How to plant petunia on seedlings?

Petunia refers to plants that grow through seedlings. This is not very convenient, because not everyone can afford to allocate space for boxes with seedlings, which also need to be lightened up .

However, ready planting stock is not cheap today, and to create a large beautiful flower bed of flowering petunias will have to be well spent. Therefore, many enthusiastic flower growers still choose to grow their own seedlings. This, in general, a fairly simple process, which is quite possible to master even a beginner. Well, let's figure out how to plant petunia on the seedlings and take care of it.

How to sow the seeds of petunia on seedlings?

To begin with it is necessary to be defined or determined with time of crop of petunias on sprouts. Its choice depends on the climatic conditions of your region. Usually in the middle band, the flower seedlings of this crop are planted in mid-March, plus or minus two weeks, so that by mid-June the seedlings are strengthened and ready for planting in the open ground. She needs about 12-13 weeks for this. If you live in a warm southern region or you want the petunia seedlings to blossom in the spring, then you should sow it earlier. This can be done starting from the end of January, but in this case it will be necessary to organize a special highlight for your seedling.

Consider the moment that for the successful germination of petunia seeds, the temperature in the room containing the seedlings must be at least +20 ... + 25 ° С.

The composition of the soil mixture in which the seedlings are planted is also important. Optimum option will be nutritious and loose soil, consisting of humus, leaf or sod land, peat and sand. Petunia does not tolerate alkaline and strongly acidic soils, so a bit of lime can be added to the excessively acidic substrate.

So, to plant a petunia, you need to prepare the soil and fill it in a pot, first putting a layer of expanded clay on the bottom. Do not forget to moisten the soil, and then sprinkle the petunia seeds on its surface. They should be sprinkled with water from the spray gun and slightly sprinkled with a layer of soil (no more than 1-2 mm). Then it is desirable to cover the pot with glass, and you can wait for the appearance of the first shoots!

With proper conditions, the seeds will go through within 5-10 days after planting. In the first week, seedlings need to be sprayed daily, and a light pink solution of potassium permanganate can be added to the water.

An interesting way is to plant petunias with snow. It is necessary in order to distribute fine seeds more evenly over the surface of the soil. In addition, after sowing, the snow will gradually begin to melt, helping to maintain the humidity in the pot at the proper level. So, how to plant a petunia on the seedlings on the snow? Very simple:

1. Distribute the soil mixture in the pot so that it does not reach the edge of the container by 2-3 cm.
2. Spill it with a solution of one of the fungicide preparations to prevent seedling diseases.
3. Above the ground, fill a layer of snow about 1 cm thick.
4. Seeds should be spread as evenly as possible over the snow.
5. Cover the pot with glass or paper.

Alternatively, you can sow petunia on seedlings in peat tablets or in granules. Such a method will help to reduce losses of seedlings, because the seed of the most interesting and new hybrids has relatively high cost. And the granulated seeds are also larger, which facilitates the planting process and makes it possible to germinate the seeds in even rows. It is better to take tablets 3-4 cm in diameter, not more. They should be soaked until full swelling, put one seed in each groove, and then cover the crops. Make sure that the tablet is always wet, and as soon as the shoots appear, reduce the temperature of the contents to + 18 ... + 20 ° С. Petunias grown in this way are not required to feed , since peat pellets already contain the necessary fertilizer rate.