Summer is the most beautiful time of the year, when nature, showing a variety of colors, is an unforgettable pleasure. Contemplating this picture, many have a desire to make the territory adjacent to the house, a balcony or a summer cottage no less beautiful. Often this problem is solved quite simply - they plant the flowers they like so that both close people and ordinary passers-by can admire them. And a good idea to decorate the chosen place is to plant ampelous petunias.
This plant is distinguished by long shoots covered with large, bright flowers. Therefore, it can be grown both on the balcony and in a box or around a garden path. Thanks to this plant, it will be quite easy for you to maintain a colorful and summer atmosphere in your space.
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Petunia ampelous and cascading - what's the difference?
Petunia is known to experts for its whimsical nature. And this is not surprising, given that its natural habitat is humid and hot climate... But thanks to the efforts of breeders today, hybrids are available to every novice florist and not only, which are easy to grow and care for and at the same time can delight in appearance throughout the summer season.
Although it is customary to distinguish ampelous and cascading petunias, in reality they have no differences. After all, this is one and the same plant, which simply has different names.
The best varieties of ampelous petunias
The assortment of flower shops today offers many different varieties of ampel petunias. This simplifies the task for the gardener, since he can choose the variety that suits him. The most demanded today are the following varieties of petunias:
Sort "Snow Queen". Its main advantage is its unique aroma. Snow-white flowers make it attractive, giving the effect of purity and lightness;- Variety "Explorer". Differs in a rich color palette. It grows in height up to 1.5 meters. Differs in large and strong stems, due to which it tolerates bad weather well;
- Variety "Ekaterina". The plant has orange flowers decorated with veins. Flowers are small, 6 cm in diameter;
- Variety "Black Velvet". It stands out on the list of varieties because of its large black flowers. The flowers are small, have a diameter of 8 cm;
- "Milliflora" variety. It stands out among other varieties for its compact size. This plant will appeal to gardeners who love cute and touching style.
Choosing terry varieties of petunias for growing on the site, you need to be prepared for the fact that they requires careful care... It will take a lot of effort to endow the flowers of this plant with their beauty. Due to the difficulties that arise when growing them, they are most often planted in closed places.
Planting and caring for ampel petunia at home
It is difficult to find such a grower who would be indifferent to petunias.Today, it is customary to distinguish two types of this plant: bush and ampelous. Moreover, each of them has expressiveness and attractiveness. Shrub petunias have become widespread as garden plants, and ampelous are mainly grown at home, where they decorate balconies and verandas. However, regardless of the variety of petunias chosen, it is imperative to provide appropriate care.
Growing seedlings from seeds
Due to the scarce baggage of knowledge, novice florists pay attention to every little thing... They may be interested in known methods of combating diseases, as well as the question of how many pieces to plant in pots. However, the first thing they need to know is how to grow plants from seeds.
If it is possible to provide artificial lighting for seedlings, sowing petunia seeds can already be in February. Otherwise, you need to wait with this until mid-March, since at this time the daylight hours will become longer, which will provide the petunia with the necessary amount of light. The soil used for sowing should have a loose, nutritious and light texture. To prepare planting soil that meets the above requirements, you will need the following components:
- two parts of peat;
- two parts of sod and leafy soil;
- two parts of humus;
- one piece of sand.
The top layer of soil should be as light as possible, so it is advisable to sift it. The day before sowing, the soil must be watered. Then you need to add a little dry sand to the seeds, after which this mixture is placed on the prepared soil. It is possible to accelerate the germination of seeds if the container with crops is covered with film or glass and transferred to a room where the temperature will be maintained at 21-22 degrees.
The appearance of the first shoots should be expected after a week. From this point on, the seedlings need to be carefully cared for. For this, seedlings are watered twice a day, sprinkling with room water. Also it is necessary to air... It is difficult to grow strong and healthy seedlings without maintaining optimal humidity. At the same time, you need to ensure that condensation does not occur, since if it is present, the likelihood of damage to seedlings by various diseases increases. After waiting for the formation of the first leaves of the seedlings, the film can be removed.
Watering and fertilizing
Petunia makes rather high demands on growing, so beginner growers may have certain difficulties. The plant will be able to fully demonstrate its decorative properties only under the condition of carrying out nutritious dressings. Watering is no less important for petunias, which must be carried out every day.
If the seedlings receive less required amount of moisture, then this will lead to the development of diseases, which can be determined by various characteristic signs. For example, its leaves become sticky. In order for the plant to be provided with all the necessary nutrients, it is recommended to carry out top dressing with special formulations that must be added to the soil with each watering. The greatest effect of dressing is achieved by following the scheme:
- the first seven days - watering with water and humates;
- the next seven days - watering with water and potassium sulfate.
Planting flowers in open ground
When the seedlings grown in pots are strong enough, you can choose a place for planting in open ground. However, for this event to take place without complications, it is necessary take into account the following recommendations:
- it is advisable to transplant in the evening in cloudy weather;
- it is recommended to transfer seedlings to a prepared place along with the soil from the pots;
- seedling holes to be prepared must be at least 10 x 10 cm;
- it is also important to correctly determine the distance between seedlings, focusing on their size.If a variety with large flowers is transplanted, then the plants are placed at least 24 cm from each other. For plants with small flowers, it is sufficient to maintain an interval of 19 cm. For ampel petunia bushes, a distance of about 29 cm must be maintained;
- when the transplant is completed, it is necessary to carry out activities to accelerate rooting. For this, the soil is mulched with peat or humus. In this way, plants will be protected from low temperatures, which will also help maintain optimal moisture levels;
- upon completion of all transplant operations, the flower must be watered.
How to form an ampelous petunia?
As a rule, by mid-July, the shoots grow too much, requiring prompt removal. Moreover, this also happens if the petunias are provided with minimal care. In such conditions, there is exposing the bottom of the shoots, at the same time, new buds and leaves are formed at the tops. As a result, the flower becomes unattractive, there is a delay in growth, since it does not receive the necessary nutrients.
It is possible to maintain a healthy and attractive petunia provided that the shoots are pinched in time. The essence of this procedure is to remove the shoot by 2/3 of the length. This operation is the meaning of the formation of ampelous petunia. If carried out in a timely manner, it is possible to ensure an attractive appearance of the flower throughout the growing season.
How to collect seeds?
Experienced growers know that it is enough to extend the flowering period of petunias promptly cut withered flowers... However, they are the seed suppliers. At the first signs of flowering, you need to start observing the lower flowers and choose the most suitable ones. You can use buds that have withered and have time to fully ripen. This ensures that they contain quality seeds. It usually takes 2.5 months for the seeds to ripen.
You can get the required amount of seeds and the proper quality only if a suitable variety was initially selected. In this regard, terry petunia, which does not transmit maternal properties to the offspring, is not an entirely suitable choice. Therefore, even experienced flower growers cannot guarantee that when creating the necessary conditions for plants after sowing the collected seeds from them a new flower will grow the same variety. In some cases, a surprise is possible - from the sown seeds, flowers can often grow that have different sizes, shapes and shades.
Conclusion
Petunia is a rather unique plant, because with all its excellent decorative properties, it is rather difficult to grow this plant in the absence of the necessary knowledge. Therefore, for novice gardeners, this can be a serious problem, especially if they plan to plant it in open ground.
However, if you use the accumulated experience of gardeners, you can successfully grow this capricious plant in our latitudes. You can increase the chances of success if the petunia is grown by seedling. Then the grower will have at his disposal strong and hardened seedlings, which, with appropriate care during the planting period, will feel quite comfortable in the prepared flower bed.
