Petunia Grandiflora: growing out of seeds (photo)

Petunia is one of the most popular flowering garden crops. Flowerbeds or wooden tubs with lush bouquets of bright "gramophones" will be an excellent ornament of the infield, and pots with luxurious ampel plants perfectly complement the interior of the balcony, verandas, terraces. Among the many varieties of this culture, the petunias of Grandiflora (Petunia Grandiflora) take a special place. Despite the fact that gardeners refer to them as very choosy individuals, it is quite possible to grow large-flowered varieties on their plot or in a mini-garden on a windowsill. Next, let's talk about how the grandflora petunia is grown from seeds. The photos posted in the article demonstrate her amazing beauty.

What is Grandifflor's petunia?

Petunias Grandiflora are flowering annuals. They are representatives of the Nightshade family. Unlike ordinary petunias, the varieties of Grandiflora can not boast of a large number of flowers on the bush, but the size of the buds is really impressive. Plants are relatively stunted: the height of the bushes rarely exceeds 25-50 cm. Petunias Grandiflora have a flower diameter of 9-12 cm. "Gramophones" of various shades can be simple or terry. In double flower buds, seeds are tied very rarely.

Petunia is generally considered a very refined plant, demanding in care, and Grandifflor's petunias can be called females, they are so sensitive to lack or excess of moisture, temperature changes and windy weather. In this regard, the cultivation of seedlings from seeds, and then to care for "adolescents" and adult plants should be approached with all care and care. It usually takes 85-95 days after sowing seeds before Grandiflora will please you with luxurious flowering.

Petunia Grandiflora: photo and description of the most popular varieties

1. Petunia Grandiflora Prism Sunshine (Prism Sunshine) - a large-flowered variety with inflorescences of bright lemon-yellow hue. The height of the bushes is up to 25 cm.

2. Petunia Grandiflora Dreams (Dreams) - a series of hybrids created in the United States. Plants are resistant to difficult weather conditions. The bushes are lush, compact, undersized. Inflorescences can have the following color:

• White;
• Red;
• Light purple;
• Salmon with white throat;
• Pink with yellow yawn.

3. Petunia Grandiflora Burgundy (Burgundy) - the bushes are rather large, reach 35 cm in height, blossom from the beginning of summer to the first frost, "gramophones" velvety, saturated with dark cherry hue.

4. Petunia Grandiflora Limbo (Limbo) - a variety characterized by compact bush sizes, excellent branching and abundant flowering. Limbo is a whole group of hybrids, including petunias with white, red, tender and rich pink, blue and light purple, bright cherry blossoms. There are also inflorescences combined: white-pink, white-lilac, etc. Blooming petunia Limbo is quite early, for that is especially appreciated by gardeners.

5. Petunia Grandiflora Aladdin (Aladdin) - plants with a height of 25-40 cm with stunning flowers with lacy edges. Unlike other hybrids of the Grandiflor series, the Aladdin petunias are drought-resistant. Among the most popular colors are lavender, crimson, blue-violet, red with white throat, etc.

How to choose the right seeds?

Good seeds are the key to your success in growing petunia. Today in flower shops you can find planting material from a variety of manufacturers, but the main reference point for you should be the F1 mark on the package. We recommend buying several small packages from different manufacturers in different places. Do not collect the seeds yourself, as it is not a fact that the next year they will grow petunias with the same color, shape and size of the inflorescences. As practice shows, plants grow weaker from self-collected seeds, with less decorative and brightly colored flowers.

Seeds of petunia are very small, so their sowing is a time-consuming task. It is important that they are evenly distributed over the surface of the soil. Solve this problem with manufacturers who specialize in seed treatment and supply them in the form of granules or pellets. Such an enlarged fraction makes it easier to decompose them into a sowing tank. And do not worry about the fact that light will not flow to the seed through the shell (the seeds of petunia germinate only in the light), because such pre-treatment significantly increases the germination, and hence the first sprouts will soon appear from the dragee.

