plant. The pot should be placed on the sunny side. This means that your pet will need sufficient hydration. But an excess of moisture should be avoided.
The soil must be loose. That is why the soil has such a composition as described above. If there is a need, the substrate in the pot should be loosened.

In more detail about growing petunias, we wrote here.

Where should the pot stand?

Since petunia loves light, the pot should be placed so that the plant receives enough sunlight. At the same time, an unpretentious beauty will need regular watering, as well as good drainage (the soil should be ventilated). Since constant exposure to the sun, moist soil, and hard earth can lead to diseases of the root system.

Do not place the petunia under the bushes, trees, awnings, as well as in the gazebos. Remember, petunia loves direct sunlight and moderate hydration.!

Proper watering

As already mentioned - petunia is not whimsical. She will endure painlessly both drought and waterlogging. The main thing to remember - abundant watering and stagnation of water - this is a death sentence for the plant!
Petunia loves spraying.
How often to water a petunia in a pot? If the weather is very hot, water daily, and sometimes twice a day. In order not to damage the flowers, water the plant under the root.
You should not expose the plant to drip irrigation, it will only harm him.

If desired, petunia can be fed with complex mineral fertilizers. Then she will become more magnificent, juicy, beautiful. The flowers will be larger, and the flowering of petunias will be longer and more plentiful.

IMPORTANT: As for organic fertilizers, you need to be more careful. Fresh manure is categorically unacceptable. Fertilizers are applied twice a month in the usual way. When fertilizer is applied, the soil must be moist to avoid damage to the roots.

More information on how to water a petunia can be found in our article, but here you will learn more nuances about the rules of watering and feeding a plant for plentiful flowering.

Pruning and pinching

Trimming and pinching are necessary for petunias:

Abundant and long flowering.
Preservation of an aesthetic appearance (removal of wilted flowers, stems and leaves).
Formations of a beautiful bush.

The trimming and nipping procedure can be performed both once or several times per season. It should be noted that pruning is a procedure that is carried out on already flowering plants. Do this throughout the season as needed.

Pinching is a different procedure. The plant is exposed to it before the formation of flower buds in order to ensure abundant flowering.

How to care at home?

What you need for the health of your pet:

Remove fruitful boxes in time. The plant should not spend energy on their ripening.
If the petunia sprouts long stalks that look like whips, cut them to half length. And then begin to intensively feed and moisten the bush.
Cut withered flowers and shoots.
Feed with mineral fertilizers.
When the plant has come into force, it should be fed with special additives containing potassium and phosphorus, as well as wood ash.
To prevent chlorosis (illness), provide petunia with an iron supplement. To do this, the Ferovit solution is sprayed from the atomizer onto the plant. The procedure is repeated every three days until complete recovery. Also, the solution can be added to the root.

What you need to know to rejuvenate a flower?

Aging, petunia acquires a sloppy, unaesthetic appearance. Signs of aging:

Dry long stems.
Withered (tired) flowers and stems.
Yellowed flaccid leaves.

There is an easy way to rejuvenate her - pruning. Some gardeners prune petunias several times during the summer.

It depends on the:

varieties;
weather conditions;
plant conditions.

To rejuvenate petunia, you need to trim it correctly:

When pruning, do not prune all flowers.
Only those shoots that have acquired a withered and ugly appearance should be cut.
If the flowers become small, then about 40-50% of the flowers should be cut.
Rejuvenation is usually performed in July or August.
After pruning, the plant begins to cluster, give new shoots and flowers.

TIP: After trimming, be sure to water the plant abundantly and feed it.

Plant a plant

Petunia can be planted both in open ground and in a pot or container. The best way is to plant seedlings. This is done in late March - early April. In this case, flowering will begin around mid-June and will continue until the end of October.

Planting petunia seedlings is good for indoor and balcony options. If you want to grow it in open ground, then you can sow it directly in the soil, approximately in the middle of May. Also, petunia can be propagated by cuttings at the end of summer.

Seedlings

For sowing seedlings you will need turf soil mixed with leaf humus. You can also add peat and sand. Some gardeners plant seeds in peat tablets.

Before sowing, the seeds should be mixed with sand, and then sprinkled on the prepared substrate. Top seeds should not be covered with a substrate.
The container with the seeds sown must be covered with a transparent cap (glass or plastic) or film.

Thus, a mini-greenhouse is obtained. You can use a ready-made mini-greenhouse purchased in a store. After sowing, the seeds are irrigated with warm water from a spray bottle.

Watch the video about sowing petunias for seedlings:

What to do with sprouted seeds?

Once the seeds have sprouted they should be thinned out. The distance between the shoots should be approximately from the matchbox. This is done when there are two formed leaves on the bores.

In order to provide petunias more magnificent flowering seedlings pinch from above. About a month before planting, you need to accustom to lowering the temperature (hardening seedlings).

Already planted petunia in pots or containers should be placed on the veranda, in a covered gazebo, summer kitchen or loggia in case of unexpected cooling. If frost catches a flower in the open, it may die. About how to save petunia in the winter at home, is written in a separate article.

ATTENTION: If the air temperature is pretty cool to +20 degrees, watering should be reduced so that the roots do not decay!

Possible problems and illnesses

The main diseases that petunia can undergo, their symptoms and prevention:

Chlorosis. It manifests itself in yellowing and falling of leaves, caused by iron deficiency in the soil. Prevention and treatment is spraying with iron chilate or Ferovit, as well as feeding with complex fertilizers.
Powdery mildew. It is characterized by a grayish-white coating on the inner side of the sheet. Treatment - fungicide treatment, airing the soil, pruning of affected leaves.
Blackleg. It manifests itself in the fact that the stem darkens and decays in the basal part. Treatment - the introduction of drugs "Trichodermin", "Fitosporin."
Gray rot. Symptoms - the appearance of gray-brown spots on the leaves. A little later, the leaves begin to darken and rot. Treatment - removal of the affected areas of the plant, a slight increase in the dose of phosphorus and potassium fertilizers, the use of biological products: Integral, Skor, Maxim.

Conclusion

Learn simple petunia care skills and enjoy beautiful flowers for up to 7 months of the year. Even basic floriculture knowledge is enough for this. The only thing you should study is the peculiarities of growing petunias and its needs.