Petunia: growing from seeds

It's much better to grow your own plant rather than run around the store looking for "that one" seedling. Petunias grown from seeds at home are no less beautiful and robust than those grown from store-bought seedlings. Many people believe that planting petunias is quite difficult, but this is incorrect. Knowing a few rules for planting seeds and preparing the soil is enough to make this happen. flowers at the dacha will delight the eye all summer long.

When is the best time to start planting a plant in the ground?

First, it's important to determine the best time to plant petunias in the ground. If you read gardening literature, you'll find many recommendations for sowing seeds as early as mid-March. By this time, the days are longer, meaning the seeds will have enough sunlight to germinate. However, since today's weather has changed significantly compared to previous years, the advice in books isn't always relevant, so in some cases, planting seeds can be done earlier than recommended in gardening books. There are several reasons why plants may need to be planted slightly earlier than the second half of March. Planting can be done earlier if your apartment has south-facing windows; this will provide more light, so you can begin sowing seeds as early as the first days of March. Sowing can also be done as early as mid-February, but only if you have a good shelving unit with artificial lighting for petunia seedlings grown indoors (video below).

If your house only has north-facing windows, it's best to sow the first seedlings not in mid-March, but at the very end of the month. Insufficient light will undoubtedly have a negative impact on the emerging seedlings. Due to insufficient sunlight, plants will frequently become diseased, the seedlings will wilt, the stems will become weak and brittle, and the seedlings may also become leggy and die. Even if the seedlings survive, such seedlings will not produce high-quality petunia bushes when grown from seeds indoors using a photo.

Of course, it's best to delay planting the seeds in the ground a bit. In this case, you won't have to worry about the resulting sprouts, as by the end of March the seedlings will have enough light for germination and further development. However, in this case, flowering will be a little later than desired. plant If you became a plant in March, then in just 12 weeks you will be able to see the first bright flowers of the plant.

Where is the best place to plant plants?

To get beautiful petunias growing from seeds at home, you need to properly prepare the containers and soil for the seedlings. For planting the seeds, you'll need any small containers, but they shouldn't be too deep; special seedling boxes can be used. If you don't have such a box, a plastic mayonnaise or vegetable oil bottle will work just fine; simply cut it to the required size.

Next, you can begin preparing the container. To do this, pour high-quality, lightweight soil into a clean container, filling it only two-thirds full. Afterward, pour boiling water into the prepared soil. This eliminates any harmful insects that may remain in the soil if it wasn't purchased from a specialty store. However, even this soil should be treated to ensure its excellent quality and complete safety for the seeds. Allow the soil to cool for about ten minutes, after which you can begin planting the seeds in the prepared soil containers.

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How to plant petunias correctly

When growing petunia seeds from seeds indoors, peat pellets are much more convenient for planting them in soil. However, if these are unavailable, plant them in prepared containers filled with soil, with each seed simply placed on the soil and pressed lightly against the surface. It's crucial not to cover the seeds with excess soil, otherwise they won't germinate. Today, substances have been developed that help improve germination. Spraying these substances on the seeds causes the seeds to expand slightly, as a seed coat forms around each seed.

Unfortunately, the seeds themselves can't easily penetrate such a hard shell, so they must be moistened with water from a spray bottle. Sometimes, even moistening the granules with water doesn't produce any results. In this case, you'll have to manually remove the shell with a toothpick. Simply crushing the granule is enough to release the seeds. This happens if the substance was of low quality, or if there were serious violations during processing.

To get high-quality petunia sprouts, growing from seeds at homeGardeners already know when to plant, but not everyone knows how to properly prepare seedlings. Therefore, it's worth remembering that after planting seeds in the ground, cups or other containers are covered with plastic film to prevent moisture from escaping, thus creating a greenhouse.

Thanks to this system, the plants will be constantly maintained in high humidity, reducing the need for frequent watering. Seeds that have just begun to germinate will also not require watering, meaning each sprout will have a chance to thrive. It's crucial that after the first sprouts appear, the container be placed in a warm, well-lit area—even a windowsill—but the air temperature should not fall below 23 degrees Celsius.

When can I start taking small sprouts for walks and airing them out?

As mentioned above, when sowing in the canopy, it's important to maintain a fairly warm temperature, with the thermometer reading at least 23 degrees Celsius. However, once the first shoots emerge, the temperature can be lowered to 18 degrees Celsius. In this case, the seedlings can be moved slightly further away from the heat or simply closer to the windowsill. Such manipulations are possible, but they're not a necessary part of growing a plant like petunia. A slightly cooler temperature will prevent the shoots from stretching upward, which will help produce a smaller, more voluminous flower bush.

Continuing the theme "Petunia: growing from seeds When discussing "Growing Petunias at Home," it's important to know that once the seedlings have emerged, they need a few days to harden off and acclimate to the conditions outside of a greenhouse. While a greenhouse is a great place for seedlings, as it's very humid, this is more beneficial for seeds, which require constant moisture. The seedlings themselves should be grown outside. Another disadvantage of constantly growing plants in a greenhouse is that high humidity can eventually lead to mold on the soil surface. Petunias grown from seeds indoors can also be susceptible to diseases, such as blackleg, even in a greenhouse. This is why gardening books recommend periodically ventilating the greenhouse. Simply open the film or remove the glass for five minutes, increasing this time each day, and then simply remove the greenhouse.

Transplanting or picking out small seedlings

As mentioned, petunias are grown from seeds indoors in tablets. However, even in this case, it will be necessary to transplant the plants, as the seedlings will become too crowded in the same soil and will die. As soon as the plant begins to break through the seed shell, it will immediately develop two small leaves, called heptagonal leaves. These leaves are completely different from those present on a mature plant, and the true leaves of a mature plant will appear a little later. Many people don't know what these leaves are for, but they store nutrients that the plant uses for growth and development, so they must be handled with extreme care. Once a second or even third pair of leaves forms on the stem, the plant can be repotted.

To carry out this procedure and get beautiful petunia flowers, growing from seeds At home, pinching is still too early, but replanting wouldn't hurt. If you don't replant, the plants will eventually begin to compete for valuable nutrients, leading to the death of all the seedlings. To prevent the seedlings from overwhelming each other, each should have a small container of soil. To transplant, don't do it by hand, as the seedlings are too fragile and small. It's best to use a coffee spoon or a special spatula for houseplants to transfer the plants into the soil.

When replanting, it's important to preserve not only the root system itself but also the soil around it. This will ensure the plant isn't damaged during transplantation and will survive transplanting more easily. When replanting begins, each plant is planted in soil up to the cotyledon leaves. This will allow the plant to develop additional roots from the stem, which will create a more extensive root system, resulting in more vibrant and vibrant blooms. It's worth noting that this plant can be propagated not only by seed, as petunias, when grown from seed indoors, propagate just as well by cuttings as by sowing.

Lowering the air temperature after transplantation

When growing petunias from seeds indoors, it's important to know the following. After transplanting, hardening off the plants is necessary, as the air temperature may drop slightly at night after planting. Larger seedlings need to be prepared for this, so the air temperature will need to be periodically lowered by fifteen to 10 degrees Celsius. Initially, the seedlings should withstand this temperature drop for ten minutes, but over time, the number of minutes should be increased. If kept in this temperature range consistently, the plants will be more robust and will not react adversely to sudden temperature changes after planting. Furthermore, the low air temperature will prevent the plant from stretching too much, resulting in shorter, more rounded bushes.

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To harden off the plants, simply take them out onto a glazed balcony or simply open a window in the room where the seedlings are growing.