Soil preparation and sowing

The soil for sowing Grandifflor's petunia should be selected light, loose, nutritious. Well-proven such a recipe:

• Peat - 2 parts;
• Humus - 2 parts;
• Turf ground - 1 part.

In addition, you can add a little wood ash.

Before laying out the seeds, the soil is moistened with a spray gun. If you purchased the seeds unprocessed, then for convenience, we advise mixing them with fine sand and simply scatter on the surface of the soil. Do not put them on top of the earth! At least you will increase the period until the appearance of the first shoots, and as a maximum - do not wait for them at all. Seeds placed in the tank are sprayed again. This time, instead of usually water, it is better to take a pink solution of potassium permanganate. Then cover the container with glass or film and put in a bright place with a temperature of 22-24 ° C.

If your choice is seeds in the form of a dragee, then spread them on the surface of the soil with tweezers, only not the part, so that shoots in the future do not interfere with each other to develop. When working with granulated seeds, a good choice is the seating cups or mini-boys with isolated containers. Feel free to sow one seed in each such a glass, and after 7-10 days, the first shoots will appear.

A good option for sowing Grandeflora petunias are peat tablets with a diameter of 3.5-4.5 cm. Each tablet is immersed in water for 5-10 minutes beforehand, so that the necessary moisture reserve is formed. In each peat barrel, one seed is sown, placed in a suitable container, covered with glass or with a film.

First shoots

So, the seeds of petunia germinated. However, this does not mean that you can immediately remove the film, the glass or the lid of the ready-made guy. Two or three times a day, shoots are allowed to breathe fresh air, and then cover again. So continue to do until the first real leaf appears. Only then the film or glass can be removed completely.

Be careful with watering brittle petunia. With a lack of moisture, they immediately die. No less harmful is the waterlogging: the shoots can get a black leg. As a preventive measure of this disease, regular spraying of shoots with a weak solution of potassium permanganate appears. It is better to water yourself using a spray gun or from below - through a pallet.

In addition, at least once a week, it is necessary to feed "babies".

Picks

When the seedlings have 2-4 real leaves, you can move to picking young plants in separate cups. If initially you sowed one seed in separate containers, you can skip this step.

The new soil must be as friable and nutritious. When moving from one container to another, try to keep the maximum amount of soil on the sprout roots: this way it will more easily survive stress. Make sure that the growing point of the seedling is not buried in the soil. After picking for a few days, place the seedlings in a bright place, but so that it does not get direct sunlight. Next, select the most illuminated area for the petunia seedlings, otherwise the rapidly developing shoots will stretch out a lot.

Landing on a permanent place

First of all, let's talk about where the grandflora petunias grow well. As already mentioned at the beginning of the article, this is a fastidious plant, so the place should be protected from the winds, well lit, moderately moistened. In the case of growing petunias in vases or tubs, the problem is easily solved by transferring containers from one place to another. But with the placement of petunias on the flower beds you need to be more careful.

The bushes are planted in the open ground when the spring frosts finally recede. On the eve of transplantation for 4-5 days, it is recommended to season the seedlings outdoors. Place the bushes at a distance of 20-25 cm from each other, as they grow very well. Before and after the transplant, the kidney should be well moistened. To prevent the earthen coma from drying out quickly, mulching is used. Even if the aboveground part of the plant perishes in a severe heat, the mulch will retain its roots in the moist soil, which means that your petunia can still recover and turn into a lush blossoming bush.

Some useful tips for beginners

If you want to please yourself with the blooming of Petunia Grandiflora already in May or early June, then it is already in the end of January - beginning of February to start sowing seeds. Since at this time the light day is not so long, do not forget about the seedling of seedlings.

If you grow petunia seedlings in peat pills, then plant young plants on a bed or a tub should be right with this, the very first, pot. So you can avoid injury to the root system of the seedling, and therefore, petunia will take more quickly.

If, as a result of waterlogging, the shoots become ill with a black stalk, immediately remove all damaged seedlings along with the surrounding soil. After that, treat all healthy petunias with "Phytosporin" or other suitable fungicide.